STREETS AHEAD
The F1 ‘circus’ is in search of more street circuits
As Formula 1 heads to Europe for the Spanish GP in Barcelona this weekend after a brief foray into the United States for the inaugural Miami GP, questions continue about new venues versus traditional F1 circuits.
The Monaco GP, to be raced a week after the Spanish GP, is under threat of being removed from the F1 calendar to make way for new events like Las Vegas next year, and another race in China.
Next season there will be three races in the US, and despite the driver criticism of the circuit used in Miami, and the organisers reporting a financial loss, it seems other factors such as TV viewership and numbers attending the race means it will be considered a success.
TV audiences attracted the largest live viewership of an F1 race in the history of the United States. Given the US has hosted grand prix at Sebring, Watkins Glen, Phoenix, Long Beach, Indianapolis and Austin, Texas, it is bragging rights for the new event.
The ABC network broadcast the race and the figures released indicate an average viewership of 2.6 million, peaking at 2.9 million, with the previous best result being 1.744 million for the 1995 Brazilian GP, which was broadcast on ESPN.
The 2012 Monaco GP did have more viewers than any other broadcast, but that was a delayed screening. A crowd of 86,000 attended in Miami, but it could have been higher, as the organisers had set a ticket limit. No restrictions applied though to celebrities wanting to invade the grid, by VIP invitation of course, prior to the race.
Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle, who says he hates his grid-walk and only does it because it is popular, had the misfortune to be initially snubbed by David Beckham and then Serena and Venus Williams.
Perhaps one day the F1 owners will realise that F1 fans don’t give a toss about rich, arrogant posers, albeit highly successful athletes, and will stop dishing out passes to them so they can clog up the grid.
But we digress, because while TV viewership figures and bums on seats suggest the Miami GP was a great success,
the race itself and the drivers’ collective criticism of the track indicate it was not.
The drivers were critical of the track surface which meant overtaking down one of the longest straights seen in F1 was not possible even with DRS, because the cars could not venture off-line where there was no grip.
Race winner Max Verstappen felt the tight, slow section of the street circuit, which Brundle described as being the “MickeyMouse” section, was not suited to the current F1 cars.
Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon would agree, having crashed in that section during practice. Lewis Hamilton on the other hand, despite only finishing sixth, and behind his Mercedes teammate George Russell, thinks the future of F1 is on city tracks.
“I’m a bit old school,” Hamilton said. “So of course, I love the history, particularly at certain circuits, but the older I get the more I realise it’s about the people. We could go the middle of nowhere that has very few people, not great accommodation, not great community and for us as individuals driving on a track that’s historic is cool — but it’s about the people.”
Perhaps for Hamilton having all those celebrities on the grid, some likely there thanks to his invitations, is what he means by “people” as opposed to having real fans in the stands.
The 2001 Wimbledon final between Goran Ivanisevic and Patrick Rafter was possibly one of the greatest finals ever because it was not only a great five-set
match, but there was incredible atmosphere generated by an enthusiastic crowd on centre court.
And the reason for that was the final had to be played on a Monday instead of the traditional Sunday due to the weather. Real tennis fans queued for tickets, shutting out corporate quests. Going back to Hamilton’s viewpoint, he says “fans are at the heart of what this sport is about” yet at most races he remains aloof from fans and his fellow drivers, unless he is winning at Silverstone, where he goes crowd surfing.
“I think being in cities, we can really engage in communities and actually have quite an impact,” he added.
“I love the Nurburgring for example, but there’s not a diverse community there. We are not actually impacting the place there. In Miami we can do something. I met a bunch of kids from diverse backgrounds who now want to get into engineering and STEM subjects so it’s way cooler for me.”
Hamilton chose to overlook the falseness of the Miami circuit, with yachts or boats towed in to create an artificial marina, along with a sandy beach and a swimming pool complete with mermaids and a lot of overweight Americans.
The venue was inland rather than near the real beach, as the circuit was created out of the carpark that surrounds the NFL Hard Rock stadium, which is home for the Miami Dolphins. The Miami GP has a contract through to 2031, begging the question whether that is the sort of venue that can be expected as F1 goes in search of other similar new venues.
Monaco has probably the most expensive natural marina in the world, but the glamour and glitch of Monte Carlo is genuine, because its citizens and visitors are seriously rich and the bikini-clad girls on yachts are very much part of the scene.
The principality has had motor racing on its streets since 1929 and been included on the F1 calendar since the world championship began in 1950. It seems incomprehensible that the F1 owners would be silly enough to remove it as an event, but that is what F1 boss Stefano Domenicalli has suggested might happen.
Sky Sports presenter Naomi Schiff is alarmed at the prospect of Monaco being dropped.
“I think there’s other races on the calendar that should go before the historic races,” Schiff suggested.
“Yes, it’s nice to have new races and I think it’s good also for the sport to expand and to go to new territories, it keeps it interesting. But I completely agree that there should be those races, which are just special. Any driver wants to win the Monaco Grand Prix, that’s a race drivers look forward to because it’s special and it’s different and it’s historic.
“I think it would be a shame to remove the likes of Monaco and I think there was talk about removing the likes of Spa. I think those are just tracks that shouldn’t be touched.”
However, the Automobile Club de Monaco president Michael Bioeri is convinced the club’s contract with F1 will be renewed.
“I can guarantee you after 2022 the Grand Prix will continue to take place. I don’t know if the contract will be for three or five years.”
But despite Bioeri’s assurances, the threat remains because Domenicali is excited about new events like Las Vegas, scheduled for November 2023. He says when the Las Vegas GP was announced, it created four times more activity online than the City’s Super Bowl reveal for 2024.
The Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, has hosted the USGP since 2012 and has a contract running through to 2026, while the Singapore GP which has had its F1 race at the Marina Bay circuit since 2008, will continue until at least 2028, while the Bahrain GP has a contract through to 2036.
The one street circuit that is definitely cancelled is the Russian GP, at Sochi, because Russia invaded the Ukraine. The Chinese GP won’t be held this year as host city Shanghai is in complete lockdown due Covid. So, maybe F1 should have a fan referendum to decide what venues are best? If they did, it is likely Monaco, Silverstone, Spa and Monza would win over Bahrain, Singapore, Miami and Las Vegas, but don’t bet on that happening.