GP RACING MARCH 2020 19
F1 BLASTS GOVERNMENT
BAN ON HYBRID CAR SALES02
RESTRICTIONS
MOOTEDFORF
MOTORHOMES
02
CLAMPDOWNS COMING
ONF1’S ‘GIN’PALACES 03PICTURES:GLENNDUNBAR;SHUTTERSTOCKit and pote ntially becoming liable for thelost revenue.
After someto-ing and fro-ing, it was announcedon
12 February thatthe racepromoter – afterongoing
discussions with theChinese motorsport federation,the
Shanghai Administration of Sports, the FIA and F1– ha d
requesteda po stponementrather than cancellation.
However, F1 CEO and chairmanChase Carey has said it
would be “challenging” to find an alternative date.
“We’vestarted to wrestle with contingencies, but Ithink
once you’re intothe year with dates locked, it’s a pretty full
schedule,”he toldGP Racing’ssister titleAutosport. “We
value our Chinese partners,they’ve been good partners.
We’ve hadgood growth in China, so certainly we’dlike to
maintain that. Thehealth andsafety of people come first.
There certainly would be challenges in fitting things into
a schedule, moving otherdates when they’vehad date s
locked has complexities to it.”Formula 1 uses oYer trucks to transport its goods
to Europeanrace s – and the support series require up
to 60 further HGVs. That is set to changeas F1 aims t o
become netcarbon zero by 2030– even if it means giving
up the luxury of its increasingly opulent motorhomes.
While the teams valuetheir hos pitality enclosures–
they serve the dual functionof creating a spacein wh ich
personnel caneat, andinwhich sponsorsand prospects
can be entertained – anelement of excess has creptin over
the past twodecades. Now the commercial rights holder is
targeting them inits drive to reduceF1’s carbon footpr int.
“We all go to a grandprix andfor nine races of the yearWE’VE
STARTEDTO
WRESTLE WITH
CONTINGENCIES,
BUT I THINK
ONCEYOU’RE
INTO THE YEAR
WITH DATES
LOCKED, IT’S
A PRETTY FULL
SCHEDULE
“
“
The sensible postponement
of the Chinese GrandPrix ,
to try and contain the
spread of theCoronavirus
by limiting international
travel, has given Formula 1
a logisticalheadacheInitial suggestions that the Chinese and Russian races
could swap dates were quashed when bothparties proved
unwilling. Juss Events is promoting a snooker tournament
that weekend. Another leftfieldsuggestion came from
Italy,where Uberto SelvaticoEstense – president ofthe
AutodromoEnzo e Dino Ferrari – suggestedthat his
circuit, former homeof the San MarinoGrandPrix,was
both available andF1-homologated provided sufficient
funds coul d be found.
That seems improbable, and indeed oneofGP Racing’s
contacts in Italydesc ribed the entire notion of runninga
grand prix at Imola as “a bullshit”. The circuit last hosted
an F1 event in 2006and itspit complex isn’tconsidered to
be up to standard.Selva tico Estense has also stated that it
would be impossibleto pay theusual sa nctioning fee– an
open invitation for Liberty Mediato sharpen its pencils,
but one the commercial rightsholder is unlikelyto accept.
Even if the COVID-19outb reak can be contained and
a vaccine developed,given thecompressed nature of the
second half ofthe season there is noobvious gapinto
which China could slot.Calend ar changesrequire the
unanimousapproval of theteams, anda proposal for
China to take AbuDhabi’s 29November date and holdthe
seasonfinale a weeklater proved unpopular.
GP Raci ngunderstands that another proposal currently
being evaluated at thehighest levelis to run the Chinese
Grand Prix on22November – betw een Brazil and Abu
Dhabi. To enable theteams, F1 and the FIA to transport
their equipment between venuesthe weekendschedul e
would be compressed to two days –Saturday and Sunday- with fewer practice sessions. Tyres and the trackside
signalling systems are usually sent to China by seafreight
anywa y, so in most other respectsthis event could function
like any othergrand prix weekend.
CHASE CAREY
GP RACING MARCH 2020 19
F1 BLASTS GOVERNMENT
BAN ON HYBRID CAR SALES02
RESTRICTIONS
MOOTEDFORF
MOTORHOMES
02
CLAMPDOWNSCOMING
ONF1’S ‘GIN’PALACES 03PICTURES:GLENNDUNBAR;SHUTTERSTOCKit and pote ntially becoming liable for thelost revenue.
After someto-ing and fro-ing, it was announcedon
12 February thatthe racepromoter – afterongoing
discussions with theChinese motorsport federation,the
Shanghai Administration of Sports, the FIA and F1– ha d
requesteda po stponementrather than cancellation.
However, F1 CEO and chairmanChase Carey has said it
would be “challenging” to find an alternative date.
“We’vestarted to wrestle with contingencies, but Ithink
once you’re intothe year with dates locked, it’s a pretty full
schedule,”he toldGP Racing’ssister titleAutosport. “We
value our Chinese partners,they’ve been good partners.
We’ve hadgood growth in China, so certainly we’dlike to
maintain that. Thehealth andsafety of people come first.
There certainly would be challenges in fitting things into
a schedule, moving otherdates when they’vehad date s
locked has complexities to it.”Formula 1 uses over 300trucks to transport its goods
to Europeanrace s – and the support series require up
to 60 further HGVs. That is set to changeas F1 aims t o
become netcarbon zero by 2030– even if it means giving
up the luxury of its increasingly opulent motorhomes.
While the teams valuetheir hos pitality enclosures–
they serve the dual functionof creating a spacein wh ich
personnel caneat, andinwhich sponsorsand prospects
can be entertained – anelement of excess has creptin over
the past twodecades. Now the commercial rights holder is
targeting them inits drive to reduceF1’s carbon footpr int.
“We all go to a grandprix andfor nine races of the yearWE’VE
STARTEDTO
WRESTLE WITH
CONTINGENCIES,
BUT I THINK
ONCEYOU’RE
INTO THE YEAR
WITH DATES
LOCKED, IT’S
A PRETTY FULL
SCHEDULE
“
“
The sensible postponement
of the Chinese GrandPrix ,
to try and contain the
spread of theCoronavirus
by limiting international
travel, has given Formula 1
a logisticalheadacheInitial suggestions that the Chinese and Russian races
could swap dates were quashed when bothparties proved
unwilling. Juss Events is promoting a snooker tournament
that weekend. Another leftfieldsuggestion came from
Italy,where Uberto SelvaticoEstense – president ofthe
AutodromoEnzo e Dino Ferrari – suggestedthat his
circuit, former homeof the San MarinoGrandPrix,was
both available andF1-homologated provided sufficient
funds coul d be found.
That seems improbable, and indeed oneofGP Racing’s
contacts in Italydesc ribed the entire notion of runninga
grand prix at Imola as “a bullshit”. The circuit last hosted
an F1 event in 2006and itspit complex isn’tconsidered to
be up to standard.Selva tico Estense has also stated that it
would be impossibleto pay theusual sa nctioning fee– an
open invitation for Liberty Mediato sharpen its pencils,
but one the commercial rightsholder is unlikelyto accept.
Even if the COVID-19outb reak can be contained and
a vaccine developed,given thecompressed nature of the
second half ofthe season there is noobvious gapinto
which China could slot.Calend ar changesrequire the
unanimousapproval of theteams, anda proposal for
China to take AbuDhabi’s 29November date and holdthe
seasonfinale a weeklater proved unpopular.
GP Raci ngunderstands that another proposal currently
being evaluated at thehighest levelis to run the Chinese
Grand Prix on22November – betw een Brazil and Abu
Dhabi. To enable theteams, F1 and the FIA to transport
their equipment between venuesthe weekendschedul e
would be compressed to two days –Saturday and Sunday- with fewer practice sessions. Tyres and the trackside
signalling systems are usually sent to China by seafreight
anywa y, so in most other respectsthis event could function
like any othergrand prix weekend.
CHASE CAREY