No US GP next year?

[rasfigjohn]

One thing sure... if there's one it won't be at Indy...
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/60736

[Gaiajohan]

I hope for Road America or Laguna Seca. :)

But we'll see, Bernie is just an idiot who kills the sport.

[PhilH959]

hell maybe he is in it for the money.....Maybe the france family paid some $$ for him to go away and strengthen the TV market for nascar in the USA??
Really, if everyone involved could get on the same page.....NAW like that'll happen?

Phil

[MechMan]

I don't think as many people in the U.S are into F1, other wise they would push to make sure it stays. They are more interested in NASCAR as a majority.

We almost lost the F1 here in Montreal because of the Cigarette advertisement ban. Thanks to some big Sponsors who took over to keep F1 here.

[Wee Scot]

I hope for Road America or Laguna Seca. :)



Maybe in 2009 ...not 2008. The last sentence from that autosport report:

"It is thought unlikely that any of Ecclestone's talks with other venues in the United States are advanced enough to allow a race to take place next year."

I'm strangely unbothered by this development. ;) I haven't been to a Grand Prix since 1978, so as long as my cable doesn't go out I don't care WHERE they hold the races, just so long as they're on interesting and challenging circuits ...which DOESN'T include Indianapolis.

[Jack Stand]

....IMHO, neither Bernie nor Tony are the brightest bulbs in the world of motorsports.:down:

[Petty Andretti]

....IMHO, neither Bernie nor Tony are the brightest bulbs in the world of motorsports.:down:


A gross understatement. And throw Max Mosley in too while we're at it.

I will not shed a tear now that Indy is no longer on the schedule either. It never should have been there in there first place. Losing a US hosted GP is depressing but hopefully another proper venue will host one in the next couple of years. The manufacturers WANT to race in the US so there's no doubt in my mind it will happen again.

And I'll bet whatever circuit replaces it won't be any more entertaining or challenging. The organizers will have simply donated the highest bid to Saint Bernard's Telethon.

[HAMMER]

I don't think as many people in the U.S are into F1, other wise they would push to make sure it stays. They are more interested in NASCAR as a majority.

We almost lost the F1 here in Montreal because of the Cigarette advertisement ban. Thanks to some big Sponsors who took over to keep F1 here.

I said it years before the thought of Indy people laughed said RoadAm was too dangerous :rolleyes: well Dur

But ! they should have spent millions on a classic road course aka Elkhart - Laguna - Mid Ohio which would have improved safety and facilities for all series and made one helluva GP race.

The Brickyard was is always will be the Brickyard.

Butcher Hockenhiem what for cameras on rails :(

Malaysia China Turkey etc will all suffer the same fate
Jumbo jet Parking lots the lot of em :D

[DiRTY ADAM]

I'd love to see f1 return to Watkins Glen.

[rickylix]

bring em down here to Daytona on the road course! that would be awesome!
Elkhart would be a great race too...

[racer]

I'd love to see f1 return to Watkins Glen.

now thats a plan!

[ajcarson1]

i will shed a tear...because i live in Indy.

And when we host the Indianapolis 500 and the brickyard, we NEED a great road course race.

;(

even if our road course was kind of strange... it added to the season, and while i would like to see Laguna... i wish i would be able to go see another F1 race in America at some point...

I suddenly feel like i may not be able to see another F1 race for a long time....

[washington96]

There's obviously more money floating around in Asia at the moment so Bernie is busy selling F1 as fast as he can over there. I just hope it's not just to make a quick buck for himself, but in the interest of the sport in the long run.

You have to wonder though how far down the list of Bernies priorities track design is. No point traveling around the globe to race on uninteresting tracks. There are enough tracks in the world so why make deals with countries who don't even have tracks built yet? F1 makes a big noise about how they are trying to be environmentally friendly, but knocking up a few new tracks around the world isn't going to help. Recycle Bernie! What was wrong with the A1 ring? Perfectly good track. Laguna Seca would be another good track. Do we need to build another track near Paris? Just so the F1 tribe have somewhere to go of an evening? What's wrong with the Paul Ricard track these days?

I know there are a lot more politics in F1 than my above paragraph would imply and I know it's not that simple, but I just hope Bernie hasn't completely lost the plot and can see beyond the dollar signs in front of his eyes and at least considers these options.

[Kris123]

There's obviously more money floating around in Asia at the moment so Bernie is busy selling F1 as fast as he can over there. I just hope it's not just to make a quick buck for himself, but in the interest of the sport in the long run.

You have to wonder though how far down the list of Bernies priorities track design is. No point traveling around the globe to race on uninteresting tracks. There are enough tracks in the world so why make deals with countries who don't even have tracks built yet? F1 makes a big noise about how they are trying to be environmentally friendly, but knocking up a few new tracks around the world isn't going to help. Recycle Bernie! What was wrong with the A1 ring? Perfectly good track. Laguna Seca would be another good track. Do we need to build another track near Paris? Just so the F1 tribe have somewhere to go of an evening? What's wrong with the Paul Ricard track these days?

I know there are a lot more politics in F1 than my above paragraph would imply and I know it's not that simple, but I just hope Bernie hasn't completely lost the plot and can see beyond the dollar signs in front of his eyes and at least considers these options.


The A-1 is gone because there was no interest and investment, The ministery do not wanted Steiermark in Austria suitable for motorsports because its need to have it from the nature and alps (saw 2 days ago :) ), so now its a closed test track and you only may test for special reasons,

maybe, someone in ministery in Austria will invest and then, is the A1 ring back :)

No wrong spells, sure its Austria and not Australia :P

[Spad]

I am so glad they've ditched that track. It flat and featureless!! There are much better tracks in the US than that one!

I say bring back PHOENIX :):):)

[Petty Andretti]

I say bring back PHOENIX :):):)

If they'e going to go back to that part of the country then it would likely be Las Vegas.

[Petty Andretti]

F1 Live (http://www.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/070716121344.shtml)

The American press has pinned the blame squarely on Bernie Ecclestone for the demise of the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

"Let's see if we miss America," F1's Chief executive reacted after news broke that he had not renewed the contract with Indy counterpart Tony George to bring the series back to the populous Midwest city in 2008.

A columnist for the local newspaper Indianapolis Star hit back at Ecclestone, describing the necessary annual race fee of $30 million - an increase of about $18m compared to the 2007 deal - as Ecclestone's 'extortive financial terms'.

"Most locals, from all evidence, would prefer a hearty 'good riddance' to a haughty outfit whose leader never tires of biting the hand that feeds him," the columnist wrote.


An editorial in the Nevada Appeal agreed: "George had poured millions of dollars into the eight-year partnership, and I'm sure lots of those dollars stuck to Ecclestone".

Local Indianapolis television station WTHR's John Ketzenberger compared the US GP to budding F1 host India, which might be in a better position to meet Ecclestone's financial demands.

"Bernie must have confused India with Indiana," he said. "Maybe India needs the exposure. Indianapolis needs no such validation".

[Spad]

If they'e going to go back to that part of the country then it would likely be Las Vegas.

How cool would that be man! A night grand prix round the streets of Vegas!:p

[Fool_1njection]

I like the A1-Ring a lot, I was really pissed when they said no more A1-Ring racing.

[pjj1180]

I think I saw somewhere that they were thinking of coming to Las Vegas with a street course. Just Like PGR :)

[Wee Scot]

F1 Live (http://www.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/070716121344.shtml)

A columnist for the local newspaper Indianapolis Star hit back at Ecclestone, describing the necessary annual race fee of $30 million - an increase of about $18m compared to the 2007 deal - as Ecclestone's 'extortive financial terms'.

"Most locals, from all evidence, would prefer a hearty 'good riddance' to a haughty outfit whose leader never tires of biting the hand that feeds him," the columnist wrote.


That sounds about right. Unfortunately, Bernie has earned his reputation...

He's in an undeniably strong position though, internationally. If you aren't selected to host the Olympics or the World Cup, the NEXT best way to get the rest of the world to pay attention is to throw lots of money at Bernie...

[DocZ]

I'm not sure where most of the people in this thread are coming from. Bernie has made Formula 1 into a major attraction and, more importantly, a huge money maker. Constructors spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to field teams and F1 needs places like Bahrain, Singapore and Monaco to attract well-heeled spectators ready to spend big bucks for a weekend's entertainment.

Quaint venues such as Watkins Glen don't have the infrastructure to attract the audiences that follow F1. It's the same reason Magny Cours is being dropped; nice circuit, but it's in the middle of nowhere.

Tony George bet on the idea that Bernie would lower his price in an effort to keep a race in the US. The teams want to keep a US race, maybe even two. The expense of flying everything to Montreal for a week without a second stop would be prohibitive.

I wouldn't be overly surprised if there was a race at Indy next year and am fairly sure there will be one in 2009. There could also be another somewhere on the West Coast.

[clevy911]

What I dont get is Bernie whining about Indy not promoting the USGP, more specifically, having all the Indy 500 stuff up around the town. Why would he expect someone other than F1 to pay and initiate advertising to attract more US fans and market? Putting up signs for F1 in and around Indy would make little difference. That would only result in more F1 fans in and around Indianapolis. That puzzles me. I would get the full schedule on US TV and buy advertising for the F1 races during Nascar programming :)

[FunkedUp]

Goddamn shame it is. IMS did a great job for all 8 years. Couldn't ask for a better venue for the spectator. F*ck Bernie.