Night Formula 1 races - the latest obsession of Mr. Ecclestone. Singapore will host one later on this year, the organizers in Australia are under massive pressure from the F1 supremo to hold their race in the night if they want to keep the Formula 1 Down Under beyond 2010. The lighting companies are getting ready, developing and testing night race lighting systems. Is it all worth the effort and money ?

I am going to disregard the environmental issues as I consider those just a populist talk. Yes, it may not go in line with the green message the F1 is trying to send out. But there is much more energy used (or wasted ?) every day by lighting up football stadiums, airconditioning various indoor arenas, freezing the ice for skating or ice hockey… No one complains about that, no one sends skaters to skate on frozen lakes …

After this weekend I however do question the need to force the organizers, will it be in Australia or anywhere else, to spend wast amounts of money to set up the lighting systems. Why ? Because I watched the MotoGP night race from Qatar. If that is supposed to be what the TV viewers get for all the money spent by organizers, then I do not think it is worth it.

First the overall experience - Either there were no spectators (would not surprise me) or the “wall” created by lighting eliminated them from the picture. It did feel very weird. All one could see around the track were the run off areas and hundres of lamps.

The TV picture was far from good. All the lights around the track were pretty disturbing, the picture was not very clear. There were also parts of the track with strong light reflection - and that was on a dry track … Now imagine places like Malaysia and Singapore, where the chances of rain are higher than chances of sunshine …

It might have been great experience for those on the track, it was far from great on TV … But isn’t the TV the main reason behind the night races idea ?

It may not be that bad on the street track in Singapore. The city backdrop, tighter space, spectators closer to the track may be the factors that will make that night race a great TV event. But should the night race happen in Sepang on the track, I am afraid the TV experience will be similar to Qatar MotoGP race…

I may be wrong, F1 might have hired better people to set up the lighting for Formula 1 races and there will be no problems at all. All may be perfect. But would not it be wiser to wait for at least the first night race in Singapore to happen and evaluate the pros and cons, before pushing and forcing people elsewhere to commit to huge investments just to keep one guy happy ?

F1Wolf

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I am not sure if the latest Ecclestone had to say on future of F1 racing in Australia is just another chapter in his game of negotiation or this guy is getting completely mad.

“The only way the race could stay in Melbourne, or anywhere else in Australia, is if it is staged during the night so that the public in Europe can watch it. At the moment, it is ridiculous that people are asked not to sleep in order to see it live. That can’t carry on. The alternative is to pull the race completely from Australia. I’ve spoken to (new prime minister) Kevin Rudd and he’s told me it would cost too much to re-stage the race, so I guess that’s it. We won’t be going to Australia for too much longer.”

So it is ridiculius that people in Europe have to wake up early … And he only knows that now ? The Australian GP has been on calendar since 1985 !!!

F1Wolf

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Today my ticket for Australian GP landed on my desk and the first thing that came to my mind was this:

Those who saw the race will remember, for those who perhaps missed Ralf Schumacher’s attempt to take off there is a video inside this post.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

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Two quotes from Bernie Ecclestone appeared in the news this weekend and after reading I began to wonder what did the Australians do to him …

Quote 1 - On the reports that Sydney may fill the gap if Melbourne looses the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix (in the interview for the Herald Sun)

“There is nothing in Sydney - they haven’t even got a circuit. “

Quote 2 - On his planned trip to St. Petersburg and discussions about staging Formula 1 race in Russia (reported by Daily Mirror):

“Nothing is done yet. But this could be an interesting development for the sport. We’d like to get it in the calendar as soon as we can but that depends on them. It’s down to how long it takes them to get the circuit ready.”

I am not saying that Sydney is a feasible option. It may or may not be, it is not upon me to say. I do not even know whether the city would be interested. But that is not the point … What strikes me is The Formula 1 Supremo dismissing the possibility of the race in Sydney outright with such an argument. All the new races (current and future) - Singapore, Valencia, Abu Dhabi, Seoul, India only began to build the race tracks after Bernie signed them up. Russia, as it is obvious from his remarks, would be the same case.

Sydney would stand no chance though, because like all the others who got the new races it does not have a race track …

F1Wolf

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Bernie Ecclestone has a fresh new target for his axe:

“Maybe we don’t want to be in Australia. Our costs are very high in Australia and we get a lot less money. It’s bloody bad for us. We’ve got quite a few places on the list which would like to have Formula One and, as it seems your guy (Victorian Premier John Brumby) down there doesn’t want Formula One, we can make him happy and make the other people happy.”

Mr. Ecclestone loves to threaten F1 venues and some do not survive his threats, Indianapolis being the latest example.

I am not sure how serious Bernie is in this case, but there seem to be some real issues with promoting the race in Melbourne. Few weeks ago I read an article by an upset Australian fan on poor or almost non existent promotion of the race by the organizers. I also recalled my trip to Melbourne back in 2005, few weeks before the race. There were no signs of the Formula 1 race coming to town except for the preparation works in Albert Park and few angry posters around the lake…

I hope Australia keeps the F1 race, but if that is to be, the organizers and the local authorities should not continue sending the wrong messages to Bernie …

F1Wolf

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