"I'd really like to ask the public what they want. But I think we have to be careful not to have too many. I think the number should be in the 16-20 bracket." The words of FIA president Max Mosley. "In the 2008 regulations the limit is 20 but I think Bernie has to pay the teams more for that. But 2009 will be another discussion."
The calendar for 2007 lies at seventeen races with the 'San Marino' and 'European' (read Italy 2 and Germany 2, respectively) finally being given the boot. Hockenheim and the Nurburgring will now share the German GP mantle by alternating year-by-year. Fair enough. But with Mexico, Thailand, Russia, Dubai and India all hunting their own races, something has to give. Bernie's latest 'brainwave' sees France and Britain alternating their grand prix slots - a move immediately slated by the BRDC.
“We were unable to see how a grand prix every second year works financially – we have to keep the place in a suitable condition for a grand prix – and in terms of staffing," said Stuart Rolt of the BRDC, “You may be able to let some staff go temporarily and hire them back, but that’s a difficult way to run a business.”
Indeed. The problem among the hardcore of F1 enthusiasts seem to be that they sees Ecclestone and the FIA of chasing the cash cow out of the abundant fields that made the milk so good. Silverstone, Spa and Imola may not have the hospitality facilities fit for the Queen, but when exactly did F1 become about making Jay Kay and Paris Hilton feel at home? The circuits themselves are classics. Well, Imola is a bit too size-zero for modern racing, but if the last two years are anything to go by, the racing can still be dramatic.The modern circuits (designed by Herman Tilke) are a little too made-to-measure. Turkey is fantastic, but one out of four is not a good proportion. In truth, Bernie does not wish to see the end of the classic driver circuits, but he is keen to expand the market of the sport and make it a true World Championship and not a European Championship with some cameo appearances in Australia and Canada. He also wishes it to be a sport of excellent. When he shows King Carlos of Spain around the Barcelona he wants him to be impressed. He wants to distance the sport from the days of six mechanics sitting in a pool of oil on the ground surrounded by gears - but that's a tricky thing to do. Partly because everyone - everyone - who competes in Formula One has come from a world of sitting in a pool of oil. Whether you were once the kid karter whose dad helped you build your own kart or whether your are the technical director who leads the team from a computer at the pitwall - everyone starts from humble beginnings.
Bernie and the teams now have a very tricky situation. Everyone has some excitement about moving to new destinations and racing among new cultures and a new world of fans. Mostly, however, they reserve their excitement for those two hours on a sunday when the cars are tuned to their very maximum in full competition. And the F1 fan base is mostly the 250 million people that tune their televisions to racing on sunday rather than the 50 VIPs behind the scenes on race weekend. The television fans are even more important than the fans that turn up in their thousands to sit on a rock in the rain to watch the race at the track. Most of those fans will sit with people jabbing needles into their cheeks during the race. But the TV viewer demands good racing, and good racing comes from good racing circuits. Like Silverstone
