Germany out, Azerbaijan in?

[Jericoke]

So it seems that Bernie has succeeded in phase one of his plan to bankrupt both German GP tracks with exorbitant fees.

Problem is he's failing at phase two where he picks up The Nurburgring at a fire sale.

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/307293/german-grand-prix-future-in-doubt/

But no worries, Bernie's buddy Flavio Briatore has arranged a race for Azerbaijan in 2016

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/307270/ecclestone-proposes-azerbaijan-race-in-2016/

I'll be honest:  I've heard of Azerbaijan, but I don't actually know where it is.

I'm on record of being supportive of F1 exanding into new markets, but when Germany has a 4 time defending champion, an Austrian owned 4 time constructor champion, a German engine manufucaturer and a German owned and run team getting stronger every year, and that somehow leads to going from 2 races plus an Austrian race to NO races in the span of a decade...  I'll have to finally admit that pushing for new markets is causing serious problems with the existing fan base.

[vintly]

Austria's back, and Hockenheim's on, that's not so bad. I hope the Nurburgring issue gets sorts quickly. They'll have to sell at a heavy loss eventually, just a matter of time.

Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, is swimming in oil and gas money. They're developing the area like you wouldn't believe, type in 'Baku development' into Google images and you'll get an idea. No wonder Bernie's interested, tonnes o' cash.

[PG_Gabriel]

Very similar situation to Abu Dhabi. Maybe it will become the second double points race.. 

I have to say though, it is a very cool track. The FIA GT3 Series raced there last year. The track reminds me of Macau, very fast in parts, but tight as hell in others.

[Irisado]

I used to know someone from Azerbaijan she was a very good friend, and she used to tell me about how regimented life can be there.

Azerbaijan may well have the money, but how much of it is 'legitimate money' is open to debate.  Furthermore, there's the whole issue of their political system, which is highly dictatorial, and the country's human rights record.  We could end up with another Bahrain on our hands.

I'm dubious about the country's motor racing heritage as well.  I'd like to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I just think that this whole thing is going way too far.  I believe that Formula 1 should be a world championship, but Bahrain and Abu Dhabi shouldn't be hosting Formula 1 races, let alone Azerbaijan.

[John S]

I'm dubious about the country's motor racing heritage as well.  I'd like to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I just think that this whole thing is going way too far.  I believe that Formula 1 should be a world championship, but Bahrain and Abu Dhabi shouldn't be hosting Formula 1 races, let alone Azerbaijan.

By that token neither China or Russia should host F1. USA and most European countries are also suspect for me as well - seeing as how they feel free to poke their noses into any other country's business on whatever grounds they deem necessary whilst retaining vested interest political systems themselves.   

F1 is not meant to save the world - it's just a passion for millions of fans/nuts like us.     

   

[cosworth151]

Azerbaijan is where most of the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough took place. Think of Pierce Brosnan driving through fields of oil derricks in a BMW Z8 roadster.

If F1 mad Germany, with Vettel, Roseburg, Hulkenberg and Sutil, with the great Nurburgring can't hold on to a race, the future of the sport looks dim indeed.

[Scott]

Baku looks like it is going to be a space port. 

[vintly]

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/mordor-grand-prix-announced-2014030684354

On a more serious note, the issue of human rights in countries that help support F1's existence should not be overlooked, in my not-so-humble opinion.

The argument that sport and politics shouldn't mix doesn't hold water in the case of F1, for obvious reasons, but I'll spell them out anyway. F1 is a business, with contracts signed between men of immense financial power. F1 is bought and used by many governments to show off a skewed impression of their country. No one is more to blame than the British press for failing to highlight the other side of the story, i.e.: appalling human rights. Personally I struggle with it, and although I'll watch the Bahrain GP it'll throughly p*ss me off to hear the silence of the press, pundits and British government alike.

Rant over for now. Good morning!

[Scott]

I don't believe the drivers should dip their toes into the politics of race venues, but I believe if FOTA got together and made a stand...oh, that's right, FOTA no longer exists, and couldn't even come up with a unified negotiating position against Bernie.

I agree with you about the press being mostly at fault for not reporting on it, but with regards to the motorsport press in particular I can understand their conflict in getting involved when they don't have the mandate, and most likely not the authority to comment on the politics they are confronted with at the race venues.

Ideally the sponsors would wade in and deem certain races indecent to advertise at, which would force the teams to consider and reconsider their participation as well.  That could push the FIA and FOM to choose their calendar more carefully as well as create a media frenzy exposing far more than local protesters can ever hope for.

[cosworth151]

The sponsors might be the ideal pressure point. Most are very responsive to bad PR, some bring vast amounts of money to F1, and the only thing that gets Bernie's attention is vast amounts of money. I wonder how Santander, Shell or even Pirelli would respond to being linked in the public to some of these government.

[Jericoke]

Azerbaijan is where most of the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough took place. Think of Pierce Brosnan driving through fields of oil derricks in a BMW Z8 roadster.

If F1 mad Germany, with Vettel, Roseburg, Hulkenberg and Sutil, with the great Nurburgring can't hold on to a race, the future of the sport looks dim indeed.

Worst Bond movie I've ever seen (though I haven't seen them all)

But that was my point about Germany.  These are ideal conditions, and the exact fans that F1 needs to hold on to before trying to get new ones.

As F1 and politics, I'd prefer F1 stayed out of it, but all the same, there are plenty of world class facilities in areas that have pretty good human rights records to go with their deep pockets.

[Irisado]

By that token neither China or Russia should host F1. USA and most European countries are also suspect for me as well - seeing as how they feel free to poke their noses into any other country's business on whatever grounds they deem necessary whilst retaining vested interest political systems themselves.   

F1 is not meant to save the world - it's just a passion for millions of fans/nuts like us. 

Yes, I have lots of issues with the foreign policy and politics of a wide range of countries, including the US, but since this isn't the place to air those, I won't.  What is apparent though is that there are serious concerns from human rights organisations about the entire political system in Azerbaijan, rather than just elements or aspects of it, that's my point.

Regardless, I just don't see why Formula 1 should be losing its traditional race tracks to countries with little or no motor racing heritage.  Formula 1 needs to be global, but not at the expense of its roots.  It's all one way traffic at the moment, and that's the problem.

[Willy]

I agree with Jeri about Bernie's attempts to pander to emerging markets and countries with new money at the expense of the old time well loved tracks with a racing pedigree.
Leave the German GP alone and add the Austrian GP back, same with Spa, a French GP and maybe Holland.
I really don't care to watch the races from these new homogenized tracks that Bernie has cut deals with just to line his pockets.

[cosworth151]

John Hindhaugh had a few choice comment about it on this past week's Radio Le Mans Midweek Motorsports. He said that, out of 173 internationally recognized nations, Bernie has now promised F1 races to 135 of them. He also mentioned that Bernie might be negotiating races with various international drug cartels. 

[Scott]

    Leave it to Bernie to negotiate deals well beyond his possible lifetime...