Azerbaijan to host GPin 2015

[vintly]

Heritage is a plus when it come to racing, but F1 is an entertainment business, in which case it could be argued that novelty counts for more.

[F1fanaticBD]

I think I would give the example of World Cup Football ( I am not saying it soccer) held in 1994 in USA. Before that there was not much, but after that there have been tremendous improvement in both enthusiasm as well as in the performance of the national team in international level. So going in a country with potential of improvement, I think F1 should try its luck.

[vintly]

And continuing down the football vein, harking back to the good ol' days of European race tracks is like England harking back to their World Cup high point of 1966, which we will no doubt hear more about this coming June.

Countries like Azerbaijan were welcomed into the world economy as 'emerging markets' only recently. For them to have snared a Grand Prix so soon after decades of instability and relative poverty, is something for them to be proud of, and I wish them well.

[cosworth151]

Should any circuit get an F1 race before it proves itself with lower level races? That's a recipe for a continuing revolving door of here-and-gone mediocre tp poor tracks like we've had for the past decade or so.

[vintly]

Times have changed - goes back to the heritage issue and the fact that it's not a requirement anymore. Build the track, tick all the (currently) relevant boxes and bang, you got yourself an F1 race.

Some will go and some will stay. A terrible waste of money and resources for those that go, and a sour-tasting legacy for F1 to leave. Hey, that's Bernie.

[Jericoke]

Should any circuit get an F1 race before it proves itself with lower level races? That's a recipe for a continuing revolving door of here-and-gone mediocre tp poor tracks like we've had for the past decade or so.

Exactly.  If people are interested in motorracing, they will support whoever shows up.  If it's F1 or nothing, are those the fans that are going to stick around when something else shiny comes to town?

[John S]

Should any circuit get an F1 race before it proves itself with lower level races? That's a recipe for a continuing revolving door of here-and-gone mediocre tp poor tracks like we've had for the past decade or so.

Exactly.  If people are interested in motorracing, they will support whoever shows up.  If it's F1 or nothing, are those the fans that are going to stick around when something else shiny comes to town?

Oh please, there is no comparison between other forms, or indeed Formula, of motorsport and F1. The people with the big bucks choose F1 because it gets them world attention, if only for the week of the GP.  A previous poster has suggested no one really knows where Azerbaijan is - after a GP probably a quarter of the world will.

Some governments will finance an F1 GP for the same reasons they are prepared to suffer massive losses to host the Olympics, they want to be recognized as belonging to the developed world instead of the "tiers monde".  F1 has been a money pit for years it ain't gonna change overnight so oil rich countries are what we are gonna get.

 

[cosworth151]

They still won't know where Azerbaijan is. Very few F1 fans could find Bahrain or Abu Dhabi on a map. It just helps to reduce F1 to being an ad campaign for despots.

[F1fanaticBD]

As I have mentioned earlier in the thread, CVC being the hungry dog, with Bernie as its sniffer, they will never let go any chance of grabbing money, even if means I can manage to set up a track and facility in a dumpster.

So I am being positive about it, hoping that this will ignite a certain interest, and also it will lead to a certain enthusiasm and beginning of new era there.