Talk about a sucker, when anybody mentions a new F1 race in America I go absolutely bonkers. Now someone is not just talking about an additional Grand Prix in the US but out “California Way” no less??? Well go ahead and pull me out of the river because I am hooked like a big fat trout.
A few years ago when there was all this big talk of an F1 race in New Jersey with Manhattan’s skyline as a backdrop, and then further talk of F1 possibly coming back to Long beach I was overjoyed. I put up countless posts in regards to the news. What did that amout to? Absolutely nothing.
So what do I make of headlines such as the ones above? Over the moon? Excited? Cautiously optimistic? Hopeful? Don’t give it too much priority? Just a bunch of hot air? Don’t even care at this point? Well quite frankly I subscribe to all of the above. There is no way anyone who really and truly loves F1 and also happens to be an American can’t simultaneously feel all of these emotions when it comes to F1 racing on home soil. Which is the sucker part. I’m like a guy falling in love with a girl that he knows, just knows, is going to break his heart. But I can’t help it. Let’s check in with the inner dialogue, shall we?
Pragmatic JP: “Last time Bernie started talking about U.S. races, it seemed serious but amounted to nothing. Translation: what the crafty F1 supremo says in the press is not exactly what he means.”
Cautiously Optimistic JP: “What makes this time around just a bit more credible and intriguing is that Tavo Hellmund, the point man for Austin and also a player in the Mexico Grand Prix (the newest addition to the F1 calendar), is the one doing the talking. That is quite a bit different than a cagey old guy with a poker face just willy-nilly saying he wants another race in America.”
Disgruntled JP: “Didn’t the 85 year old F1 boss just get done giving America the cold shoulder? What was it he said in Russia?
“I’m not very enthusiastic about America,” he said. “The biggest problem with them is that they believe [they are the] greatest sort of power in the world.”
Hopeful JP: “Ecclestone has commonly said he wants to crack the US market, and I’ve never known him to be that interested in the political affairs of nations … one can only guess what Bernie’s ultimate goal was with that interview, appeasing Vladimir Putin, stirring the pot in the US or both, only the boss of F1 knows. One thing is for sure, if he is on the same page as Tavo, then Bernie is speaking my language, over and out.”
Dismissive JP: “This is the very first I’m hearing of a new F1 track in the States mentioned, so I am not going to get all worked up just yet. I have been down this road before, I have learned my lesson so to speak. A quick glance around the web at the more conservative F1 websites: Autosport, ESPN F1, BBC F1, and nobody has picked it up.”
Over-The-Moon JP: “The best drivers in the UNIVERSE?!?! Here on the west coast, easily accessible from my hometown of Los Angeles? SIGN ME UP!!!”
Doubtful JP: “Why California? Why not some other cosmopolitan area in the states: Las Vegas, New York, or Miami for instance? Where in California? I’m not sure LA is the place to host a race. We don’t even want a Football team here, a sport that is literally woven into the very fabric of every American child’s life from a very early age. The love for which continues through adolescence, into college and now that Fantasy sports has gone mainstream, long after college for millions of adult Americans on a daily basis. So if LA can do without Football for the last umpteen years, well, you see my point don’t you?”
Excited JP: “Well then, maybe they’re thinking of San Francisco, near Napa Valley, home of racetracks and wine already, and so conveniently close to all those new Internet millionaires? Or maybe San Diego, who has managed to keep a Football team going against all odds?”
Not-Having-Any-Of-It JP: “And just how the hell will Mr. E get yet another race on the calendar? There are already too many! Is not Azerbaijan on the provisional FIA calendar for next year? The teams want no more than 20 races a year, and we are already at twenty-one. Assuming Germany is back how will the teams agree to another race?
Still-Hooked JP: “Maybe which country will be getting the ax is the question I should be really asking…”
Don’t-Even-Care JP: “But all this is putting the cart before the horse. Do you know what it means to build a modern day F1 track? The money alone is in the hundreds of millions. Then there is the arrangement with FOM, Bernie’s company that charges ten arms and twenty legs for the right to host a Grand Prix. All of this has to be approved by the host city itself. It is not like city councils are that gung-ho about green lighting a major sporting event that may leave that city with a bill to pay.
Wants-To-Believe-It JP: “Well, Austin overcame all those challenges, that is a success story for America, isn’t it?”
It’s-All-Hot-Air JP: “You’re kidding me right? Attendance at the COTA F1 event has declined each year (this years event was categorized as a financial disaster due to the weather) and unlike European countries which see F1 (aside from France apparently) as necessary from a cultural standpoint and are willing to subsidize races year in and year out, Americans will not continue to support a losing proposition. (Unless its the Chicago Cubs, and even that team at least makes money for the owner.)”
Desperate JP: “Did I mention swimming pools and movie stars? Hot cars and hotter girls? Celebrities and millionaires on every corner? California, the home of the hot rod? Inventors of Disneyland? Never saw an event we didn’t want to host, be it an electro rave, 12 zillion movie premiers or the Olympics? We OWN Hollywood for Chrissake! We make a living inventing things that the world watches on their televisions! A race IS coming, it has to be coming. As Fox Mulder says, I want to believe …”
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I wish we can get an F1 race in California,L.A.,San Francisco,San Diego will be nice cities to host that race if it ever happens.
Long Beach won’t host an F1 race,They got the Indycar race where they still get decent crowds at affordable prices,I don’t see L.B.paying grotesque amounts of money to Bernie & company.
I am asking myself : Self will you ever see an F1 race in California or an NFL team in L.A. ?
Time will tell and if there is an F1 race in California,My son and I are IN!>
Cheers my racers!
I think this is NJ, but who knows. The NJ race did not fade away due to lack of trying. I think it can come back again just as quickly as you can sneeze.
I want to see all the funding in place and facilities built and completed before we start saying anything about another GP in America. Until then, it’s put-up-or-shut-up time.
Until I hear a location for a second USGP, color me skeptical. I can’t see an entirely new track getting built on either East or West Coast anything less than $750million or more. Can Tavo convince Tony George to hold it at IMS? Probably not. New Jersey could make another attempt. If I were a gambling man, I’d put my bet on a street course in Las Vegas.
Are the Austin guys trying to argue with Bernie over lowering the yearly hike maybe? Them claiming the Mexico GP seriously hurt them (i.e. Bernies actions suddenly making circumstances less favourable) etc was all played out a bit too public to be just that (or was it just preparing to oust the CEO), that would be a good reason for BE to have Tavo mention a new project being close to ready. And Tavo probably has not much love lost for these guys, and quite a bit more for Bernie, so why wouldn’t he help out there. Then again, so… Read more »