F1 » Night or 'Good Night' for Oz?

I find Bernie''s comments disappointing as F1 is meant to be an international event. Bernie fails to take into consideration the fact that a lot of the fans and supporters of F1 are in countries outside Europe. Here in Australia, we see most of the F1 races during the middle of the night. The Canadian and US grand prixs are not on in Australia until about 3am, while the majority of the rest are not televised till around midnight plus or minus a bit.

Bernie just wants to cover himself for when he moves this race to another location such as Korea, India, or in the Middle East. This way he can say it's the Australian's fault, not his. He has been planning this all along.

abslutely agree MRG, even though im in the UK.

i love the novelty of waking up at 2 AM to watch the Australian GP at the start of the season. and the race is repeated anyway for those who want to sleep.

As Jonov says, i reckon bernie needs to find a gap or two for future grand prix in Korea, Abu Dhabi, India etc.

would be a big shame to see Aus go.

Bernie is looking at money pure and simple like always has done and always will do. I always enjoyed getting up / or staying up to watch the OZ race as i'm sure many others did. What does Bernie care about the time anyways, he's at the bloody venue, he doesnt need to be up at 2-3 in the morning like the European / N/S.American fans. Maybe he should ask us our thoughts before shouting out the threats.

im in the UK aswell. and i agree with bouncebackability as waking up early is great. the atmosphere is great i could not care less about the time a race starts but it must be hard for people out of europe

Who the hell does Bernie think he is, GOD?

How are we (Aussies) supposed to feel when he says that we and our fellow Southern Hemisphere neighbours should stage world class events at night to accommodate the viewing preferences of our Northern Hempisphere counterparts. He obviously feels that we count for zero, despite the fact that the Australian GP has been one of the best run and staed F1 Grands prix for many years. It's no secret that whenever a 'new' venue appears on the GP calendar they end up being voted the best staged GP of that year.

Therefore no surprises when the Singapore GP is voted the best GP of 2008, F1 is so transparent, commercially corrupt and immoral!

I agree with you Barry, we're made to feel like second class citizens, what does Mark Webber think, as a proud Aussie I'm sure he's rather disappointed at Bernie's stance, the staging of the Qatar Moto GP event at night is somewhat of a 'no brainer' as no one actually attends that event so they're trying anything and everything, as well as keeping up with their fellow CVC stablemates F1.

However forcing Singapore, Malaysia and eventually Australia to run night races in order to safeguard their position on the F1 calendar is insulting and disgraceful, the sooner the 78 year old dinasour croaks the better!

I used to respect Ecclestone, but that was many moons ago.

He's done a great deal for F1 and provided careers and livelihoods for many of us, however his motives and reasons for night races are purely commercial, how would we all feel in Europe if we had to stage our events at night to accommodate the Southern Hemisphere? Pretty pissed off I think and so should all you guys in Australia feel.

I have several friends in Singapore who initially thought it great that they've secured the GP, however one by one they've come around to thinking that they're just being used as pawsns in a global chess game that is TV ratings and the higher fee's that are associated with audience figures. SHAME

Allegedly, Bernie Ecclestone is a vile and repulsive individual, yes he may have turned Formula One around but he's not done it for the benefit of the sport, he's done it to line his own pockets and in doing so he's made many individuals within the paddock wealthy beyond their dreams despite their best efforts.

BCE does nothing for motorsport, he does nothing for anyone else unless of course there's acommercial benefit to him, he is shrewd and intelligent despite a lack of formal education, however he could be so much more to so many people.

How will we all remember him when he passes away?

Not with the same fondness and respect that we have for Jackie Stewart and Stirling Moss!

This is a World Championship, not a European only event. I have to compromise my sleep on Sunday Night/Monday Morning to watch 90% of the grands prix which I am happy to do. Is that unfair Bernie? The european viewers have it pretty good, so spare a thought for the fans in Asia and Australia who have sacrificed their sleep for years.