F1 » Middle East has become F1 'focal point'

with all the talk of european GP being dropped, it wont be long until the WORLD championship becomes the MIDDLE EAST/ASIAN championship. maybe it is time that a winter championship be considered for the warmer climates and a summer one for the originators of formula 1. Just a thought!. BE is going in seek more personal wealth rather than for the good of motor sport. The european manufacturers will soon lose interest. roll on the day when the teams will be TATA,HYUNDAI,KIA, etc

Bounceback: was at the race last year and attending again on Sunday, last year the place was mobbed. I know why people think its lifeless as its only got like 9 stands around the circuit; 2 on the main straight, 3 at the first sequence of corners, 1 on the back straight and then a further 3 coming into the last corner and you hardly even see anything of them with the way the TV cameras are set up but rest assured the attendance is high. The atmposphere is pretty good as well, especially considering the temperatures and there not being booze available outside of the teams hospitality which is strange cause Bahrain like most of the UAE has plenty of pubs and clubs

"I dont know where this "no fans" thing is coming from, the Bahrain GP is packed out"

Do you have a number?

I mean 80,000 seems to be a sell out at Silverstone these days. Yet there was something like a 120,000 in 92 when Mansell was champion.

But they have pretty much closed off the infield to spectators and some of the other "general admission" areas. In other words they make less tickets available so that they can still sell them all and call it a sell out.

40,000 could seemed mobbed under the right conditions by the circuit organizers. Like close off so much of the circuit, cram people into a smaller area and you feel like it's packed out... And how many expats and free tickets...

they say they get 90'000 over the 3 days with 40'000 on race day, ok it aint half of what the big established circuits get but dont forget Bahrain has a small population and the country itself is only about the 3rd of the size of London. Coupled with the fact its on the first working day of the week in the Gulf how many are realistically expected if the capacity was that of some of the European circuits?? How full would Silverstone be if the race was on a Monday??? I see the expat thing is being brought up, you have to think that barring Saudi Arabia the other Gulf countries populations are made up of at least 50% expats. Of which 90% wouldnt spend cash on such an event as they send most of

Cont: their money back to their families in the Asian sub-continent or to the Far East. It with every other thing is subject to varying factors. As for free tickets, if you(like everybody)were offered you'd take and not care about facts and figures!!! You cant keep everybody happy but the main objective is to have a well run event and to keep up and increase the status of F1 and motor-racing in the region and that is being done. You can argue the fact that half the circuit doesnt have stands but then look at Indy when it had a race, the track has 250'000 permanent seats and capacity for 400'000, there was no way in the world that was ever full even at 250'000 seats.

What we're really saying here is that Silverstone is going to lose out to a modern, excellent facilities circuit albeit with no Motorsport heritage and your not happy about it. F1 like the BBC works on a business model and in the grand scheme of things no one really cares that Britain will no longer hold a Grand Prix. You could of course ask people like Ron Dennis and Sir Frank to stump up some of the millions that Bernie has earnt them to help pay to upgrade the circuit.