This third episode of the 2010 Season Preview takes a closer look at the calendar, whisking you on a whirlwind tour around the globe to find out which circuits are going to present a challenge, and which we could live without.
The Calendar
We begin in Bahrain, which is a change from last year's season opener in Australia. Will the dusty circuit be able to provide a chaotic start to the year or will it be less than enthusiastic? Canada is back on the calendar this year, a supremely popular decision by Bernie, and we also have a brand new circuit to ogle in Korea.
Another change sees the European race move up the calendar quite a lot, whilst Abu Dhabi remains the season finale - clearly they learnt nothing from 2009.
This week, Dan Brunell has taken the lead for Thursday Thoughts, posing a rather tricky question over on his Racing Eagles blog. This week, we are tackling economics, and whilst I work with numbers, I still spent some time scratching my head on this one. The question, then:
Is government finance of Formula One events, teams, and personal a good thing for the common good of that area? What is the line between regional economic investment and the wholesale fleecing of the public?
Immediately, I think of Silverstone. Damon Hill is constantly bemoaning the lack of support the BRDC gets when it comes to running the Grand Prix for Britain. Even when Donington took over, they were allowed to fail spectacularly without even a blink from the government. The question over whether taxpayers should fund Formula One really falls back to a more general one of whether we should fund sport at all. If we're helping to pay for one, there's no reason not to pay for another, even if it is a rather expensive one. With the Olympics dominating headlines at the moment, this is really a timely question.
The thing about Silverstone is, it does help the local economy. I'd never even heard of the place until I became a fan of F1, let alone been anywhere near it. At the track itself, Porsche have invested in an incredible car and human performance facility, there is a science and technology park, with the Silverstone Innovation Centre. Plus nearby teams, such as Force India, are creating work for hundreds of people.
When Canada lost their race, their economy suffered enough for the government to turn to hotel owners to make up the difference. A tax levied on hotel occupancy, and presumably on restaurants and fans themselves.
So, you could certainly make an argument that F1 is beneficial to sport, and to the local economy. The problem arises, as it so often does, with one Mr Bernie Ecclestone. Damon Hill is miserable because Bernie is charging enormous amounts for the race and leaving little for development. If the government poured money into the circuit, it's conceivable that Bernie would increase his fees, and there would still be little room for development. I'm not in favour of the taxpayer money heading straight for Bernie's pockets any more than it has to.
Thus, I conclude, in my roundabout way, that Damon Hill is going to have to stay miserable for now. I want the government to support all kinds of sports, but Formula One doesn't have the right attitude to make that a feasible option right now.
Happy December, all! Yes, the last month has arrived. I hope you are going to have a chocolatey breakfast. It's Lewis from the comments (Mr C's No 1 fan!). Here's some news that I found:
Manor have been officially taken over by Virgin and will now be known as Virgin Racing. (There is a joke I would add, but I think it would be a tad inappropriate!)
Canada's back! I am so happy! This is the only circuit where there are actually incidents on the track instead of boring processions.
In Sidepodnews, don't forget to join in the fun for the 2009 Sidepodchristmas Carol. This year, it is Jingle Bells and you can see mine, Christine's and everybody else's lyrics on the wiki. We've had some lyrics about Rubens, about the Brawn rise to glory, and about Bernie's grip on the weather. We need more, and we also need voices! Pick up the phone and call!!
I think that will do. I hope your chocolate will be tasty, and have a merry Christmas. Tell us what you plan to do over the festive period, and as ever, Christine shall see you in the comments (and you might see me too!)
Hello! RG here and as today’s first ever guest writer for the Daily, I believe it is my duty to welcome you to the weekend. For me, I am delighted it is the weekend, having spent the past day and a bit stuck in bed feeling ill. Not ideal, but yesterday saw some awesome news to keep me happy.
The brilliant ‘Tonio Liuzzi was confirmed at Force India alongside Adrian Sutil. Fantastic news there, Force India managing to keep two decent drivers and with more testing for him, I do think Liuzzi will go out in 2010 and score a few good results. Especially since he is awesome.
Then there is the news of Montreal being confirmed for the 2010 season. Brilliant. One of my favourite tracks on the F1 calendar returns. Of course, that is where BMW Sauber scored their one and only victory in 2008. All we need now is a race in the USA and to get rid of a few other circuits. I am looking at Valencia and Abu Dhabi for starters.
So to top that off, there will have to be something really special. That something special came in the form of BMW selling the team back to Peter Sauber. To a lifelong fan of the team, this is simply the best news ever and has kept a smile on my face. Of course it is with conditions, but I am certain Sauber will be on the grid next season. Can’t wait to have Sauber next year, perhaps a return to the popular blue liveries? I have my fingers crossed.
Of course, I won’t go away without some plugs. My Timo Glock dedicated blog at Only One Timo Glock and my general blog The Northern Waffler. Do also check out one of the ten kazillion posts that were wrote yesterday, a personal favourite of mine being Predictions Revisited, showing how many of us were wrong more or less this time last year. Have a fun Saturday!
Oh, nearly forgot to mention, it is the birthday of a certain Rob Smedley.
The 2010 calendar will officially feature a Canadian Grand Prix, and it will be at Montreal. This is great news for fans who have been hoping to see the track back on the calendar.
Mayor of Montreal Gerald Tremblay held a press conference today and confirmed that the race will be held in the city from 2010 until 2014.
Public Works Minister Christian Paradis was quoted as saying:
"After several months of negotiations, and numerous drafts, and after much hard and diligent work, I'm proud to announce the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix back for the next five years."
Journeyer pointed out this morning that this announcement was expected, whilst this afternoon Webby directed us to an article in TSN.
We've been awaiting the press conference to make it official, and now the celebrations can begin.
Apparently it is Apple Day today, and that is not to do with the iPod people, but more to do with apples and orchards. Once again, I don't know how you are supposed to celebrate these things, but I think a good apple crumble is on the cards. Meanwhile, F1 related stuff:
Yesterday's F1 Minute from a year ago (did you follow that?) is really quite intriguing. On the right hand side of the F1 Minute homepage is a link to the show a year ago, and yesterday's featured the news that BMW should be proud of what they've achieved, and Bernie was arguing with Canada. Things change, huh? Oh maybe not.
Williams are once again being particularly vocal about their desire not to see 14 teams on the grid. More than anything, they say they are worried about the space, particularly in the Monaco pitlane. On that point, I agree, but is that really what they are protesting about?
Bruno Senna has been talking about his future again, and says he's in contact with all the new teams bar US F1. It's also rumoured that he will have a test drive with Renault as soon as testing is allowed again.
That's all for now, I reckon. We're halfway through the week - how's it going for you? As ever, I will see you in the comments.
The FIA have confirmed the 2010 calendar, with 19 races on the list. Canada is included, although provisional at the moment, pending a signed contract. The season starts in Bahrain, and ends in Brazil.
14/3 Bahrain 28/3 Australia 04/4 Malaysia 18/4 China 09/5 Spain 23/5 Monaco 30/5 Turkey 13/6 Canada* 27/6 Europe (Valencia) 11/7 Great Britain 25/7 Germany 01/8 Hungary 29/8 Belgium 12/9 Italy 26/9 Singapore 03/10 Japan 17/10 Korea 31/10 Abu Dhabi 14/11 Brazil
Apparently, it is the International Day of Democracy today. I don't really know how you would go about celebrating something like that, but it certainly seems like the FIA should try and do something to observe it. At least then we'd know they understand what democracy is. Anyway, here are some things we're talking about:
Multiple shows went up last night, so if you haven't already watched the F1 Debrief live replay, you can now catch up with the edited version. There is also the very concise F1 Digest available for your listening pleasure if you want to relive what happened in the race.
Of course the big news of yesterday was the return of Canada to the 2010 calendar. We opened a breakout thread on this subject, but it was also featured in F1 Minute as well. How many different ways are there to write: w00t!
As we are now in the countdown to Sidepodradio, and the voicemail is working again, I will plug a little something each day. You can still leave your shout outs to friends, family, messages to drivers (you never know, they might tune in!), birthday wishes, etc, etc. The number is 0121 28 87225, or find us under the username sidepodcast on Skype.
That's all for now. Let us know how you are spending your Tuesday, and whether you are getting up to anything exciting. I will see you in the comments.
Officials at Montreal have confirmed that they successfully negotiated with FOM (read: Bernie) to have a place on the 2010 calendar. They have said:
"The race is important not only for Formula 1, but also for the teams, manufacturers and sponsors. I am also happy for the Canadian Grand Prix's many fans, because they are true F1 enthusiasts who appreciate the real value of the spectacle and the competition."
I'd like to be nice and eloquent about this, but there really is only one thing to be said: YES!
Friday at last, and it is the final F1 free weekend of the summer break. I know a lot of you are missing the racing, but make the most of the time off and do something exciting. Maybe even go outside? But make sure you stay in touch, it's scary out there. Meanwhil, here's what we're talking about:
There's plenty of circuit news, as Bernie confirms that Malaysia will be starting an hour earlier, after the race had to be halted this year due to inclement weather. There also seems to be a possibility that Canada will be returning to the calendar soon, which can only be described in one word - woohoo!
Ari Vatanen has announced his cabinet for the upcoming elections. I don't really know what it means or whether it's good or not, but it is nice to hear from him. He's been a bit on the quiet side recently, with Jean Todt taking all of the headlines. Come on Ari, you can do it!
Piquet has hit out at Briatore again, suggesting that the Renault boss has no idea about F1. I think this is a bit on the harsh side, but I guess Nelson isn't in the mood for making friends and influencing people. If his future lies in building his own teams, I guess he doesn't need to.
That'll do it for now, I reckon. Let us know if you're doing anything exciting this weekend, and if you're not, let us know what you would want to do if you could do anything over the next two days. I'll see you in the comments.
