For sports dorks like myself, few days on the calendar are as exciting as this Sunday.
Between the British Grand Prix and Wimbledon men’s singles final (with a little Tour de France sprinkled in), not only have you got the perfect excuse to plonk yourself on the couch for an hour or six, but also two events back-to-back that have meaning that extends well beyond their place in the season.
No, they’re not identical – obviously Wimbledon is more unique in a literal sense, being 1 of 4 grand slams compared to 1 of 20 races – but both carry a special historical weight that fans and competitors alike appreciate.
Both have similarly inextricable ties to the origins and continued growth of their sport, and for my money, that makes the British GP as much a “major” of its sport as Wimbledon is.
With that in mind, it pains me to read the reports that Silverstone – and therefore probably the British GP in general – may have to remove itself from the calendar as a result of its current contract with F1 being “not financially viable”. I don’t think I’m alone in suggesting that to lose a race in the home of F1 would be to tear the heart out of the sport itself.
It’s no secret that the contracts venues like Silverstone negotiated with former supremo and ruthless Monopoly player Bernie Ecclestone have seen their profits disappear, due to massive initial fees with unsustainable year-on-year increases. In the last year alone, these deals have cost F1 Hockenheim and Malaysia, almost did-in Monza and will probably do-in Singapore, making Silverstone far from alone in their current predicament.
For all the good they’ve done since taking over, F1 overlords Liberty Media have as of yet been unwilling to renegotiate such contracts, instead looking to increase the “value” of the events themselves, but how that helps a circuit like Silverstone – which already gets capacity crowds – remains deeply uncertain.
In any case, Ecclestone has come out in recent months and admitted to essentially trying to squeeze every penny out of its most celebrated races with his contracts, and if Liberty are serious about both protecting the integrity of the sport and giving the fans what they want, it’s essential they reverse that tactic.
By all means, Liberty are entitled to court a good price for their product, and if emerging markets outside Western Europe host a share of the races at greater cost, so be it. At the same time, they have to protect those countries and tracks deserving of “major” status in the same way Wimbledon is: namely the UK, Italy, Monaco, Canada, Germany, France, Japan and Spa – Formula 1’s own Grand Slam.
For quality of the tracks and the history associated with them, each of those places should have a permanent spot on the calendar, and the fact we’re currently missing Germany and France (even if they are returning in 2018) is an embarrassment.
Sustainability would never be an issue with these places if the fees were reasonable, but because they’re not, we have to do this contract dispute dance at least once a year.
Simply put, the time to make a change is now. F1’s grand slams need to be safeguarded, and ensuring Silverstone stays on the calendar would be an ideal start.
If Liberty wants to take things a step further and give the majors some added value (perhaps by adding a Saturday race?) they can, but it shouldn’t be instead of protecting their bottom line. In the end, all we can hope is that the right decisions are made – the long-term health of the sport depends on it.
BIg Question: Would the Majors concept work in Formula 1? What about a Grand Slam of sorts? What races would deserve that status?
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
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