China continues until 2017

[FB]

According to France 24 FOM has agreed a deal with the Chinese GP organisers to keep the race running until 2017. Apparently Bernie has reduced his fee...

http://www.france24.com/en/20110217-shanghai-extends-f1-race-seven-years

 

[Galahad]

Hurrah!

Well that agreement was good timing, what with all the fuss about repressive regimes etc. etc.

 

[snowy]

I find it strangely disturbing that currently the most successful country using the Capitalist system is Communist.

 

[jonnybario]

Shame really... in spite of the reduction in the fee I'm sure Bernie's still doing very nicely out of it, but that Shanghai circuit has to be one of the dullest currently on the calendar.

Picking up on Snowy's point - maybe all the propaganda about anglo-american style free markets being the best system is a load of tosh and actually free markets reined in by a good dose of strategic planning actually works better? Funny how most countries in the West had much healthier growth rates in the 50s, 60s and even 70s before the monetarists 'took over'. I know that post war reconstruction meant starting from a lower base and that faster growth was probably easier to achieve back then, but i do think we've all been brain-washed into accepting the status quo which just seems to create a wider and wider divide between the rich and the poor (and even now the middle classes). The way we're heading the economies in UK and US are heading to look more like that of Brazil's than those of Norway and Switzerland. Anyway, economic musings over and back to F1....

 

[no-FIAt-please]

Shame really... in spite of the reduction in the fee I'm sure Bernie's still doing very nicely out of it, but that Shanghai circuit has to be one of the dullest currently on the calendar.

I disagree, because I think the chance of rain is quite high compared with the other GPs and I don't think the layout is that bad, especially with that long straight for some slip-streaming.

 

[teabagyokel]

Shame really... in spite of the reduction in the fee I'm sure Bernie's still doing very nicely out of it, but that Shanghai circuit has to be one of the dullest currently on the calendar.

I know it was raining, but check the OT stats for the last two Chinese Grands Prix. They're quite special.

 

[jonnybario]

I know it was raining, but check the OT stats for the last two Chinese Grands Prix. They're quite special.

Will do... maybe I couldn't spot the overtaking through the spray!

 

[Pyrope]

Drat.

Although I'm ambivalent about the circuit design, the sights of large swathes of empty grandstand and the plains surrounding the circuit always seem to make the venue one of the most soulless of the year. I was seriously hoping the Chinese were going off F1.

 

[jonnybario]

Drat.

Although I'm ambivalent about the circuit design, the sights of large swathes of empty grandstand and the plains surrounding the circuit always seem to make the venue one of the most soulless of the year. I was seriously hoping the Chinese were going off F1.

I quite agree - even just watching on television if there's a big crowd and an atmosphere (as in Britain, Germany, Italy etc.) it just seems to make a huge difference to the experience of the racing.

 

[Andrea_Moda_Rules]

sounds good to me, if only they could fill up the grandstands though. there are worse tracks out there, although some parts of shanghai are a bit iffy, the first/2nd corner?

Oh and lets hope Bernie signed a deal for rain on the dates the Chinese GP is held also (he can do that right??

), Its blooming awsome in the rain!

 

[jonnybario]

If they could only regulate the 'right amount' of rain - a wet/dry/wet/dry race would be perfect but I get the impression that where/when it is tends to lends itself to deluges which ain't a lot of fun to watch IMO

 

[Speshal]

oh and lets hope Bernie signed a deal for rain on the dates the Chinese GP is held also (he can do that right?? ), Its blooming awsome in the rain!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_seeding

 

[MCLS]

The Shanghai track is one of the better of the mordern ones, Im glad the contracts been expected. (always good for a rain race as well )