Future GP venues / Calendar Discussions

[Mothers Worry]

Russian organisers aim for 2012 GP debut

From thef1times.com:

Russian organisers aim for 2012 GP debut

Monday 19th July 2010 

It has been revealed that organisers of the hopeful Russian GP are looking at securing a spot on the 2012 calendar.

Derk Sauer, the General Director of the Moscow City Racing event, which saw local boy Vitaly Petrov and current F1 world champion, Jenson Button, take to the streets to wow the masses, said he aims to hold a race in the country by 2012.

"We're aiming to have the race here as early as 2012," he told Reuters. "The contract is not done yet but we're getting very close."

The races final location is yet to be decided, with Sochi in the running as well as Moscow.

Sauer though, hopes to see the race in the capital with famous landmarks in the background: "It would be just like Monaco, a race around the city centre with the Kremlin in the background."

Button looks to back the idea: "I've always wanted to visit Moscow. It [the race] would be a good idea, as I definitely want to come back."

Yeah; Ecclestone's willing to give his friends in the Russian Mafia a race but it will be at the expense of races like Monaco.

[Mothers Worry]

American GP organisers reveal more details

From thef1times.com:

American GP organisers reveal more details

Tuesday 27th July 2010, 19:08 

The organisers behind the American GP set for 2012 in Austin, Texas, have finally revealed more information about the event.

In a press conference on Tuesday, the promoter, Tavo Hellmund, confirmed that the race will take place in the south-east of the city in an area previously known as Wandering Creek.

He believes the area is the perfect location, somewhere he and his team have been working on securing for over a year.

"I wanted to make sure that we were the best location for the United States Grand Prix," Hellmund said at the conference.

"How you do that is by having the right location and the right connectivity - and the location is something we have been working on for at least a year and a half."

Hellmund also confirmed that one of the races backers is a former Forbes 400 ranked millionaire. Red McCombs has previously owned basketball and American football teams as well as other business interests.

McCombs told the waiting media that hosting a Formula One race is an event on comparable size to the Super Bowl.

"Bringing Formula 1 back to the United States represents the opportunity of a lifetime and one that any city in the world would want.

"The size and scope of an F1 event is comparable to hosting a Super Bowl and will bring substantial economic benefit to Austin, San Antonio and the entire State of Texas.

"We know Tavo has a clear vision for developing Formula 1 into a major event with year-round opportunities. Over the past few years, he has built a solid business foundation and has assembled a great team - one we are proud to be part of. We are ready to roll-up our sleeves and work alongside Tavo to make this project a huge success."

The organisers also launched their official website:

www.formula1unitedstates.com

[Ian G.]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42823673@N04/sets/72157624471922767/

[Joel]

Hopefully they make a good track, not like the newer tracks being wide and boring. Something that flows and isn't flat. Nothing like China or Bahrain.

[WilliamsF1]

Hopefully they make a good track, not like the newer tracks being wide and boring. Something that flows and isn't flat. Nothing like China or Bahrain.

Hah! Tilke to design a good track that isn't wide and boring. Seriously there is a higher chance of hell freezing over before that happens I seriously don't see why he gets to design EVERY new track and also tinker with tracks that were great.
BTW if you don't know who Herman Tilke is, he has designed Sepang, Bahrain, China, new Fuji Speedway, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, new Hockenheim, Valencia, Singapore and Korea aswell as the Texas track and possibly the track in New Dheli. As you can see, he has made 90% of the boring tracks in F1, and most likely his future tracks will produce the same boring racing his current tracks do.

[Bumble1290]

Hopefully they make a good track, not like the newer tracks being wide and boring. Something that flows and isn't flat. Nothing like China or Bahrain.

Hah! Tilke to design a good track that isn't wide and boring. Seriously there is a higher chance of hell freezing over before that happens I seriously don't see why he gets to design EVERY new track and also tinker with tracks that were great.
BTW if you don't know who Herman Tilke is, he has designed Sepang, Bahrain, China, new Fuji Speedway, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, new Hockenheim, Valencia, Singapore and Korea aswell as the Texas track and possibly the track in New Dheli. As you can see, he has made 90% of the boring tracks in F1, and most likely his future tracks will produce the same boring racing his current tracks do.

You forgot Turkey on your list (which in my opinion is not a bad track). I read an article one time from Tilke saying that because of the rigorous safety measures enrofced by the FIA, he has no real latitude when it comes to the design of the race tracks as they are required to have things like massive run off areas and the like.

But I believe the there should be a tender process for who is going to design a new track. I guess we would see then if it's Tilke or the regulations that make the tracks boring to the tv viewing public.

[bpratt]

I read an article one time from Tilke saying that because of the rigorous safety measures enrofced by the FIA, he has no real latitude when it comes to the design of the race tracks as they are required to have things like massive run off areas and the like.

But I believe the there should be a tender process for who is going to design a new track. I guess we would see then if it's Tilke or the regulations that make the tracks boring to the tv viewing public.

There are some serious safety issues with the design of all modern tracks, hence the reason why all Tilke ( and other newly built tracks) have such huge run off areas.

The actual design of the black stuff between the two white lines is up to the designers.


Like you, I reckon all new F1 track designs should be put up for tender, not given to Tilke by default.

[Mothers Worry]

Like you, I reckon all new F1 track designs should be put up for tender, not given to Tilke by default.

I agree.

If all track are designed by the same guy the similarities in design will eventually become more dominant than having individual and regional character.

That's exactly what's happened.

[Edit]Tilke tracks are a bit like McDonald's...... you can go anywhere in the world and be guaranteed of getting pretty much the same    served up to you.

The only difference between F1 and McDonald's is that the clown telling you what to do is half the height of Ronald and his funny hair-do is grey instead of bright red.[/Edit]

[WilliamsF1]

Hopefully they make a good track, not like the newer tracks being wide and boring. Something that flows and isn't flat. Nothing like China or Bahrain.

Hah! Tilke to design a good track that isn't wide and boring. Seriously there is a higher chance of hell freezing over before that happens I seriously don't see why he gets to design EVERY new track and also tinker with tracks that were great.
BTW if you don't know who Herman Tilke is, he has designed Sepang, Bahrain, China, new Fuji Speedway, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, new Hockenheim, Valencia, Singapore and Korea aswell as the Texas track and possibly the track in New Dheli. As you can see, he has made 90% of the boring tracks in F1, and most likely his future tracks will produce the same boring racing his current tracks do.

You forgot Turkey on your list (which in my opinion is not a bad track). I read an article one time from Tilke saying that because of the rigorous safety measures enrofced by the FIA, he has no real latitude when it comes to the design of the race tracks as they are required to have things like massive run off areas and the like.

But I believe the there should be a tender process for who is going to design a new track. I guess we would see then if it's Tilke or the regulations that make the tracks boring to the tv viewing public.

I agree that there should be a tender process for who is going to design a new track. It could mean that every country has its own style of tracks, instead of the same Tilke bs worldwide. The problem isn't the wide runoffs, but more the circuit layout itself. It makes you think that he spends more thought designing the pits, stands and paddock than the track itself.

PS I did include Turkey in my list, but I put it as Istanbul

[Mothers Worry]

400,000 capacity Austin track to cost $180m

From thef1times.com:

400,000 capacity Austin track to cost $180m

Friday 06th August 2010

The new American grand prix in Austin, Texas, is expected to cost just $180 million (£114m) to build according to confidential papers which were released to the American-Statesman newspaper.

The papers were handed to the Austin paper after a request to open the records was given the green-light.

The papers state that 1,500 construction workers will be needed to build the track, whilst 1,200 temporary workers would be hired during the race weekend and 40 would work full-time to maintain the track during the off-season.

It was also revealed that the new circuit, to be built on an area in the south-east of the city called 'Wandering Creek', would be able to accommodate 400,000 fans, making it by far the largest capacity track on the current calendar.

The race, organised by Full Throttle Productions, is also expected to bring over $300 million (£190m) into the local economy annually.

[Oldtony]

The build cost sounds about as far underestimated as the crowd size does overestimate.
There isn't a Peter Windsor hiding somewhere in the project is there?

[Mothers Worry]

The build cost sounds about as far underestimated as the crowd size does overestimate.
There isn't a Peter Windsor hiding somewhere in the project is there?

There's only one possible reply to that OT:

  

[bpratt]

The build cost sounds about as far underestimated as the crowd size does overestimate.
There isn't a Peter Windsor hiding somewhere in the project is there?

I was wondering that myself.

I just hope they can pull it all off so that there can once again be a US GP on the calendar.

[Mothers Worry]

Austin GP construction to begin shortly

From thef1times.com:

[float=left][/float]

Austin GP construction to begin shortly

Saturday 07th August 2010 

Herman Tilke's design company say they are almost ready to begin work on the site of the American grand prix in Austin, Texas.

The site, located in the south-east of the city in an area known as 'Wandering Creek', will host its first race in 2012 - which means construction work must begin soon for it to be completed in time.

The Statesman newspaper revealed that a local office will be set-up on site in the coming weeks, in preparation for Tilke's design team to oversee the construction.

"There is land, there is money, there is a Formula One contract. We are now ready to enter the final stage of the ambitious project," Christian Epp, an executive within Tilke GmbH said.

The plans for the track are nearing completion, however Epp confirmed that the finer details are yet to be ratified.

"We have to figure out how many buildings and access roads are needed, how in detail to manage the water supply, drainage and power.

"It's like planning and building a complete new city," he added.

August 16th will see engineers, architects and geologists on site to draw up detailed plans with grading of the land (levelling the surface in readiness for construction), likely to begin in December.

Tilke..... 

[kevrulezz]

the proposed Austin GP Track layout has be unveiled. The 3.4 mile track features 20 turns, a maximum elevation change of 133 feet, a back three-quarter mile straight and varies between 39 and 52 feet in width.

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=41883



Edit: another one with elevation changes has appeared


it definitely looks.....interesting.

pitpass also ran a story on the possibility of Calder Park stealing the Aus GP
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=41881

[Joel]

Calder Park, wtf?

[kevrulezz]

just added another image to my post above which shows the planned elevation of the track

[bpratt]

the proposed Austin GP Track layout has be unveiled. The 3.4 mile track features 20 turns, a maximum elevation change of 133 feet, a back three-quarter mile straight and varies between 39 and 52 feet in width.

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=41883



Edit: another one with elevation changes has appeared


it definitely looks.....interesting.

Yeah, it certainly does look interesting with the 'corner copy' of some other tracks, along with certainly a bit of elevation changes done to it.

Got a bit of high speed stuff in there, as well as the slower corners. Be interesting to see what the ultimate F1 speeds will come from it.

[bpratt]

pitpass also ran a story on the possibility of Calder Park stealing the Aus GP
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=41881

Tell 'em they're dreaming !

They'd be far better off running it at Sandown on the long Endurance track, which no longer gets used (perhaps even fallen apart), which already has a train station there, and the pits are currently being rebuilt I believe, but definately not Calder Park.

PI has even a better chance of both of those tracks, but buckley's of taking it away from Albert Park.

I believe the Victorian government won't accept it anywhere else than Albert Park, and the sooner it goes back to a traditional race start time of 14:00, the sooner people will return to the track.

Must have been a quiet news day for that to come up.

[Mothers Worry]

First lap of the new Korean circuit in a RBR car: