Melbourne Grand Prix in doubt
February 3, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
Update:
Australian GP chairman Ron Walker has rejected Bernie Ecclestone’s claims that Melbourne will lose its Formula One car race past 2010.
Mr Walker has reiterated that the Australian Grand Prix will not become a night race just to suit the rest of the world.
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The future of Melbourne’s Formula One Grand Prix appears in doubt after Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone said that manufacturers and sponsors want to quit Melbourne.
Mr Ecclestone said millions of dollars are being lost each year hosting Australia’s leg of the F1 season while Victorian Premier John Brumby has done very little to keep the sport alive.
“Our costs are very high in Australia and we get a lot less money. It’s bloody bad for us. We’ve got quite a few places on the list which would like to have Formula One and as it seems your guy (John Brumby) down there doesn’t want Formula One. We can make him happy.” said Bernie Ecclestone
The Melbourne GP contract expires in 2010 and as it stands now, there is very little chance for a renewal. The only possibility left is to change the event to a night race.
Bids from QLD, NSW and SA to host the event have already been denied but potential replacements such as India, Russia and South Korea are being considered.
Since the events introduction to Melbourne in 1996, it has lost a staggering $130 million, with last year’s event nearly $35 million in the red.
“In Melbourne, if we were to continue to be there, we would have to have a night race – the only option. Why wouldn’t we take it somewhere else?” Ecclestone said.
This year’s race will be held from March 13-16. Tell us what you think, does Melbourne deserve the Grand Prix? Should it be held at night?
Print it: 
It’s all about television. Europeans don’t watch races that are on in the middle of the night.
not fussed if it is Melbourne or not but Aus should do whatever it takes to keep it!
They should have left it in Adelaide
Definately agree with the first comment. In saying this, i think NSW or QLD should get the race, and make it a street race under lights. Singapore is going to host a race at night so it’s more viewer friendly in Europe, so i cant see why it wont work for OZ.
Yep – It should have staye in Adelaide. we could have the Clipsal 500 one weekend F1 the next.. although I’d say the Thundering V8 Supercars would still get bigger crowds compared to the 4 wheel Hornets.
And where exactly would they hold the race in NSW.. I mean they’re still umming and ahhing about a V8 Street race around Olympic Park.. which would be interesting because the grip created by the race tyres would probably rip the pavers which line the streets in that area out of the ground.. and unlike the wide streets of Adelaide there isn’t enough room for Grandstands or Pit Facilities.
I agree with Anthony, i have been to both tracks – Adelaide in 1993 and Melbourne 2001 – and adleaide had a much better atmosphere – it was also a more exciting track, although the facilities at Melbourne are pretty good and there is planty of space, the action isn’t as good as it was in Adelaide.
I would enjoy a night race tho, it would be different and pretty cool to see those things screaming around under lights!
I’ve loved car racing since I was lucky enough to be able to go th the Tasman series races at Longford in the mid 60’s.
I’ve raced Karts and loved the cut and thrust of close action and lots of passing and biff/barge.
I’ve been a long time fan of Bathurst, but that race is now between a whole field of Fords, some with slightly different bodies to the others, so that a Ford can win.
But F1 is now boring, so I don’t care if the race is ditched or not. Night racing is fun in Karts, but I’m not sure I would want to do it at F1 speeds. Then again, no-one passes except in the pits, so there’s no real danger.
I tell you why it!……was that UK business man Afzal Kahn!
His slowly stolen all the “F1″ money! Ha!
“Should it be held at night?” …
Why not? I’d love to see it with the V8 Supercars at night and as long as it’s well lit up, it would be great to see, unless someone tells me a reason otherwise.
Is there a reason why the V8 Supercars don’t race at night anymore?
I would be glad to see it end. It is a complete waste of money and petrol. Also noise and air pollution.
Anyone who follows F1 knows that this is bernie’s way to strike a better deal. He does it all the time. He has been threatening to stop going to silverstone for the past 10 years and guess what! they still go there!! He is just saying all of this to try and make the orgnanisers cave into his demands. I really wouldn’t be concerned if i was you
Tony, you realise that one trans atlantic flight in a boeing 747 uses a HELL of alot more fuel then an F1 race right? Puts it into perspective a little bit huh.. F1 was actually one of the first sports to be carbon neutral. But that doesn’t stop anti-motorsport types who just see cars going round and think “THEY MUST BE POLLUTING ETC”
The Ultimate solution would be to have cheap flights from all around Australia’s main cities to Bathurst. Upgrade the track to cater for F1 and watch the best F1 race ever.
Goodbye,
It lost to much money, whats the point of it, all went down hill after Jeff-left-the-building!
Only ONE real race track exists anyway
Stand up and be counted MONZA in Italy…..H.Q!
Cheers
F-0
Frugal: Monza has been slowly dying over the last 20 years. With all the improved safety it has lost its character, gone is the massive front straight and the awesome flat out corners. Same thing has happened to San Marino and Hockenheim. Those tracks have been castrated.
The race has only lost $120 million since it moved to Adelaide. I wonder how much boost to the state has come from tourism associated with the race. I would be thinking at least $120 million or more.
Why don’t the F1 cars TRY to tacklr Mount Panorama?…
They probably wouldn’t make it past BP Cutting let alone the Dipper.
Wheelnut, have you felt an F1 car in the flesh? I haven’t, but it sounds like you haven’t either. From what I’ve heard from people that have been to races in Melbourne, the cars shake your chest similar to big bore engines. You don’t hear the full frequency range of those engines via the crappy track-side microphones.
Mt Panorama is a great Aussie back road, for sure. But so what if F1 cars can’t drive on our crap roads? It is like saying V8 Supercars are crap because they can’t drive on the roof of a tunnel at full tilt.
Yeah; but whilst the shockwave you feel from the F1 cars as they fly by at full noise is just as intense as an Indy or V8 Supercar..
It’s just the high pitched noise the engines make compared to the other two sounds “off” considering that the F1 cars are s’posed to be the pinnacle of automotive engineering/motorsport..
Bring it back to Adelaide :) Stupid Vic’s took it away and stuffed it….:(
That would be verry Interesting to see the F1 Cars at Bathurst Wheelnut, just think of how many accidents on the first lap :)
DO NOT take F1 to Bathurst. To get the track to F1 spec they would change it too much. I think QLD needs to make a better offer for F1 cos Champ Car is pretty much dead and I haven’t heard of Indy losing money so they must know how to spend the money.
Why would they have to change the Mount Panorama Circuit for F1. It’s a “street circuit” just like Monaco and Adelaide.. lined with concrete barriers and very few run off areas.
What a load of rubbish, i tottally agree with Reckless1 that this latest threat is nothing but a scare tactic from Ecclestone. On the other hand this years race should be more of a success compared to previous years given the discounted entry fee’s and children under 12 free. If its advertise correctly locally and interstate the attendance will jump significantly compensating for the cheaper admissions. A full 4 day pass g-a is under a $100 for a consession which is pretty good value if you’d ask me
I doubt F1 would ever hold a round at Bathurst – It just won’t happen!
View from a Pohm folks. Its would be a pity for Australia to loose its race wherever it is to be held. I really believe Bernie Ecclestone is killing the sport off purely as he’s so greedy wanting more and more money. Do you really think there will be as much interest in F1 if all the major stakeholder countries lose there Grand Prix to places like India, Russia and South Korea. Silverstone is likely to lose its spot. Bernie Ecclestone is to F1 what George Bush is to worls peace. It stinks. Fight for your F1 existence in Australia. Me, i’ll find something else to watch when F1 leave the UK shores.
Formula 1 has become boring……
The Melbourne track doesn’t provide enough overtaking opportunities leaving pit strategies (and car superiority) to decide the result…..
Plus I live and work within a kilometer of the track and the noise (not to mention the traffic restrictions) give me the shits!
Gimme the roar of the V8 supercars ANYDAY!
the money that mt panorama should have gotten to make it a racing, hire track, club race meeca was spent on eastern creek $125,000,000+ years ago.
They had plans to buy out the home owners around mt panorama so it could be raced on on a daily basis and there would have been three differant track configerations to choose from, one was for F1. Full time staff to run it flagees, ambo’s etc and a nurumburg style pay and run what you drove system.
I remmember the Mt being voted in the top five tracks of the world in the mid to late 90’s
I live within a kilometer of the Clipsal track in Adelaide (which is also the old F1 track) and i get all the noise and the traffic restrictions, and i love it. For a week of the year, im disadvataged with traffic restriction, but who cares, im at the track for the 4 days of the event, so it doesnt worry me, and i love the sounds of the V8’s, and the old muscle cars aswell. I was there at the last adelaide F1, and it was a brillant atmosphere, that has never been replicated by Melbourne, and i dont think they have ever gotten a bigger crowd than our last F1 in Melbourne. Ive always been disapointed about adleiade loosing F1, but i dont care so long as we can hold on F1 event a year in Australia.
Mt Panarama is a fantastic race track, be realistically it is fairly unsafe even for touring cars, for open wheelers it is straight out stupidity. There is no run off and in order to create enough run off to make the place safe for the high speed of F1 cars they would have to completely destroy the circuit. Also F1 cars would literally take off coming down the mountain particularly in places such as the dipper. The track is simply to extreem for that kind of car.
In short, The track is NOT safe for F1 cars, and in order to make it safe for F1 cars, they would have to completely rewin it.
Thats right Richo,
the track isnt as smooth (flat) as F1’s would require.
the cars would be pretty much suspended by the front and rear body with the wheels off the ground through places such as the dipper ha ha ha
also i thought F1 tracks had to have min 8 car width tracks ha ha ha
oh and then wait till a kangaroo breathes on a F1 car………. the bloody wheels would fall off
Awwwwwww,thats mean Andrew.
Remember your Kangaroo isn’t real………remote control.shhh
Could you imagine the noise though coming down the mountain going back through the gears……………I get all tingly thinking about it………
Calm down BM…you’ll have us all going. RC Kangaroos interesting, I vaguely remember seeing one in a film somewhere with a gun barrel from its mouth.
Oh yes the F1. Naahh you’ll never lose it completely. Bernie will buckle under pressure.
ah yes truely awesome sounds……….
and also the flame or puff of black smoke on drop of revs paints the rest of that picture perfectly.
well it actually has made some historic photos over the years.
kangaroo aint real??
well maybe you better ask Jim Richards if the one he hit felt real………..ha ha ha
ah JR is a great bloke though
Yes I remember that one was but remember last year when you took your rock collection along……….you also had a couple of RC Roos!!
yes i knew what you were getting at…….ha ha ha
I live in Melbourne all this news lately is starting to be depressing. Between losing the Grand Prix and interest rates going through the roof, I serioulsy thinking of moving to Queensland were the economy is booming.
Come to the UK Peter. Interest rate gone down today to 5.25% base rate