British F1 GP dropped for 2005.

They've opted to start the A1 GP Series in the F1 off season, mainly because the initial races will be staged in RSA & the Middle and Far East. My guess is, it will spill over into the F1 season as they add more races to the schedule. Two for example are planned for the USA which would have to be staged between April and October for weather reasons, as would any in the UK or Europe.

I believe the main problem with the A1 Series is they'll have difficulty drawing top driving talent away from F1 and we'll end up with a field mainly populated by 'second division' or 'up & coming' drivers. The latter would probably be no bad thing anyway, but it will possibly struggle to develop the viewer interest that F1 has. We'll have to wait and see

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Is it somebody's (Bernie's?) job to make it interesting?

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I might argue that yes, it was, for the very simple reason that without viewers it becomes worthless, it's funded by advertising, after all.

I have no problem with Ferrari or Schumacher (he is an exceptionally talented driver) but it's supposed to be a race.

There just seems to be little evidence of it, since the opportunities for real racing have been constantly thwarted, it seems to me.

I have no doubt too that if you sat Schumacher in one of the lower budget cars, he'd win less races.

I suppose it depends upon what you feel it's purpose is (for the fans, that is) is it a driving challenge or a technical tour-de-force for the latest in vehicle technology. I guess it's both, but unfortunately the technology dominates the race performance, in my view and for me that makes it uninteresting.

It's a bit like someone describing the technical minutiae of a Naim system, when all you're interested in is music. The technology is a means to an end, or at least it is for many.

Andy.

Schumacher is exceptionally talented but not infallible and actually quite fragile under pressure. Trouble is, nobody ever seems to be in a position to place him under real pressure. His car is pretty much 100% reliable and team tactics mostly seem to get him out of trouble on the rare occasions he's unlucky enough to get in any. Can't blame that on Bernie though! It's up to the other teams to compete - they just seem to all fall short of the mark when it comes to race day.

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everything else goes to Bernie's companies!

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as my work colleague discovered when he tried to sell on some excellent Monaco footage (of the crash) this year.

The lawyers were down on him like a ton of bricks, it was plainly evident that he has it all sewn up tighter than a very tight thing.

Andy.

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Originally posted by Andrew L. Weekes:
The lawyers were down on him like a ton of bricks, it was plainly evident that he has it all sewn up tighter than a very tight thing.

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The 'Rupert Murdoch' of motor racing?

jon

[This message was edited by JonR on Mon 04 October 2004 at 17:37.]

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It's up to the other teams to compete - they just seem to all fall short of the mark when it comes to race day.

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Not the last few races. Its as shame he already had the championship sewn up.

Howard

The fact he already has the WC sewn up is probably why MS performance has dropped off for the last few races. Why break your neck for nothing? plus it leaves the way open for Rubino to pick up a few crumbs in consolation.