The FIA makes room for a European Grand Prix on the 2013 calendar
On the evening of the FIA World Council meeting held in Istanbul, the 2013 season is expected to indeed include 20 events. By moving the German Grand Prix forward by a week, the FIA officially paves the way for the introduction of a new Grand Prix in Europe on July 21, 2013. Turkey could return to the calendar, while Red Bull does not rule out the possibility of the Austrian Grand Prix making a comeback in the long term.
Following the postponement of the Grand Prix of America to 2014, the 2013 Formula 1 World Championship calendar only included nineteen events. The vacancy left some room for possibilities, notably the organization of a French Grand Prix, which, however, is unlikely to occur, at least according to the recent pessimism expressed by Alain Prost.
According to all likelihood, however, there will indeed be twenty races on the schedule in 2013. In fact, during the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting held today in Istanbul, the governing body of motor sports decided to move the date of the German Grand Prix to July 7, 2013 — which will therefore take place one week after the British Grand Prix — to reserve the date of July 21 for the organization of another European event, subject to the approval of the concerned National Sporting Authority.
Here, then, is the opportunity to reopen the door for the return of the Turkish Grand Prix, which seemed to be taking shape a little more each day for some time now. Furthermore, this week, Turkish businessman Varul Ak, who has an eleven-year rental contract for the circuit, revealed that he is in discussions with Bernie Ecclestone for organizing a Grand Prix: “Mr. Ecclestone is looking for a seven-year contract. He told me he wanted 26 million dollars to hold a race, but he said he was willing to make a small sacrifice from that figure. I will contribute 5 million dollars from my own pocket. I’m not thinking in terms of financial returns here. The government will contribute 13.5 million dollars. Therefore, we are not quite there yet.
Bernie Ecclestone, whom the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet listed as one of the contenders for the lease of the Istanbul Park circuit, has not hidden his interest: “It’s a subject we would be happy to discuss with these officials. We would really like to return to Turkey.” However, although popular with drivers and Formula 1 enthusiasts, particularly for its now-legendary triple-apex corner, the Turkish circuit has never truly managed to attract crowds, recording only 36,000 entries in 2009, for instance. It was following the failure of negotiations between organizers and Bernie Ecclestone concerning the fees for hosting the event that the race disappeared from the calendar in 2012.
The new landlord of Istanbul Park is nevertheless very optimistic about the attendance of the Turkish Grand Prix, should it indeed reappear on the world champion’s calendar: « I have guaranteed [Bernie Ecclestone] a minimum of 50,000 spectators on race day but I expect more like 80,000 people. We hope to have a positive response from Mr. Ecclestone next week. »
Other possibilities are, however, conceivable, notably leading to Austria where Sebastian Vettel stated this week that he would like to see the organization of a Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring – formerly A1-Ring – which had hosted the premier category until 2003 and is once again approved for F1: “I was there on the day of the inauguration and I was lucky enough to drive there. The track is completely compatible with Formula 1. I don’t know why we are not going there. For us, it would be great if it were our home Grand Prix,” said the reigning triple world champion to the Austrian site “laola1.at”, during an event organized in Graz.
For his part, Helmut Marko, Dietrich Mateschitz’s right-hand man, does not rule out the possibility of an Austrian Grand Prix return, even if it’s not truly on the agenda: « For now, the global economy is simply booming in Asia and South America. [In F1,] there are fees in the range of 20 to 30 million dollars to pay, so everyone must simply ask themselves about financing. But with Mateschitz, one can never say never. Let’s wait and see how it develops. There are places like Korea where the track isn’t great, where there’s only one hotel, and it’s difficult to get around. Places like that won’t last. »
Provisional Calendar 2013:
– 17 Mars: Australie
– 24 Mars: Malaisie
– 14 Avril: Chine
– 21 Avril: Bahreïn
– 12 Mai: Espagne
– 26 Mai: Monaco
– 9 Juin: Canada
– 30 Juin: Grande-Bretagne
– 7 Juillet: Allemagne
– 21 Juillet: A annoncer
– 28 Juillet: Hongrie
– 25 Août: Belgique
– 8 Septembre: Italie
– 22 Septembre: Singapour
– 6 Octobre: Japon
– 13 Octobre: Corée du Sud
– 27 Octobre: Inde
– 3 Novembre: Abu Dhabi
– 17 Novembre: Etats-Unis
– 24 Novembre: Brésil
