2016 Formula 1 British Grand Prix

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I'm glad India dropped off the calendar, that track was awful.

Buddh Intl. circuit is nowhere near awful. It's a better circuit to drive than half the current calendar. The drivers also loved it, many likening it's flow to that of Spa. It's possibly Tilke's best circuit IMO, perhaps only second to Istanbul.
 
Buddh Intl. circuit is nowhere near awful. It's a better circuit to drive than half the current calendar. The drivers also loved it, many likening it's flow to that of Spa. It's possibly Tilke's best circuit IMO, perhaps only second to Istanbul.

I'd disagree. It always seemed to be like a half assed attempt at a circuit. First half is simply two long straights and the second half was just a series of left right quick corners to join it up again. The only thing I liked about it was the long sweeping turn 10.


It's easily better than that abomination in Baku.

I will agree on that. Baku's just naff but I guess it's limited by the streets. The only highlight is the narrow part by the castle.
 
Buddh Intl. circuit is nowhere near awful.
It wasn't bad, it just certainly could have been better. It's a shame that it fell off the calendar the way that it did, though. It didn't look good for anyone involved, least of all the Indian government.
 
Not directly related to the GP though. Let's not start the typical Hamilton debates until he's actually done something this weekend.

This. Please.

The threads already get ruined after pretty much every race, let's not ruin them before anything has even happened.
 
In news that is related to this weekend cost cutting has gone a step further at Silverstone, the kerbs are now all made from old chequered flags.



Presumably a throwback to the 80s.

sON6FDz.jpg
 
It's absolutely unbelievable that a track like Silverstone needs to cut costs. So many people are attending every year, all the stands are filled and still they have trouble making any profit.
 
It's absolutely unbelievable that a track like Silverstone needs to cut costs. So many people are attending every year, all the stands are filled and still they have trouble making any profit.
Just like Nurburgring then.
 
It's absolutely unbelievable that a track like Silverstone needs to cut costs. So many people are attending every year, all the stands are filled and still they have trouble making any profit.

I think you need to read Samus post again...

In news that is related to this weekend cost cutting has gone a step further at Silverstone, the kerbs are now all made from old chequered flags.

:sly:

Though I do agree, I don't understand how the British Grand Prix at Silverstone doesn't turn a decent profit. I do remember though that they pay the heftest fee to the FIA in order to host a Grand Prix. Monaco is the only race that doesn't pay that fee at all. Perhaps someone has latest figures on these fees?
 
I stand to be corrected, but I think the BRDC (Silverstone) have to pay Bernie and his FOM cronies £16 million a year to host the event. That means they have to recoup at least £133 per attendee just to break even (based on 120,000 attendees). This is all before wages, rent (£32 million for 999 year lease), maintenance and other running costs. They will only get a certain amount back from concessions and there are other motorsport events and driving experiences/schools, etc. but that might explain the lack of profits one might expect. Not sure about the last couple of years, but they were running £3.3 million in the red in 2013.
 
Silverstone agreed on a contract in 2009 for 17 years. The fee for that first year was £11.6m but the contract stated it would rise by 5% each year (For other tracks this figure varies from 7-10%). I'm not going to work out the maths for each year but I've seen it reported that by 2026 the rise means the average paid per year will be £17.75m. Problem is of course the yearly figure itself is going to be north of £20m towards the end.
 
Silverstone agreed on a contract in 2009 for 17 years. The fee for that first year was £11.6m but the contract stated it would rise by 5% each year (For other tracks this figure varies from 7-10%). I'm not going to work out the maths for each year but I've seen it reported that by 2026 the rise means the average paid per year will be £17.75m. Problem is of course the yearly figure itself is going to be north of £20m towards the end.

Some back-of-an-Excel-packet figures;

silverstonefees.JPG
 
Merc boys free to race..

https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/me...es-of-engagement-strengthened-moving-forward/



If the BRDC doesn't own Silverstone, who does?

They do, it was the surrounding land they leased out

http://www.brdc.co.uk/BRDC-confirms-Silverstone-development-deal

The British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) is delighted to confirm that it has completed a transaction with British commercial property company MEPC, which has taken a 999-year lease on the existing Silverstone Industrial Estate and the development land around the outside of the circuit, on which planning permission has been granted. This agreement does not include the management or development of Silverstone Circuit itself.

It was MEPC who paid the £32m for the lease, not the other way around.
 
Until, according to Autosport, they do something stupid. One imagines that Toto Wolff is holding their contracts over a shredder.

I'm imaging that is his version of team orders. You can race on the track but crash again and we're not above replacing both of you. Either that or "I don't care what the official rulebook says, you leave each other plenty of space at all times".
 
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I'm imaging that is his version of team orders. You can race on the track but crash again and we're not above replacing both of you.
Autosport have him saying that the team has put some restrictions in place, but he hasn't gone into detail on what those restrictions might be, except that it's not an outright team order. But yes, I could see the team replacing both of them, even if only one of them actually does something. I can't help but feel that every response to the collision has been intended for both Hamilton and Rosberg - the penalty the stewards gave was largely symbolic, and while Rosberg suffered the consequences, look at it from Hamilton's point of view: he's got two reprimands hanging over his head, and a third will net him a grid penalty; meanwhile, he expects to take at least two engine penalties in the remaining races. I think the penalty handed to Rosberg is a pretty clear message that the stewards won't hesitate to take action if they feel that it is merited, even if it is against a championship contender; neither driver will be granted any favours by their position. Even if that's not the intended message, both drivers would be fools not to hear it. Likewise, I find Niki Lauda's comments in the Austrian media to be utterly bizarre, and I can't think of a single scenario where they make sense in context. I think that's any equally-political move designed to show that the team make the decisions that affect the team; they won't tolerate their drivers settling things in the court of public opinion.

Everything that Mercedes has tried to date has been done behind closed doors, and it hasn't worked. I posted a story from Autosport yesterday about how the contact in Austria is not an isolated incident, but the latest episode in a rivalry that has lasted the better part of two years, and I think it rings true. I think we'll see much more driver management done in the public eye.
 
After reading the Merc article, I have a feeling they're going to be much more likely to use team orders from here on to help prevent an incident. As for parking one (or both, for that matter) of the drivers, I wouldn't be too surprised to see if their test drivers gets an FP1 drive or two as a thinly veiled threat.
 
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