How about supporting countries and economies that made Motorsport great?
No we can’t have that, we must maximize profit at all cost.
It’s why I don’t pay for F1 anymore, either. If the whole reason to go to a country is to make more money, I don’t support it.
Has nothing to do with conflicts/politcis
For me and everything with organisers disregarding the fans who put them where they are.
There are motorsports fans all over the world, and serving the needs of all of them is impossible, which you must already know as a proud Antarctican. Hosting an F1 Grand Prix costs a fortune, and needs to make a fortune back. The enormous financial risks are met with research into logistics and sponsorship deals, until a way to host a profitable event is reached.
The hosts of these massive motorsport events are, typically, countries that are or were invested heavily into the automotive industry as a whole. There are the traditional hosts with history extending to the beginning of motorsport: France, Italy, Germany, UK, USA etc. which have maintained a presence in the car industry since the dawn of internal combustion.
Then there's GP hosts like Australia and the Netherlands, whose domestic automotive industries have folded, but their earlier investments into racing venues have built a large audience that makes them essential and profitable locations.
If F1 were to focus on countries that build the most cars, then - ideally - the Indian and Korean GPs would return, but for a tax dispute affecting profits and an isolated location respectively, it's unlikely. It's a similar story for Malaysia. Thailand — home of the factories that build most of the world's utes — is also seeking to join F1, but it's not just car industry authenticity or exciting scenery that makes an F1 host, there needs to be an annual $(8 or 9-digits) handshake between the host venue and Liberty Media, with the hosts hoping to earn back the money spent (depending on which country, significantly or entirely from tax revenue) in economic activity around the event. F1 "supports" countries in quite an extortionate way, not dissimilar to the Olympics.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Qatar are notable as being recently established F1 hosts in emerging petrostates in the Persian Gulf that have acquired tremendous wealth in the last 50 years and invested some of that money into motorsports infrastructure to complement tourism. There are valid complaints to be made of sportswashing, as these four nations spend tens of billions on F1, FIFA, NBA, WWE, LIV golf, the Esports World Cup, EVO and more, gaining global publicity and corporate endorsement for their investments, while quieting discussion of their ongoing abuses of human rights. F1 is mercenary; the company was also happy to take Russian money from 2014 to 2021; Sochi being a few hours drive away from Crimea meant it was out of sight and out of mind, I suppose.
Enough about F1, though. I think the GTWS should find a venue in London so
@jonoholland29 can buy a polo. With at least ~£100 guaranteed revenue so far, it seems a logical choice.
www.amnesty.org
