What Bernie Wants

16/07/2007

Just days after it was confirmed that talks with Tony George regarding the immediate future of the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis had broken down, F1 supremo Berne Ecclestone has said that street races in major cities are the future of the sport.

With Valencia and Singapore both joining the F1 calendar in 2008, and both events due to take place on street circuits, Ecclestone clearly believes that this is the direction the sport should be taking.

Other than the sheer glamour of Monte Carlo, Ecclestone is in favour of the main selling point of a street track, in that its on your doorstep; close to airports, railways, hotels and restaurants, unlike many of the tracks on the current calendar, including new ones such as Istanbul and Shanghai. Ironically, for ease of travel and facilities, Indianapolis is one of the better tracks on the calendar.

"It is great to leave the hotel and to be at the track instantly," Ecclestone told Der Spiegel.

The Englishman is still hopeful that a race might be held at Euro Disney outside Paris, while he recently gave up any hope of a London GP, having obviously been told that the money wasn't available.

With the United States and France - two countries that have played important roles in the history of the motor car - off the calendar in 2008, Ecclestone has once again said that the sport should be looking outside Europe for its future.

"We want to stage a world championship, not a European championship," he told Der Spiegel.

In other words he's looking for street circuits in fashionable cities in countries with plenty of money, outside Europe, but not in the United States, and willing to host a race at all manner of odd hours in order that it is broadcast at a convenient time for the sport's main fan-base, in Europe.

In other words, it's about having one's cake and eating it.