22/03/2009
NEWS STORY
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Talk about Formula One to anyone for even the shortest time and sooner or later the subject of money will raise its ugly head.
Despite the much publicised drive to slash costs, despite the crowing to the media that the sport has grown up and is now aware of the need to set a good example, when the circus arrives in Melbourne this week, far less Monaco in May, it will be business as usual, with all the bling, celebrity bull and sheer in-your-face opulence we have grown used to.
When people in F1 say they are aware of the global financial crisis it is a relative thing. While many of those employed in test teams at Jerez and Barcelona will this week find themselves out of a job and worrying about how to pay their bills - note, the culling will take place while attention is focussed on Melbourne and Sepang - it will be business as usual in F1's corridors of power.
There will be much talk in the coming days of F1 needing to count the pennies, of needing to stop the waste, just as the drivers and team bosses will fall over themselves in their desire to tell us how glad they are to be back in Melbourne.
Just a few weeks ago however, we all watched the dreadful scenes as fires ravaged the state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital.
In a sport in which statistics are an integral part, here's a few more numbers.
Over 100 people still missing
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Many of those who risked their lives to defend against the fires are unpaid volunteers under the umbrella of the Victorian Country Fire Authority and without whom, the disaster would have been so much worse. These are unimaginably brave souls who commit to protecting their communities from fire for no other reason than they believe they should. Stories abound in the recent tragedy of these volunteers' heroic efforts to save the lives and property of others as their own homes were razed and, in the most horrific cases, their loved ones perished
Pitpass regular, Paul Fauth, who, in his role as a marshal, has previously provided us with pictures of the F1 circus arriving in town, writes: "I worked 27 nights straight as a co-ordinator in the Integrated Emergency Response Centre for the fires and saw and heard some horrible things.
"Fire temperatures reached 1300 degrees centigrade, massive infrastructure damage has been done, over 2000 houses have been lost as well as many businesses. 211 people are known to have died and many are still missing.
"This time last year unemployment in Victoria was 4.4%, it's now 6.8%, and we have a government which seems to be staring into the headlights of an oncoming car!
"Many of the firies (firemen) who make the GP happen were involved in the bushfires, some have lost homes friends and partners and many are pissed off that the GP starts at 7.00pm and they were not consulted
"Victoria is in the grip of an incredible drought. Today I drove from Adelaide to Melbourne. and saw wheat farms that have not produced for three years. I saw tractors, elevators, harrows and ploughs for sale in the fields. The 'Western Districts' of Victoria from Nhill to Horham, the centre of the wheat industry, has no crops planted. It is also the centre of the fine Marino wool growing area and I saw very few sheep."
All of this, combined with the financial crisis, is having a major impact on the Grand Prix, corporate suites bookings are down 27% on 2008 while corporate ticket requests are down 34%.
On the pit straight at there is one grandstand less than in 2008, and while it is normally impossible to get a room at hotels at this time of year, the Holiday Inn is offering rooms for $99 a night, while the Crown Casino (where some of the F1 names stay) has rooms available.
Formula One's idea of a financial crisis and those who have suffered in the fires' idea of a financial crisis are worlds apart, but next weekend the sport has the opportunity to do its part, to show that it has a heart as opposed to being a glorified money making operation with no comprehension of what is happening in the real world.
The images might have disappeared from our TV screens but the suffering continues. There has already been a tremendous reaction to calls for aid, but there is always room for more.
Therefore, what better way for F1 to redeem itself than for the teams to display stickers on their cars, and other areas visible to the public, urging donations to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal.
Many activists remain openly opposed to the Grand Prix, therefore this would be an ideal opportunity for the sport to show its humane side and even gain some much needed good publicity.
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