Turkey or nothing

If the German Grand Prix was moved up by a week to make room for another European race, that race might never take place. Bernie Ecclestone seems to only consider Turkey and not Austria.

Turkey lost its place on the calendar in 2012 because the organizers were no longer able to meet the FOM’s requirements. However, the postponement of the New Jersey event to 2014 allowed for an available slot in the 2013 calendar, which led to the schedule change made last week by the FIA.

The Istanbul circuit has obviously seized the opportunity to return to F1, which was its main reason for being since there are no other international events held there. Varul Ak, who acquired the operating rights for Istanbul Park, then quickly entered into discussions with Bernie Ecclestone, which resulted in an agreement.

Nevertheless, the finalized project still needs to be approved by the government, as acknowledged by Demire Berberoglu, the president of the Turkish motorsport federation: « We are doing everything possible to bring Formula 1 back to the Istanbul Park track in 2013 and in the years to come. Everyone knows that what is needed to ensure its presence on the 2013 Formula 1 calendar and the following years is a guarantee and the necessary budget authorization by the government. Therefore, it will depend on the decision of the Prime Minister. »

However, the organizers did not receive the warmest welcome from the Turkish government, as the Turkish sports minister stated: « A possible return of Formula 1 to Turkey is not on the government’s agenda. It is a matter that concerns exclusively the private sector. If they wish, the private sector can and will manage to bring Formula 1 back to Turkey, but it is out of the question for us to pay the amount of the fees that have been proposed to a private company. »

In response to these statements, Bernie Ecclestone made one of his traditional media appearances at the time of tight discussions with a circuit. He declared to the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung: “At the moment, I’m thinking more about Turkey and a return to Istanbul. For now, I think we will have 19 races next year. It wouldn’t be a big problem for F1.”

If the Turkish option does not materialize, he currently does not consider turning to Austria since he states he is not in discussions with anyone on this subject. The Red Bull Ring seems even less of a feasible destination as it is already occupied on the weekend of July 21st. Indeed, it is supposed to host the World Series by Renault that weekend.

If the date change of the F1 German Grand Prix has already caused the shift of two other international events (the Goodwood Festival and the Moto GP race at Sachsenring), this new change seems somewhat difficult to implement since it’s hard to imagine the WSR organizers bowing to the will of F1, especially since it is a rival series to GP2 owned by F1…

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr