Your View: Does it matter where F1 season ends?
December 11, 2009 by SJ Skid
Filed under Parc Fermé, Prime & Option, SJ Skid
Amid all the FIA news today — women’s commissions, a focus on building up fan-friendly programs — I can’t help but focus on the switch that has occurred at the back-end of the 2010 calendar.
On the original “draft” schedule, Brazil was set to host the season’s final race. Abu Dhabi, which was the last race of 2009 in its inaugural year, was the second-to-last stop.
Now, the final calendar is out and the two locations have swapped places.
I don’t know if I like it. Did the FIA brass see these two races in 2009?
Interlagos remains one of the best tracks in F1. I’ve made no secret that I love Monaco, even though I know it takes a good downpour to make that race exciting. But, isn’t that true of most of today’s circuits?
It is. [That was a rhetorical question, no arguing! :) ]
But an exemption is Interlagos, which promises terrific racing in the rain or the shine.
And that makes it a great track to conclude the season, especially if any of the championships are still undecided.
Abu Dhabi? Not so much. Pretty hotels. Big yachts. Neat tunnels. But great racing? I surely didn’t see much this year.
Admittedly, that was the track’s first F1 race. Maybe 2010 will be better. But I’m not holding my breath. Are you?
So to the question: Do you think the FIA could or should be finishing the F1 season at certain tracks or are you satisfied with the calendar as it is? Where would your dream F1 calendar end?
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Interlagos should have kept the final race of the season because it is the better track.
Interlagos is a better track, and would love to see the final race there.
I will take the other part of the argument just for fun:
If the championship was going down to the final race, and rain was in the forecast, I could understanding why they would want it at Abu Dhabi. There is almost no chance of rain there at all. Now I know racing in the rain is part of F1 racing, but at least in the dry it’s really about who is the better driver/team/and who has the best pit strategy.
Rain is fun at times, but not when the championship is on the line. Just my opinion.
I couldn’t agree more. Having attended the 2008 race in Brazil, the race track (and atmosphere) was the perfect scene for the finale of an F1 world championship. As we all know, the Brazilians are incredibly passionate about the sport and their passion seems to manifest itself onto the track. In my opinion, the privilege of hosting a finale should be awarded to a country that has earned it (muggings and thefts aside!), through fan support and racing grandeur. I’ve had the pleasure of attending many races on the calendar, and have rarely seen the passion I witnessed in Brazil. We would show up at the track every morning at 7am and most grandstands were already jam packed with fans chanting and cheering…it felt epic (of course having Massa in the hunt didn’t hurt). I digress, Abu Dhabi is no doubt a beautiful country and race circuit, but to me they have not yet earned their right to play host to the finale of a championship so rich in tradition (for which they are only beginning to understand). I could undesrtand giving them exposure in year 1, but we saw the results…now bring back intergalos!
Nice little tour of Interlagos. Thanks for sharing.
It should be the season closer, rain or not.
But then, if it comes to it, I’m sure Abu Dhabi isn’t all that bad to crown a Champ. A contender ‘on a mission’ should be able to overtake cars, not as easy as at Interlagos’ turn One, but I could think of worst place to end up a WC (namely Suzuka; yeah, I am the one that doesn’t like that track, 130R or not).
We’ll see in 10 months time.
I agree with you all here. Pretty location and dull race.
There is also the fact they do not sell general admission tickets and this does not allow fans to go see the cars at different corners. A bit too McLaren clinical for me.