Before things get started with the primary point of this latest contribution to the internet there is the matter of that announcement. A long time ago (in this galaxy) in the inaugural season of coverage coming out from the depths of Blog HQ - there was an acquisition of sorts. Upon the weekend of the Singaporean GP of 2011, through the extreme skill of throwing a ping pong ball into an empty jam jar, Blog HQ was gifted an aquatic mascot. It was on that day that Blog 'Happy' Fish moved in, and against all odds that fish remains alive and possibly happy - but that cannot be verified. The fish may no longer have any fins left after they all parted company in 2012, but this weekend past represents the second anniversary of his/her adoption - the actual date was the 26th of September and this post was supposed to be written earlier but I forgot. So back then is was happy-first-time-in-relocated-captivity... day and if I was a one for celebrations they would be have been immense, but seeing as I'm not it was a typically subdued occasion.
Once that important event has been covered, it is time to move on to the purpose of today's post, and that is that a provisional 2014 calendar has been released - normally this is merely a formality for the powers that be, but this one is a little different. Because we have a plethora of new entries to take a look at, pushing the number of races up to 22, which is going to be very hectic - including three races in three weeks in the middle of the season. Of course this only a provisional calendar with some venues hanging onto their place with the very edge of their fingertips so by the time things roll out again next season, that number may have been trimmed ever so slightly.
The Calendar
This is the list of proposed races and dates for the 2014 season, all the races from this season are present with the exception of India which is on a sabbatical - and may not make a comeback in 2015 considering how packed the schedule is at the moment. Three completely new circuits join the list as well as one returning venue from several years ago - the most challenging span logistically is the one from Monaco to Montreal. Normally a two week gap is conventional between the two, but fitting a long haul flight to New Jersey in the middle is going to be really difficult and expensive.
16/03 Australia
30/03 Malaysia
06/04 Bahrain
20/04 China
27/04 Korea (provisional)
11/05 Spain
25/05 Monaco
01/06 America, New Jersey (provisional*)
08/06 Canada
22/06 Austria
06/07 Britain
20/07 Germany
27/07 Hungary
24/08 Belgium
07/09 Italy
21/09 Singapore
05/10 Russia
12/10 Japan
26/10 Abu Dhabi
09/11 USA, Austin
16/11 Mexico (provisional*)
30/11 Brazil
The New Entries
Several new venues have appeared on this potential calendar, some have been floating around for a while and others just turned up within weeks of the calendar being launched - while other names like Thailand and South Africa remain only distant rumours. But is time to examine exactly what these new additions have in store for 2014
New Jersey
Just looking at the layout it doesn't seem all that grand, almost as if it was thrown together just to compete with Austin's race. But an rFactor simulation video that's been floating around makes it seem a little better than that - unfortunately the model isn't up for public release or I'd have had a go myself. It doesn't seem like a typical US street circuit - like Long Beach or St Petersberg, all full of angles and sharp corners. There is a bit of that here, mainly surrounding the main straight but the majority of it looks quite fast. I'd like to see it happen simply for curiosity's sake but of the four is holds the most tenuous position and might not be ready again for 2014.
Austria
With F1 looking for new and ever more exotic places to hold an event it might seem odd that a little country back here in Europe would make a return - especially after the track, the A1 Ring fell into disrepair and was no longer fit for usage. But the track was resurrected and renamed as the Red Bull Ring... and it all starts to make sense a home race for the most successful team in the recent years. Having seen some footage from other categories that have used the track since the rebuild and it looks identical to how it once was - almost nostalgic - with the exception of pit lane updates of course.
The A1 (or Red Bull) Ring also contravenes the majority of present circuit design concepts, the idea of cramming as many corners into as little space as possible didn't reach Austria - the track has 9 corners and is very simply in it's configuration. Yet it is such a good track, turn one is a medium speed uphill kink leading into a mountainous with a hairpin at the peak. The middle sector is four sweeping corners and the final sector is made of two virtually blind apexed downhill corners which entice you to go a little bit faster every time. It may only be back because Red Bull are taking over everything but I'm not going to complain.
Russia
Because Russia is becoming ever more influential in the sport, starting with Vitaly Petrov as their first driver and now with Marussia as a team and the incoming prospect of Sirotkin at Sauber - it stands to reason they make their mark on the calendar too. It has been a long time coming as rumours of a Russian GP have been around for a while but is it finally here - or it will be once it is finished. Just like South Korea the plans for the circuit look very ambitious, and because of what didn't happen in Korea it is natural to be a little sceptical as to how it's actually going to turn out. But unlike Korea, Russia has an ace up it's sleeve because the F1 event is going to be set in Sochi - which is also hosting the 2014 winter Olympics. Meaning all the infrastructure and building work is going to happen because it needs to be there for the winter games.
This makes the track a pseudo-street event - like Korea was supposed to be but never happened - built around the Olympic park, a similar idea was suggested when considering the fate of the London Olympic park. The concept has been done before, in Australia the Sydney Olympic park is now home to the finale of the V8 Supercar season, and that is brilliant - but is it a street track not a purpose built facility like this plans to be. It is a very enthralling prospect, and has some interesting corners on the track maps released.
Mexico
A trip to Mexico is an example of F1 travelling to new emerging markets and the product of Perez and now Gutierrez's local popularity. Fortunately instead of building a new sanitised track out of the Tilke mass production design office, they plan to use the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Like Austria's A1 Ring, the Autodromo has been on the F1 calendar before - just many, many years ago - since then it has been used to host Champcar events and for a brief while NASCAR nationwide events (or Busch series as it was called then). It is a very traditional racetrack with a lot of history to it, most of which created before my existence, which is much nicer to see on the schedule than another monolithic sculpture in the desert.
But, and it is a big but, the track does need a lot of repairs to bring it up to standard having been out of circulation for a while - since champ car went bankrupt there has been very little international attention on the venue. So instead of a bit of paint here and some safer barriers there, Mr Tilke was sent out to make some changes to accommodate better pit facilities and safety requirements. Which leads to one major problem - the Peraltada, the final corner of the lap which is at massive speeds with only a concrete wall for run off, exacerbated by the huge corner entry speeds off the back straight. It is a wonderful turn, but does raise safety questions and has done for years. Champ car refused to take the final corner at full speed and opted for a horrible temporary chicane to slow the pace down, in another year the track was re-routed through the baseball stadium inside the corner to bypass half of the turn. Unfortunately the concrete wall can't be moved because there is a major motorway on the other side of it, forcing these solutions. But it's Tilke's job now to come up with something... a thought which is rather disturbing, here's hoping that this isn't another circuit that is neutered to make officially onto the calendar.
Are Korea's days numbered...
In the remodelled calendar the Korean GP has been moved much further forward, it currently occupies a next weekend, well practice in a couple of days, but no more - it is set to be race five in 2014 which is an ominous sign. Turkey and Valencia were moved further forward and then they went missing, permanently, however China and Malaysia survived the trip forwards. But here is the problem Korea has delivered nothing it has set out to do - plans to build a whole tourist metropolis surrounding the track failed to appear - instead there are fields and the occasional marsh... This has made it difficult for fans to get to the very isolated track, and therefore attendance figures have been very small, something that has also called the chinese GP into question and finished off the Turkish GP. With a calendar so crammed and essentially overpopulated venues like Korea may be on the way out. This weekend we may see an announcement as to the future of the Korean GP, but it is hanging onto it's place very tenuously indeed.
For example India - they had some attendance issues, mostly due to high entry fees in a country where the population cannot afford them, having to rely on the rich and outside tourists isn't enough to support the race. Which is why there were so many protests at the time the race was launched in 2011, a race which ignored the actual residents of India and look what happened. It too has gone missing, allegedly for only a season off, but it could be the first step to a permanent relegation from the championship, because if it came back in 2015 we'd be looking at 23 races, and people are complaining with the current calendar. I think it is a shame really, because India is one of the few Tilke tracks that is actually enjoyable - perhaps the straights are a little excessive but otherwise the corner combinations are pretty decent.
Overall 2014 does look fun, the teams might not think so - going from Monaco to New Jersey with cars, personnel and equipment in three days is challenging to say the least, but for us, the people at home sitting on the sofa it is wonderful. Because who doesn't want more racing adding some new interesting venues in Russia and New Jersey, but for once actually welcoming back some of the old traditional tracks that have been missing from the championship in a long while. So bring it on I say.
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