Bye bye Malaysian & Singapore GPs?
Discussion
Just seen this story;
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Malaysia will not host a Formula One Grand Prix after the current agreement expires in 2018, the country's tourism and culture minister said on Monday.
"After 2018 no longer," Nazri Abdul Aziz told reporters in parliament when asked about reports that the country was considering halting the annual race.
"(From the) longer term perspective, it's probably the correct decision because it's more expensive and no longer that attractive," the minister added, according to audio recordings of the comments heard by Reuters.
Malaysia had been considering cancelling the race due to declining ticket sales and TV viewing figures. [nL4N1CU3H7] Earlier in the day, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt over the future of the sport in Southeast Asia by telling a German magazine that Singapore no longer wanted to host a grand prix after its current deal expires next year.
The Malaysian Grand Prix was last held in October, when Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo claimed his first win of the season.
State oil and gas firm Petronas are the title sponsors for the F1 race in Kuala Lumpur. The company has been hit hard in recent times by the tumble in oil prices. ($1 = 4.4170 ringgit)
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan, Editing by Ed Osmond) ((ed.osmond@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 5427933; Reuters Messaging: ed.osmond@thomsonreuters.com)
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Malaysia will not host a Formula One Grand Prix after the current agreement expires in 2018, the country's tourism and culture minister said on Monday.
"After 2018 no longer," Nazri Abdul Aziz told reporters in parliament when asked about reports that the country was considering halting the annual race.
"(From the) longer term perspective, it's probably the correct decision because it's more expensive and no longer that attractive," the minister added, according to audio recordings of the comments heard by Reuters.
Malaysia had been considering cancelling the race due to declining ticket sales and TV viewing figures. [nL4N1CU3H7] Earlier in the day, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt over the future of the sport in Southeast Asia by telling a German magazine that Singapore no longer wanted to host a grand prix after its current deal expires next year.
The Malaysian Grand Prix was last held in October, when Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo claimed his first win of the season.
State oil and gas firm Petronas are the title sponsors for the F1 race in Kuala Lumpur. The company has been hit hard in recent times by the tumble in oil prices. ($1 = 4.4170 ringgit)
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan, Editing by Ed Osmond) ((ed.osmond@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 5427933; Reuters Messaging: ed.osmond@thomsonreuters.com)
Also;
SINGAPORE, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt over the future of the sport in Southeast Asia by telling a German magazine that Singapore no longer wants to host a grand prix after its current deal expires next year.
Neighbouring Malaysia will not host a Grand Prix after 2018 because of declining ticket sales and TV viewing figures, the country's Tourism and Culture Minister said on Monday, and the region could be left without a race for the first time since 1998.
The Singapore race costs some S$150 million ($105.04 million) to put on every year, 60 percent of which is funded by the government. It was first staged in 2008 and the city-state renewed its contract for another five years in 2012.
Ecclestone's blunt comments in Auto Motor und Sport, however, suggested negotiations over a further extension have not gone well.
"Look at what we have done for Singapore," Ecclestone said. "Yes, the grand prix has cost Singapore a lot of money, but we've also given them a lot of money.
"Singapore was suddenly more than just an airport to fly to or from somewhere. Now they believe they have reached their goal and they do not want a grand prix anymore." In comments to Singapore newspaper the Straits Times, however, Ecclestone clarified that F1's stand was that it did not want to lose Singapore.
"My words were taken in a funny way. What I said was simple – no decision has been taken yet. Negotiations are ongoing and will be sorted out shortly... before the end of the year, I'm sure. We want to extend long-term," he said. "We'll see what happens."
The event is organised in the city-state by Singapore GP, a private company owned by Ong Beng Seng, one of Singapore's richest men. A spokeswoman for the company said in an e-mail on Monday: "We don't comment on ongoing commercial negotiations." Ecclestone, 86, is famous for outspoken media interviews during negotiations. The Briton attended this year's Singapore race amid negotiations on F1's takeover by U.S. cable TV mogul John Malone's Liberty Media <LMCA.O>.
Formula One announced a record-equalling 21-race provisional calendar for 2017 in September. [nL3N1C44IY] The Singapore race is one of the glamour rounds of the championship, taking place at night on a street circuit with spectators entertained by music acts such as Beyonce and Justin Bieber.
Crowds, which topped 100,000 on all three days in the first year, have declined, however, with this year's race averaging 73,000 spectators for each day, down from 87,000 in 2015. [nL3N1BV13F]
Structural Shift
A decline in ticket sales in Malaysia was also behind the decision by the government and race organisers there to end to their annual round of the championship, which has been held at Sepang since 1999. [nL4N1CU3H7] Singapore's tourist sector is seeing a structural shift away from heavy spenders and towards the emerging middle classes of China, India and Indonesia, analysts say.
Tourist arrivals have been on the rise. In the first eight months of this year, before the F1 race, the number of visitors was up 10.3 percent from the same period of 2015, at 11.3 million.
Singapore's tourism receipts in the first half of the year grew 12 percent to S$11.6 billion, driven mainly by shopping, accommodation and food and beverage, which offset a fall in sightseeing, entertainment and gaming.
Trinh Nguyen, a senior economist for emerging-market Asia at Natixis SA in Hong Kong, said the recent drop in F1 attendance may be a sign that the novelty of the event is wearing off, and may also be a reflection of weak regional growth.
"It (F1) also comes with costs. Thus, with tourism receipts (from F1) waning… the cost benefit calculus is tipping in the other direction," Nguyen said.
($1 = 1.4280 Singapore dollars)
Formula One http://tmsnrt.rs/21xb4Bv
(Reporting by Marius Zaharia in SINGAPORE and Alan Baldwin in LONDON; Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in SINGAPORE; Writing by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Ed Osmond) ((marius.zaharia@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6403 5657; Reuters Messaging: marius.zaharia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
SINGAPORE, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt over the future of the sport in Southeast Asia by telling a German magazine that Singapore no longer wants to host a grand prix after its current deal expires next year.
Neighbouring Malaysia will not host a Grand Prix after 2018 because of declining ticket sales and TV viewing figures, the country's Tourism and Culture Minister said on Monday, and the region could be left without a race for the first time since 1998.
The Singapore race costs some S$150 million ($105.04 million) to put on every year, 60 percent of which is funded by the government. It was first staged in 2008 and the city-state renewed its contract for another five years in 2012.
Ecclestone's blunt comments in Auto Motor und Sport, however, suggested negotiations over a further extension have not gone well.
"Look at what we have done for Singapore," Ecclestone said. "Yes, the grand prix has cost Singapore a lot of money, but we've also given them a lot of money.
"Singapore was suddenly more than just an airport to fly to or from somewhere. Now they believe they have reached their goal and they do not want a grand prix anymore." In comments to Singapore newspaper the Straits Times, however, Ecclestone clarified that F1's stand was that it did not want to lose Singapore.
"My words were taken in a funny way. What I said was simple – no decision has been taken yet. Negotiations are ongoing and will be sorted out shortly... before the end of the year, I'm sure. We want to extend long-term," he said. "We'll see what happens."
The event is organised in the city-state by Singapore GP, a private company owned by Ong Beng Seng, one of Singapore's richest men. A spokeswoman for the company said in an e-mail on Monday: "We don't comment on ongoing commercial negotiations." Ecclestone, 86, is famous for outspoken media interviews during negotiations. The Briton attended this year's Singapore race amid negotiations on F1's takeover by U.S. cable TV mogul John Malone's Liberty Media <LMCA.O>.
Formula One announced a record-equalling 21-race provisional calendar for 2017 in September. [nL3N1C44IY] The Singapore race is one of the glamour rounds of the championship, taking place at night on a street circuit with spectators entertained by music acts such as Beyonce and Justin Bieber.
Crowds, which topped 100,000 on all three days in the first year, have declined, however, with this year's race averaging 73,000 spectators for each day, down from 87,000 in 2015. [nL3N1BV13F]
Structural Shift
A decline in ticket sales in Malaysia was also behind the decision by the government and race organisers there to end to their annual round of the championship, which has been held at Sepang since 1999. [nL4N1CU3H7] Singapore's tourist sector is seeing a structural shift away from heavy spenders and towards the emerging middle classes of China, India and Indonesia, analysts say.
Tourist arrivals have been on the rise. In the first eight months of this year, before the F1 race, the number of visitors was up 10.3 percent from the same period of 2015, at 11.3 million.
Singapore's tourism receipts in the first half of the year grew 12 percent to S$11.6 billion, driven mainly by shopping, accommodation and food and beverage, which offset a fall in sightseeing, entertainment and gaming.
Trinh Nguyen, a senior economist for emerging-market Asia at Natixis SA in Hong Kong, said the recent drop in F1 attendance may be a sign that the novelty of the event is wearing off, and may also be a reflection of weak regional growth.
"It (F1) also comes with costs. Thus, with tourism receipts (from F1) waning… the cost benefit calculus is tipping in the other direction," Nguyen said.
($1 = 1.4280 Singapore dollars)
Formula One http://tmsnrt.rs/21xb4Bv
(Reporting by Marius Zaharia in SINGAPORE and Alan Baldwin in LONDON; Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in SINGAPORE; Writing by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Ed Osmond) ((marius.zaharia@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6403 5657; Reuters Messaging: marius.zaharia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
It'll be interesting to see firstly whether this is accurate, and if so whether it'll be the start of a trend over the next few years as contracts come back up for renewal.
There seems to be a "cloud" hanging over, what, a quarter of the calendar? As I'm sure there has been every year for some time to be fair.
There seems to be a "cloud" hanging over, what, a quarter of the calendar? As I'm sure there has been every year for some time to be fair.
thole locations in the world that Berrie hasn't used yet willing to take their place....
Derek Smith said:
It might mean two GPs in the UK, more in Europe, and some historical tracks returning.
Wishful thinking.The product is in decline and the list of sensible tracks wanting to partiocipate in it is going to get less and less.
How can you sell a pup when the pup is terminally ill.
Eric Mc said:
How can you sell a pup when the pup is terminally ill.
I say "meh" to overdramatisation. F1's a business, not a puppy.If a puppy dies, it is impossible to get it to recover. It's gone and won't come back short of a Zombie movie.
If F1 "dies" for want of a better word, something else would pop up because none of the people/companies involved would be dead, all of them have vested interests and money in it.
F1's going through a lot of changes in personnel and structure at the moment, and may look quite different in the next few years. I don't think that makes it "terminal". It'll just be different - practically the only thing you can rely on is that things change.
CVC pumped up the revenues of the F1 business through Bernie and FOM by going to pay per view TV in lots of markets, which always seemed to me to be short-sighted as it limits the audience of the sport (and consequently limits marketing income). I hope the new owners will ensure this limitation is reversed somehow: TV/internet based coverage to get lots of viewers/page hits/whatever. Just get F1 in front of more people to start with.
The changing of structures from dictatorships towards corporate-type structures will likely bring stability to rules, but will probably make the pace of change and responsiveness to problems slower; this simply happens when you get teams (committees by any other name) to run things. It's likely to benefit the manufacturers more than the indies because that's how the manufacturers are structured themselves, so I'd expect Merc, Renault, Honda and Ferrari to benefit from the change towards a corporate structure. (I say Honda, but I really mean McLarenHonda, and/or RBR Honda if that ever comes to pass).
The furore over team payments is quite likely to lead to a clearer structure with fewer inequities (Bernie essentially introduced these inequities in the form of bonus payments when he did the divide and conquer thing with the teams for the current agreement). I doubt any committee could have managed that so I expect it to get simpler and more "recent performance" based.
Things are a bit broken when circuits cannot profitably sustain an F1 race, particularly in nations where attendance is strong, so it's no wonder the 'less traditional' nations are feeling it.
F1 should easily be able to make enough money from broadcasting rights, corporate sponsorship etc to not need to charge circuits huge fees as well (particularly as the circuits are then severely restricted in what they can make money from during an F1 weekend).
F1 should easily be able to make enough money from broadcasting rights, corporate sponsorship etc to not need to charge circuits huge fees as well (particularly as the circuits are then severely restricted in what they can make money from during an F1 weekend).
Smollet said:
Can't say I'll miss either of them. Both circuits aren't exactly exciting and I've never been one for gimmicks a la the night race. If you want to race in the dark put some headlights on.
I'd actually quite like high powered white LEDs on the extremities of the front wings, for rain races. It'd give the drivers some chance of seeing people behind them in the spray.(but ONLY in rain. I don't like DRLs..)
I was lucky enough to attend the 2014 Singapore GP and I think it would be a real shame if it was no longer on the calendar.
I think F1 is becoming less appealing to 'non-fans' so to speak. The races in Europe will always attract those who love the sport, but more causal fans have less to go for.
Something I over heard at the 2014 GP spoke volumes. A guy beside me after the first pass of the cars on Sunday said "I thought the cars were meant to be loud..." I explained that they used to be very loud and the first time I saw them it was an amazing experience.
In that situation, it could have been the birth of fan. He could have went away from the race aw inspired by the noise like myself, but instead left thinking what the fuss was all about. I doubt he'll attend another.
Anyway that's a more general point about F1, but relating it to Singapore - I think it was always a race that appealed to casuals as well as fans, but there is less appeal now.
I think F1 is becoming less appealing to 'non-fans' so to speak. The races in Europe will always attract those who love the sport, but more causal fans have less to go for.
Something I over heard at the 2014 GP spoke volumes. A guy beside me after the first pass of the cars on Sunday said "I thought the cars were meant to be loud..." I explained that they used to be very loud and the first time I saw them it was an amazing experience.
In that situation, it could have been the birth of fan. He could have went away from the race aw inspired by the noise like myself, but instead left thinking what the fuss was all about. I doubt he'll attend another.
Anyway that's a more general point about F1, but relating it to Singapore - I think it was always a race that appealed to casuals as well as fans, but there is less appeal now.
Drew106 said:
I was lucky enough to attend the 2014 Singapore GP and I think it would be a real shame if it was no longer on the calendar.
I think F1 is becoming less appealing to 'non-fans' so to speak. The races in Europe will always attract those who love the sport, but more causal fans have less to go for.
Something I over heard at the 2014 GP spoke volumes. A guy beside me after the first pass of the cars on Sunday said "I thought the cars were meant to be loud..." I explained that they used to be very loud and the first time I saw them it was an amazing experience.
In that situation, it could have been the birth of fan. He could have went away from the race aw inspired by the noise like myself, but instead left thinking what the fuss was all about. I doubt he'll attend another.
Anyway that's a more general point about F1, but relating it to Singapore - I think it was always a race that appealed to casuals as well as fans, but there is less appeal now.
With the greatest of respect, people who go to races aren't F1's priority.I think F1 is becoming less appealing to 'non-fans' so to speak. The races in Europe will always attract those who love the sport, but more causal fans have less to go for.
Something I over heard at the 2014 GP spoke volumes. A guy beside me after the first pass of the cars on Sunday said "I thought the cars were meant to be loud..." I explained that they used to be very loud and the first time I saw them it was an amazing experience.
In that situation, it could have been the birth of fan. He could have went away from the race aw inspired by the noise like myself, but instead left thinking what the fuss was all about. I doubt he'll attend another.
Anyway that's a more general point about F1, but relating it to Singapore - I think it was always a race that appealed to casuals as well as fans, but there is less appeal now.
With the greatest of respect, spectators will be important to the venue. And if the venue can't attract them, then the venue can only operate at a loss. In many cases a significant loss. The only venues that can then survive are those supported by government (i.e. taxes). What we are seeing with Malaysia is that the government feels it can no longer justify spending taxpayers money on an event like this.
I am sure we will see more situations like this as governments decide there is no perceived benefit to funding loss making races.
No venues = no races.
I am sure we will see more situations like this as governments decide there is no perceived benefit to funding loss making races.
No venues = no races.
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