Melbourne night race still a talking point
6 March, 2013
2012 Australian GP start
Leading formula one figures have called on organisers of the Australian grand prix to consider switching to a Singapore-style night race format.
Keen to install a better television time for the bulk European audience, F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has been pushing the idea for years, but the state government has always ruled it out.
In fact, the Albert Park event is already highly controversial within Victoria, with opponents baulking at the cost to taxpayers and even the government refusing to commit to a new contract beyond the existing 2015 deal.
Ecclestone said recently: “We hope we’re going to be in Melbourne forever, although we do get a bit of criticism and I don’t know why.”
Suddenly, a trio of what the local Herald Sun newspaper described as F1 ‘heavyweights’ are proposing a flootlit night-race format for the grand prix.
2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton said he backs the idea to see Melbourne alternate normal daylight races with a floodlit race once every three years.
“I’d like to see things vary because every year is the same,” he said.
Agreed Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo: “It sounds like a good compromise.”
And Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was also quoted as saying: “A night race in Melbourne, when you consider where the viewing figures are, could be interesting.”
Related posts:
- Melbourne want to extend grand prix deal
- Malaysia will not modify circuit to host night race
- Ecclestone offers to end Melbourne contract
- Ecclestone resumes his annual Melbourne war-of-words
- Ecclestone wants Melbourne night race
After that then we have the problem of globular warming or some such other bad things hapening.well of course this would happen with so many extra lights all over the show.even if you just put the lights on the car well thats two lights on every car a major impactation on globular warming should be banned!
Im not so sure this is going to be so good idea.Well there has to be too ways of doing it.well the cars cant see at night so you would have to put in some sort of lights on the car like my car that i drive at home.But can you even imagine were to put them?I just cant.
apart from or maybe even and including this you would have to put lights all around the road where the cars race each other.well that seems fine to me but once i fell off the road and almost hit one of those poles standing from the ground were the lights are hanging.Can you just imagine how dangerus this would be for the drivers if they hit that.
Please, not another night race. If the European audience is so important then keep the majority of races in Europe. How do the locals in Asian and other countries feel about having to get to and from circuits at unearthly hours just for the sake of Euro TV?
@ Nick, Adelaide didnt want the F1′s. They had the race but neither premier Bannon, Arnold, or Brown wanted to resign. So it went back to Albert Park, where it originally was
Should just give it back to Adelaide. Make it a Night Race, one week after the Clipsal 500.