Croatia might host a Formula 1 grand prix in near future – Formula 1 news
Recent reports suggest that Croatia may become the latest country to host a Formula 1 grand prix.
It has been revealed that the project was planned to take place just outside of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia and it has full support from the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone as well as a result of which Bernie favoured track designer Hermann Tilke for this job.
Reports revealed that the project’s estimated budget is €250 million which is mainly coming from private investors and it is expected that it would take more than 18 months to complete this project. However, it is expected that the Croatian government is
going to involve itself in this project later on as well and it would be an attempt to ease any sort of bureaucratic obstacles.
Other than that, Croatia is not a member of the European Union yet and the country is currently experiencing some unrest. Croatians marched through Zagreb in thousands this past weekend demanding the fall of their current government amid the financial crisis
and corruption accusations.
Since the current situation in Croatia is unfavourable for a Formula 1 grand prix, the FIA should back off and let the government resolve its issues before beginning something big in the country. If the FIA fails to complete this project in the Croatia,
millions of Euros would go to waste and since the current financial scenario of the sport is not very strong due to instability, the FIA should wait or maybe delay this idea for at least a couple of years.
The main reason for the FIA’s financial decline is the current financial and economic crisis the world is going through since the amount of resources on earth have deteriorated vitally since the past couple of years. The price of Petrol has increased drastically
as a result as well because of which the FIA has decided to use more efficient engines starting from the 2013 Formula 1 season which are going to be operated electrically.
However, Bernie Ecclestone revealed during the 2010 Formula 1 season that Formula 1 needs to flourish and in order to do that; the FIA would need to take the sport to various countries of the world.
Since the FIA has also admitted that the sport is going through a major financial crisis at the moment, spending money on races where the turnout is not going to be as big as the European races. As a result, the yearly income of the sport is going to be
affected vitally and this is not the best of ideas at the moment.
The Korean Grand Prix took place in the 2010 Formula 1 season and the turnout of the race was not as ‘big’ as it was expected. Organising races in countries like Croatia or even South Africa is a big risk for the sport. Therefore, the organisers should wait
for an opportunity before making such major decisions that might affect the economy of the sport on a permanent level.
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