F1
Jenson Button's warning to preserve historic circuits
Jenson Button places himself on the drivers' side. © DPPI / F. Gooden
The announcement of the 2023 calendar of the Formula 1 is long overdue but some strong indications suggest that the Belgian Grand Prix will be forgotten for next season, due to the growing number of new destinations (probably 24 events) and countries lining up more money than traditional countries like Belgium.
The idea of composing without the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in 2023 hardly delights the members of the paddocks as well as the former drivers. Asked about this perspective, Jenson Button would not understand this withdrawal from the program.
“If Spa is not here, I will be very upset”, declared the winner of the 2012 edition to the WTF1 podcast. “If you take Spa away, it’s not because it’s not a good circuit. It's one of the best in the world, the racing is incredible, the drivers love it and the teams love going there. We have to be a little careful. We know Formula 1 is entertainment and a certain TV show (Drive to Survive on Netflix. Editor’s note) made it very famous in America, which is great for the sport.
But we have to make sure we keep the championship exciting and go to circuits that give us great racing because you're going to see happy drivers. You're going to get a lot more out of them if they're happy to ride. Otherwise, they're going to wonder, "Why are we on this trail?" It's no fun, you can't overtake, it's too narrow. » »
The 2009 F1 world champion, in addition to putting himself in the shoes of his former colleagues, warns Liberty Media of the propensity that the American owners of the sport have to visit cities more than necessary (Baku, Jeddah, Miami these days). recent years, Las Vegas in 2023).
« I like the mix of having street circuits and old school tracks, but we can't go to every city center and go there just because of the glamorous location. It must be because of the track itself and the country it's in too, because that's how you grow the fan base, and you'll have a fun race to watch on TV, with lots of fights. »
ALSO READ > Christian Horner wants to keep Spa-Francorchamps on the 2023 calendar
Medhi Casaurang
Passionate about the history of motorsport across all disciplines, I learned to read thanks to AUTOhebdo. At least that's what my parents tell everyone when they see my name inside!
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Jean-Yves Hubert
14/08/2022 at 07:22 a.m.
I agree, city circuits have no soul, plus the spectators are parked so that they cannot move from one place to another during the races! Null...