The future of the Chinese GP called into question

While the Chinese GP contract will end in 2017, the promoters of the race held in Shanghai are concerned about the drop in interest noticed during these last editions. If the organizers announced the presence of 145 spectators over the whole of last weekend where Lewis Hamilton won, above all they want to see the trend reversed to continue to welcome the F1.

“Changes must be made in the discipline”, warned Yang Yibin, the marketing manager of promoter Juss Event, on Shanghai Daily. “(World Bank) UBS was the title sponsor of the Chinese GP last year, but they didn’t extend their contract this year and there must be a reason for that. Maybe we can hope for something new after the Bernie (Ecclestone) era."

The spokesperson for the promotion company does not seem surprised by the drop in interest from which F1 has suffered in recent years. “There are several reasons: a team that dominates for more seasons, modest teams that struggle to face bigger manufacturers… The races are no longer as splendid as they were a decade ago."

Discover the analysis of the Chinese GP in the 2007 issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.