An interesting, GP2 related snippet from Dieter Rencken's
'Filling up the calendar' Weekly Grapevine article on Autosport.com (Subscribers only, I think).
Etienne Davignon, chairman of the race-promoting company Spa Grand Prix, has said that, if Spa did timeshare F1 with another venue, in the off year they'd have a GP2 meeting instead. Then...
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Originally Posted by Dieter Rencken
When pressed, he told reporters that Ecclestone intended setting GP2 up as a sort of First Division to F1's Premier League, with its own worldwide calendars.
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He then summarises...
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Originally Posted by Dieter Rencken
One can see the logic, for the FD is not a curtain raiser to the PL, but one wonders about the side effects, for young drivers need to perform in front of F1 team bosses if they are to find seats in the premier formula. Still, it may raise funds for F1 commercial rights holder and GP2 owner CVC Capital Partners
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Personally, I'd love to see GP2 have more standalone events, but if it's to happen, TV coverage of the series needs to become more widely available. Forcing the F1 broadcasters to (at least) show highlights on their free to air channels would be a start.
Dieter also say's though, "Could this spinning off of GP2, though, be a reaction to the success of the FIA's own F2 championship". I wasn't aware Super Palmer Audi was a success! The FIA must be pumping a lot of Palmer's propaganda into the F1 paddock...
