Quote:
Originally Posted by Derwent
Surely it is about the amount of interest there is in the country and a past culture of racing.
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If that were to be the only reason to race at a particular venue - I feel that would make the sport very insular in nature. I would put forward the idea that the sport has to expand into other markets to allow the future fandom to grow.
If you took the requirement to have a past culture literally, then Japan's entry onto the calendar in 1976 or Brazil's in 1972 should be challenged. But, both of those countries have gone on to build a history and seem to be more than accepted as countries to race in. Bahrain is building a history having hosted 20 GPs, just behind's Mexico with 22.
How does a country build a culture of racing, if the pinnacle of Formula Racing does not visit there?
How do you build a history of F1 racing in a country, if you are never allowed to host your 1st race?
I can accept that moving too fast into a new market, at the detriment of others, can be a bad move. But IMO, F1 should not be dismissive of new locations just because of a lack of history.