Quote:
Originally Posted by Akrapovic
I think that whole calendar is weird.
- It's called F1 Academy, but it spends most of the year not with F1
- Overseas is expensive
- Stand-alone event? Why?
- Too big an end gap
Just make it an F1 support series for half the European events.
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For that first point - sure, but I can see it being a positive (possibly - very unlikely, though). It might be good for the NASCAR Euro Series et al to have "F1" on it's support card. I know they don't struggle for numbers at Brands Hatch or Vallelunga, but elsewhere it might help.
For the second point - I imagine there's a well organised freight route for F1 and its support series for Austin. It might not add much of a cost beyond flying drivers and personnel out and an extra £1000ish (however much a ticket to Texas costs) isn't 'massive' when your annual budget is somewhere in the region of £75,000-£100,000. There's also a hell of a lot of 'W' drivers in North America and the money/interest is plentiful over there.
Bare in mind there is more to motorsport than Europe alone. Running elsewhere gives opportunities in a lot of other roles too, and the rest of the world deserve that opportunity imo - plenty of options for Europeans elsewhere. The US is too, but it's near enough for Mexicans or even Argentinians to make their way over at least.
Agree with the overall sentiment though...
In a positive context, I'm excited to see how Bustamente does. I didn't think much of her when she started in W Series last year, but she's made a lot of strides forward in the off-season.