No European GP on the calendar since 2005??

...so...there's this interesting piece in The New York Times from Wednesday (in that business supplement or whatever)...Since 2005, there's been an ABSLOUTNO ban on tobacco advertising anywhere in the European Union. Apparently, some commission over at the EU realized the current anti-smoking campaigns aren't actually working, so they decided—besides hiking up prices by about 30% across the whole European Union—to lean into this ban method, which is basically a death sentence for Formula 1 in Europe...

So, if this goes through, the only places left will be Monaco and San Marino (since they aren't in the EU) and maybe Russia if they decide to build a track...

🙂 Mike's heading to other continents...

Not really... sure, there are plenty of legendary Formula 1 races that aren't going anywhere, but let's be real: a lot of tracks are definitely getting dropped from the calendar because of this...

...I'm not saying it won't happen... but man, what's the point of Formula 1 without Europe? You can't just have one or two races over there when that's where all the legendary tracks are located...

Don't be so quick to dismiss it; there might actually be some upside to all this chaos...

For instance, it could be just the nudge needed to finally bring Formula 1 to the States, especially considering how much we're still working on fully integrating into the European Union. 😛

Gerald Walker30 said:Hey, take it easy on the pessimism, there might actually be some upside to all this chaos...

I mean, look, it could be a solid excuse to finally bring Formula 1 over to our neck of the woods, especially since we aren't exactly joining the European Union anytime soon. 😛

Yeah, sure, assuming we can actually build a decent track first. That circuit we have out near the suburbs was clearly designed for motorcycles, not high-speed open-wheelers.

And what’s everyone’s take on kicking tobacco sponsors out of the sport entirely? It feels like the momentum is already shifting. Honestly, I think every single team is going to be forced to jump on the bandwagon eventually, mostly because they can't afford to lose their foothold in Europe—though, now that I think about it, maybe that's exactly what they want?!??

brightrider8 said:Yeah, if we ever actually manage to build a decent track...

I mean, you can dream... but what makes you think there'll be any money left for a circuit after they finish building those 1,300 churches and a hundred football stadiums? And of course—it's all coming straight out of our pockets... 😠

...or maybe we just got lucky? We build a track, get everything ready for Formula 1, and then suddenly we're in the European Union...

fadedsailor932 said:[B. Daklem, if they actually pull this off, all that's left are Monaco and San Marino—since they aren't in the European Union—plus Russia, assuming they even bother building a track...
🙂 Mike’s going global... [/B]

Not quite! Let's be real—the big money in Formula 1 is shifting toward breweries and tech giants now. You look at Williams, they don't even have a tobacco sponsor anymore. It would be absolutely ridiculous if F1 stopped racing in the United Kingdom, Germany, or Italy!

Look, Majoj, there’s really no need to freak out. I mean, if Bernie had actually let that happen, you’d be the laughingstock of the town, right? 🙂 Every single one of those teams is from Europe, except for Ford. So, I guess what would that even accomplish? Don't sweat it; a barking dog won't actually bite you. 😉