European tracks are the heart of F1 fan base

Since Liberty Media took over Formula One there has been a lot of speculation regarding the direction the American company will take the sport.

It’s widely known that they want to build their audience in North America and that at least one more Grand Prix will be added to the calendar based in the USA.

But Liberty President and CEO Greg Maffei has also moved to clarify their position on Formula One’s historical heartland which is in Europe.

Under the dictatorship of Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One has moved out to countries and continents never before seen by the sport.

Commercially it makes sense to try and break the Asian market in China and hold events in rich countries such as the United Arab Emirates.

But it sometimes felt like Europe, where the majority of Formula One’s interest is still based had become a second thought.

France has had a strong connection with Formula One, Renault, one of just three manufacturers in the sport are French, multiple race winners and former world champions have come from France but they haven’t hosted a Grand Prix since 2008.

For financial reasons, Germany hasn’t had a regular slot on the Formula One calendar, during a period where Mercedes have dominated the sport.

In 2018 both France and Germany are scheduled to host events once again and Maffei has spoken of it’s importance.

‘It is most negative when you have some of our traditional Western European tracks which are at the heart of the fan base, like in Germany, go out.

‘But there’s already progress to bring them back, and if you recall we added the Ricard track in France, another place where we’ve been gone for some years. he told motorsport.com.

Maffei continued: ‘The origin of F1 is in France and England, so we’re big believers in making sure places like Silverstone and the French track and the German are on the race calendars and are exciting events, which are beneficial to all the players.’

But Maffei also suggested that some of these older, more historical tracks could benefit from the new ideas the newer events are pushing.

‘One of the things we need to do is make the races more compelling and exciting and more beneficial to promoters, Take best practices, what worked in exciting races like Mexico City, like Singapore, like Abu Dhabi, bring those best practices across the globe to traditional tracks, which may not have had either as much financing capability, but also just don’t have as exciting a product at the moment.’