It has now officially been a day. I still find it hard to believe Jules Bianchi has parted from the face of this earth yesterday. I believe he is in a better place now, high above with the rest of the other F1 drivers. May he find more happiness there. May the emotional wounds of his loved ones be healed in a faster process. May the F1 family stand united and strong for Bianchi's passing. Thank you for those many years of fine quality racing you've showed us as a fighter in your own right. As they say, "champions never die", we shall see you again very soon in the future.
The reason why I decided to blog today is part of Jules Bianchi's death. I take writing as my form of solace. I just needed to get rid of the trauma I still have from yesterday and the best way to do so is through writing. The other reason would be for the reason that there is no F1 this weekend when the German GP is supposed to take place later today.
If you are one of those who have been reading the news lately, the Holocene extinction, also known as earth's sixth mass extinction, is bound to happen. Today, I am very sad to announce a seventh mass extinction has just been discovered. The difference would be that human beings will be the cause to the sixth whereas the seventh is caused by a specific human being by the name of Mr Bernie Ecclestone. Like all researchers, one gets to name anything new he/she discovers after his/her name or anything he/she finds fit. I shall name this the Banishment (I know it sounds so cool, thank you *inserts sarcasm*. More on the explanation of the name will be done in the new few paragraphs).
According to an online dictionary, one of the two meanings of banish is to "get rid of (something unwanted)". I find this word rather accurate to describe the current situation in F1. Classic tracks are getting banished, the volume of the engines are banished, the freedom for aerodynamic development are banished... So now you understand why I name the seventh extinction as the Banishment. I know the word is kind of extreme but it is the only way I can emphasise the seriousness of how F1 is turning into.
As mentioned a few paragraphs before, the German GP was supposed to happen this weekend. It was on the calendar before the season began. Unfortunately the race was cut out from the 2015 schedule in mid March. We are promised a German GP comeback next year in Hockenheim but can we be guaranteed that something like this won't happen again in 2016? I would say the prospect of another race fallout is a 50/50. Our Hitler of the F1 world has warned that the 2016 German GP might be axed IF the Hockenheim race organisers do not cover the cost on time. In a nutshell, it means all tickets (or at least close to that) must be sold and attendance must be filled, so long as the money from Hockenheim is transferred to Ecclestone's already fat ass bank account then the 2016 German GP will go ahead.
Classic race tracks in the European region are slowly dwindling and losing out to newer tracks of little personality; the track layouts are bland where they look like great looking tracks but not delivering the best of corners and straights...
"If Monza goes, it goes. Whatever goes, goes." - Bernie Ecclestone
That sentence absolutely disgusts me. I mean, why is F1 even keeping this money sucking bastard in the sport, he is just bringing it down with him to his death. By the time someone takes over from his reign or he realises his mistake (which would only take a miracle to see that happening), F1 would be so damaged that it will be too hard to bring back up. It is unbelievable how Ecclestone could say that. With our once beloved tracks like Zandvoort, Magny Cours, Imola and Valencia left for newer tracks with richer spectators, the German tracks and Monza are his next targets to pushing more F1 tracks to non-existence.
I don't mind having new F1 tracks. Like heck yes to new races in new countries across the globe, that just means we have more F1 fans from around the world! The problem is that the tracks are simply made to just be a track any car can drive around without pure thrill. We need more to that. We need all cars to be fast and competitive on all fields to race as close to each other on a proper track.
Race tracks have a strong influence on defining how a race turns out; whether it is entertaining or dull to watch. I see no more hope in bringing the wonderful classic tracks of the past back but I do beg that no current tracks will be kicked aside in favour of Ecclestone earning more money from every new track he builds on a rich land with no genuine interest in F1. The European tracks are the ones that brought F1 to glory, brought racing to justice and placed F1 on the world map on how amazing this motorsport is (or was, for now)... F1 is meant to be for everyone, money shouldn't have been the issue in the very beginning. It is true F1 is supposedly the most glamorous motorsport of all but that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed by the middle and lower classes. That is one of the reasons why the number of spectators decreases each year, idiot. Without the massive number of followings decades ago, F1 wouldn't be here. So deal with it, Ecclestone, and just grant us fans these simple little things to bring F1 back to life and make us hate you a little less.
