The change F1 must make to bring back classic races

Last week's suggestion that the Brazilian Grand Prix should be scrapped until concrete steps are taken to ensure the safety and security of F1 personnel travelling to/from the circuit after attacks were mounted on folk from Mercedes, Williams, FIA, Pirelli and Sauber generated support from fans, teams, and the media - and sparked a debate over which race fans would like to see replace it.

Since then, F1 and the FIA have announced that the matter will be discussed at the next World Motorsport Council meeting on December 6 in Paris, but, frankly, this wholly unacceptable state of affairs requires more than "discussion".

Concurrent with publication of the column, Autosport took to Twitter and asked fans which venue(s) they felt should replace Interlagos if push ultimately resulted in shove. Admittedly this mini-survey was aimed at Autosport's social media community and, as such, hardly rates as scientific, but the intriguing outcome is that, in the main, classic circuits rather than modern venues were listed. Most were former F1 hosts.

Equally intriguing was that no street circuits were listed, save that a respondent suggested Cape Town for a South African Grand Prix - but did not specify whether the event should be hosted by a to-be-built permanent circuit, as had been the plan a decade ago, or a street circuit taking in the FIFA World Cup Stadium, as has oft been mooted.

Either way, Cape Town's council is unlikely to take the bait, having committed to WRX for three years, at least.

Circuits such as Imola (Italy, host of the San Marino Grand Prix), Kyalami (South Africa), Estoril (Portugal), Watkins Glen and Long Beach (both USA), plus the Turkish/Indian venues that recently hosted F1 grands prix were listed, as was Silverstone - by a lobbyist clearly hoping the historic circuit retains the British Grand Prix despite having triggered its exit clause.

Non-F1 venues Laguna Seca (USA) and Bathurst (Australia) were suggested, while an annual German Grand Prix - as opposed to the prevailing alternate-year deal that favours Hockenheim - was called for, as was a return to Argentina. Last-named, of course, makes perfect sense should Brazil be canned, for a race in the neighbouring country would ensure that the South American continent box remains ticked.

While the thought of a full grand prix field tackling the Mount Panorama Circuit that towers above the New South Wales city of Bathurst borders on the romantic, the chances of the venue ever attaining a Grade 1 FIA licence are, sadly, zero, relegating the Australian circuit to a folder marked "Impossible Dreams", while Laguna, considered during the eighties as alternative to Phoenix's street race, is too remote and too small.

Most of the circuits suggested last hosted grands prix 30 (or more) years ago, and as such hardly register with younger fans. That said, the spread covers all regions, bar, tellingly, the Far East - which must surely alarm the suits at Liberty Media, FOM's owner, who identified Asia, and more particularly Vietnam, as prime F1 territory.

Not a word was said, either, about a street race in Miami (running a close second to the Asian country in Liberty's books), nor about an event in New York, yet both are internally referred to by the commercial rights holder as "destination cities".

Indeed, on the basis of Liberty's interest, Miami has attracted unwelcome attention, with a protest group flighting full-page advertisements in The Miami Herald under the headline "Say No To Formula One Closing Miami Streets", referring to the months of construction, street closures, pollution, detours and costs that such a venture would inevitably be imposed on the east coast playground city by "fat cats". This follows a popular-within-the-paddock Formula E event in Miami that has small likelihood of ever returning.

The greater New York area previously had its crack at the F1 whip at the turn of the decade when New Jersey's Port Imperial Street Circuit was included on the 2013 calendar by the FIA, before being postponed and subsequently scrapped, even from later provisional calendars. It is difficult to foresee this project ever being resurrected, and if New Jersey could not pull off a grand prix in the area, who could?

If Liberty really does have the best interests of F1 fans at heart, then there is no better place to start than by reducing exorbitant hosting fees, which affect ticket pricing...

If Liberty Media is serious about expanding F1 calendars - or even maintaining 20/21-race fixture lists given that Malaysia has already walked and others may well follow - it could do worse than consider those traditional venues that were sacrificed by the previous manager of F1's rights, CVC Capital Partners.

Here one thinks of such as Imola, Kyalami and Estoril. These surely beat Vietnam's streets hands down as potential venues, while a return to Argentina would also be most welcome. A delegation consisting of would-be Buenos Aires promoter, local politicians and businessmen attended the recent Mexican Grand Prix on a fact-finding mission, so something is obviously in the air.

Imola was recently in the running as Italian Grand Prix venue, and complies with all FIA F1 requirements. The former San Marino Grand Prix venue had, in fact, signed a provisional deal with F1's ex-ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone. Ultimately, though, Monza retained Italy's round with the help of politicians and legislators, but if the land of Ferrari is able to hold two MotoGP rounds (at Mugello and Misano), why can't F1 (again) in future?

Kyalami has recently had around £30m spent on it, and effectively complies with all FIA Grade 1 requirements save on the grandstand side, so could be persuaded to host a South African Grand Prix if the sums add up. Clearly they don't at present - with the same applying to the Portuguese venue - but that is a function of emerging countries' willingness to pay over the odds, chasing up hosting fees.

If, as it regularly vows, Liberty really does have the best interests of F1 fans at heart, then there is no better place to start than by reducing exorbitant hosting fees, which in turn affect event viability and, by extension, ticket pricing. That, though, is a story for another week.

Then, of course, Zandvoort fancies itself as a returning venue off the back of Max Verstappen's popularity. One cannot, though, help feeling that the Dutch circuit is in danger of overestimating the support such a race would generate given the nomadic nature of orange-clad fans, who now view grands prix as opportunities to travel internationally while enjoying the spectacle of seeing their compatriot in action.

An annual return to Germany is another "must" in line with the original, albeit myopic, intention behind the rotating "time share" deal Ecclestone struck with Hockenheim (even years) and the Nurburgring (odd years). This, though, fell apart when the latter plunged into bankruptcy. The circuit was saved from extinction by Russian oligarch Viktor Kharitonin after Ecclestone's family trust was out-bid.

While the odds of India returning to the F1 calendar seem remote - according to sources, the Buddh International Circuit's facilities, not constructed to the best standards in the first place, have deteriorated markedly since F1 last raced there in 2013 - until the country and Uttar Pradesh sort out their various tax structures to ensure that F1 is not penalised on earnings, Turkey's odds seem significantly better.

In fact, earlier this year Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted FOM CEO and chairman Chase Casey and local motorsport administrators at his presidential palace in Ankara to discuss the chances of F1 returning to the Istanbul Park circuit in 2018 for the first time since 2011. While that clearly has not come to pass, the mere fact that there is again dialogue provides grounds for optimism.

Which brings us to the two classic US venues: Long Beach and Watkins Glen. Taking last-named first, the chances of F1 returning to "The Glen" situated 200 miles north west of New York are deemed unlikely given that it caters mainly to US national series and had its planned 2018 IndyCar round dropped. If a circuit is unable to retain IndyCar, what chance of doing long-term deals with F1?

According to documents seen by Autosport, in October 2016 the City of Long Beach called for proposals for one of either an IndyCar grand prix or an F1 round running largely on the historic street circuit.

The concept of running both during a season was briefly considered, but canned given that "the two race formats have different requirements for the track (including length of track, race course layout, ancillary improvements) that are not compatible; it is unknown how multiple races would impact attendance and economic outcomes; and, Formula 1 has indicated that they would view back-to-back races as a competitive disadvantage".

Ultimately there were two bids, one from IndyCar promoter Grand Prix Association of Long Beach (GPALB), which planned to promote an IndyCar round, and World Automobile Championship of California (F1) - headed by veteran Long Beach F1 promoter Chris Pook, who believed that F1 could provide up to three times the economic benefits compared to IndyCar.

After a full investigation by auditors KPMG, the IndyCar bid received the nod on the grounds that its proposal was by various measures the more comprehensive. Liberty stressed that it was not involved in the bid, so did not comment officially, but the chances of F1 running at the venue it made its own from 1976-83 in the near future are scuppered by that IndyCar deal.

Clearly F1 fans still hanker after traditional circuits, all of which is good but may cause Liberty to re-examine its strategy, for by their nature historic venues are unable to pay top dollar. That would place a squeeze on revenues, the effects of which will eventually trickle down to the teams...