Analysis: Future in Doubt for Spa-Francorchamps

Michael Schumacher made history on Sunday when his sixth Belgian Grand Prix victory made him the first driver to win 10 races in a season but his favourite circuit may not be on the calendar for much longer.

As the last Formula One fans left Spa-Francorchamps - draped in the Ferrari red and leaving a trail of empty beer cans behind them - many were asking themselves whether cigarettes would be the death of the Grand Prix and Belgian pride.

Five years ago the Belgian government passed a law banning tobacco advertising. The legislation, which is due to come into effect on August 1 2003, falls in line with the International Automobile Federation's (FIA) wish to ban all tobacco sponsorship of its events.

But the FIA has insisted that any ban should not come in before the end of the 2006 season and president Max Mosley said in April that any country acting sooner would lose its Grand Prix.

In contrast with other countries - such as Malaysia which recently said its ban would not apply to major sporting events for the time being - Belgium has made no exception for its Grand Prix and risks losing the money-spinning event.

"Losing the Grand Prix would be a blow to the image of the region. Francorchamps was one of the first tracks in the world and is one of the most splendid," said a spokesman for Belgium's southern Wallonian government.

At a time when other countries, such as Turkey and China, are clamouring for the prestige of hosting one of the world's richest and most glamorous sports, many are wondering if Belgium's ban makes commercial sense.

The Grand Prix generates about 25 million euro a year for the local economy, according to an official at the Wallonian Economy Ministry. Critics say the cigarette advertising ban would be bad for Spa's economic health. Worst hit would be the hotels and restaurants catering for the thousands of motor racing fans who flock to the region every year.

"It's our most important weekend of the year," said hotel owner Nadia Vandenhende-Dethier, who has hosted the BAR team for more than a decade.

"The only thing foreigners know about Belgium is the Grand Prix and Dutroux (convicted child rapist Marc Dutroux)," she added." Now the only thing we have is Dutroux."

Legal Action

Since 1999, when the government threatened legal action against teams running with tobacco advertising, local senators have fought hard to protect Belgium's historic Grand Prix. But their latest effort to save it failed in July when Christian Democrat senators rejected a bill that would have lifted the ban for Spa's annual motor racing extravaganza.

"The existence of the circuit is directly linked to Formula One. Although there are other events like motocross, karting and the 24 hours of Spa, these don't amount to much," senator Philippe Monfils told Reuters.

He warned that the regional Wallonia government - which has invested 100 million euro in recent years in factories and other industries around the circuit - would stop digging into its coffers if Formula One were to abandon Spa.

Another attempt to delay the advertising ban is not expected before next June's general elections. Monfils had hoped that next year's Grand Prix could be brought forward one month. But with the 2003 calendar already drawn up and Spa-Francorchamps pencilled in for the beginning of September, this looks unlikely.

The threat to Spa-Francorchamps, a favourite circuit with the drivers, has drawn bitter criticism from Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone.

"Every year it's the same thing. I don't know what the problem...is but while the majority of other countries fully support their Grand Prix, in Belgium I have to fight to keep the race," he was reported as saying after Budapest.

"If we stop (Formula One in Belgium), it won't necessarily be because of the tobacco question. It's a question of attitude. It's not nice to go to someone's house and feel you're not welcome," Ecclestone said.

Inauspicious Start

Spa-Francorchamps, deep in the picturesque Ardennes forests, hosted its first car race 80 years ago. The track should have been inaugurated the year before but only one competitor registered and the race was dropped.

Despite its rather inauspicious debut, the seven-kilometre, high-speed track is considered by many drivers as the only circuit to rival Monaco for thrills and spills. The main attraction, Eau Rouge, a left-right sweeping curve, is one of the most famous in Grand Prix racing.

"It was my favourite track from the beginning," Schumacher has said. "It means a lot to me because it plays an important part in my racing history."

The Ferrari World Champion debuted in Spa in 1991 with Jordan, taking his first Grand Prix victory there in 1992 for Benetton.

"I'd be very disappointed if it went. It's one of the true, great circuits," McLaren's David Coulthard said before Sunday's race. The Scotsman won once at Spa-Francorchamps, in 1999, and was fourth on Sunday.

But McLaren's team principal Ron Dennis, adding his voice to those of other managers, said that Formula One could not afford to be nostalgic about Spa-Francorchamps despite its charisma.

"There are 17 races permitted on the current World Championship and there are countries prepared to go further in providing venues, better facilities, better circuits and inevitably a better package," he said.

The race in Belgium - a small kingdom of just 10 million inhabitants, was probably at the bottom of the scale for producing revenue, Dennis said.

"And if Turkey comes in, or the race in Bahrain comes and if commercial terms are significantly better - which cascade down to everybody, including ourselves, - then you have got to look at it and say this is a way to bring up the quality of Grand Prix racing," he said.