Leading F1 figures hail Chinese GP

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone put pen to paper on a seven-year contract for a new track in Shanghai to stage the race on Monday, and the prospect of racing in the world's most populous country is being seen as a tantalising prospect.

"With new events you usually get huge crowds who are massively enthusiastic," said Renault technical director, Mike Gascoyne. "I remember the first year at Indy, with 180,000 in the grandstands, was a fantastic thing and I'm sure it will be like that. This is a world championship and we are meant to be racing around the world."

Williams commercial director Jim Wright believes that there will be tangible benefits from the fact that F1 will become one of the few international sports to gain exposure within the Chinese marketplace.

"Potentially it is an enormous breakthrough," he said, "because it opens up whole new possibilities for us - there is not a single one of our sponsors who feel that they do not want to be marketing in China."

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An illustration of the new track
Eddie Jordan's view on the new race
The European rounds facing the chop
The background to staging a Chinese GP

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