F1 calendar clash with Le Mans in 2016 "an attack" on WEC
The scheduling of a Formula 1 race against Le Mans 24 Hours next year has been described as a "clear attack" on the World Endurance Championship, according to series boss Gerard Neveu
Neveu blamed F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone for the date conflict over the weekend of June 18/19 that comes against a backdrop of growing interest of current grand prix drivers in Le Mans following Nico Hulkenberg's victory with Porsche this year.
He described the clash of WEC events with five other grands prix as inevitable, but suggested that scheduling of the European Grand Prix - F1's inaugural race in Azerbaijan - on Le Mans weekend was deliberate.
"It's a clear attack on us and on this race," Neveu told Autosprint magazine of the F1 clash with Le Mans.
"Ecclestone never does anything nonchalantly."
Neveu suggested the "FIA should have protected us better".
That is a reference to a gentleman's agreement between the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the Le Mans organiser and WEC promoter, and the FIA that the weekend of the 24 Hours would be left free on the F1 calendar.
That agreement dates back to 2011, the year of the last clash between Le Mans and an F1 race, when the ACO was confirmed as the promoter of the re-born WEC for the following season.
Neveu added it would be the fans and drivers who would lose out.
"It is a shame because by doing this you take away the possibility of having F1 stars entering what still is the most important race in the world," he said.
"We could have had Hulkenberg and also other F1 drivers - motorsport fans are losing out."
ACO president Pierre Fillon expressed similar sentiments on the clash.
"I am not worried for Le Mans, but I am disappointed for the fans," he said.
"Because I think they liked seeing F1 drivers, like they used to in the old days."
The clash means that Hulkenberg will be unable to take up a place in Porsche's LMP1 line-up that was all but agreed, although the German manufacturer has said that it is willing to wait for an undisclosed period to see if there are any changes to the F1 calendar.
AUTOSPORT SAYS
Gary Watkins, special correspondent (@gazzasportscars)
The Le Mans 24 Hours takes place in June - world wars, civil unrest and quirks of the calendar apart - so I'm not entirely sure that an F1 race on the same day in a country with no motorsport heritage is going detract in any way from the great race, and the ACO agrees with me on that one.
ACO president Fillon says his disappointment at the clash with the Azerbaijan GP is one he feels for the fans, and I'm quite sure they would have quite liked to see a proper Formula 1 driver defending his Le Mans crown.
The days when a posse of F1 drivers would take in the 24 Hours are long gone, but there is more than circumstantial evidence of a possible return to such a state of affairs: we all know of Fernando Alonso's desire to take part in the race, but Hulkenberg's victory has also piqued the interest of others.
It would be wrong to say that the gentlemen's agreement between the FIA and the ACO has been broken, because the governing body doesn't set the F1 calendar, Ecclestone and Formula One Management do.
And that means there is something wrong with the governance of this sport.
Translation by Michele Lostia
Previous article
Fuji WEC: Webber, Hartley and Bernhard win after Porsche orders
Next article
Greaves Motorsport plans World Endurance Championship LMP2 return
About this article
| Series | WEC |
How 'Brilliant' Bob Wollek lived up to his nickname
Sportscar racing lost one of it's greatest talents 20 years ago today when Bob Wollek was knocked from his bicycle prior to the Sebring 12 Hours. The enigmatic Frenchman never won the Le Mans 24 Hours, but many still remember today why 'Brilliant Bob' became a legend
Top 10 moments of an underrated British great
Brian Redman was one of the best sportscar drivers of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as a three-time champion on the fearsome American Formula 5000 scene. To celebrate his 84th birthday Autosport contacted him about his best races – and he decided to write the piece himself…
How an endurance racing boom could help one of LMP2's top teams
The G-Drive squad has been a mainstay of endurance racing in recent years, and has linked up with Russian manufacturer Aurus in recent years to promote its brand. With a change of rules in endurance racing's top tables, the team could be well-placed to take advantage of a potential boom...
How Ferrari’s Hypercar project could bolster Leclerc’s legacy
OPINION: Ferrari's planned return to the top category at the Le Mans 24 Hours has further heightened anticipation for the 2023 race. Few concrete details are currently known, but already it has a high-profile superstar angling for involvement, which would make a refreshing change
Why Ferrari is ending its 50-year top-flight sportscar exile
Making a return to top-flight sportscar racing after 50 years away, Ferrari will enter the Le Mans Hypercar ranks in 2023. The Italian marque denies the link with Formula 1's new cost cap that frees up resources, but it's certainly no coincidence...
The ground-up refresh behind Toyota's new Le Mans challenger
Toyota's new GR010 contender for the World Endurance Championship's Hypercar era has little in common with the LMP1 TS050 that preceded it. But within the confines of the scaled back new rules, its latest challenger will be no less formidable a prospect
The Porsche icon that forged sportscar racing's greatest era
Porsche is returning to the top class of Le Mans with an LMDh prototype that it hopes will write its next successful chapter in sportscar racing. But it will have to go some to emulate its 956/962, a car which defines the Group C age more than any other
How Kristensen forged the Mr Le Mans legend
He is synonymous with success at the Circuit de la Sarthe, but Tom Kristensen's sportscar legacy amounts to much more than his record-breaking nine Le Mans wins, as the most successful driver ever at Sebring and a world champion to boot
