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Events and Attractions

Chinese Grand Prix Suffering From Declining Audiences, Lack Of Interest

The "faint echoes from those lofty declarations of China as a Formula One superpower can still be heard in some remote quarters of this vast paddock," according to Daniel Johnson of the London TELEGRAPH. No one takes them "too seriously now," more than a decade on from Shanghai’s first race. The predictions which "came from on high were of total dominance." Before the inaugural race in '04, circuit Deputy GM Yu Zhifei said, "China will not only host its own Formula One race, it will have its own Formula One racers and team." But F1 is "still not all that big in China." More than 260,000 people over the weekend "came to see a red-liveried Ferrari win under the red Chinese flag" in '04. But Sunday's attendance "is well below that" -- how many tickets "are actually bought instead of given away is unknown" -- and the Chinese Grand Prix does not have a deal beyond '17. This loss-making race "could go the way of Turkey, India and South Korea; three venues built at great expense which did not last." Perhaps "even the Chinese government balks" at an estimated £30M ($42.6M) annual fee to F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone, on top of the $240M (£170M) "they spent turning this one-time swamp into one of the largest venues on the calendar." Four years ago the race was shown on state broadcaster CCTV, but "when it moved to a host of regional broadcasters audience figures fell by 30 million in 2012 to just 19 million a year later." Of course, the "sport should be in China." It could not "credibly claim to be a world championship without travelling to the most populace country on Earth." China is an "enormous market" for Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and all the rest, and the fans that do come to the circuit are "enthusiastic, particularly for the sport’s stars." It is "more a question of whether China wants F1 here and how it goes about it." With no deal in place for beyond next year, "time is running out to find an answer" (TELEGRAPH, 4/16).

VERBAL SPAT: REUTERS reported Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat "engaged in a verbal spat" after Sunday's Chinese Formula One Grand Prix as the four-time champion blamed the Russian for pushing him into a collision with teammate Kimi Räikkönen. The two Ferraris "came together at the first corner in the race after German Vettel was forced to go wide by Kvyat, who steamed up the inside in his Red Bull." Vettel said, "You came like a torpedo." "I was racing," the 21-year-old responded before Vettel, who also called Kvyat a "madman" and described his move as "suicidal" over the radio during the race, cut him off. Vettel: "Not racing. If I keep going the same line, we crash." Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene "refused to dish out blame." He said, "Pointing the finger on somebody is not correct. I think that Seb or Kimi, they were doing the same in Kvyat's position. This is racing, it's not monopoly" (REUTERS, 4/17).

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