Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton "emphasized how much the Brazilian Grand Prix meant to him after winning in the wet on Sunday, but the race's future on the Formula One calendar remains clouded by uncertainty," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. He said, "I just assume this is going to be on the grand prix calendar because it is one of the best races. It is part of the heritage of Formula One. We cannot lose this grand prix." The chances of Brazil remaining on the calendar "remain very much a 'maybe' due to the country's ongoing economic crisis."
Brazil will also have only one driver next year, in an uncompetitive car, and even that is not certain with Felipe Nasr yet to be confirmed by struggling Sauber.
Brazil "has an asterisk against it," along with Canada and Germany, on the '17 draft calendar, and F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone "is not sounding positive." He said, "I think we may well be able to sort Canada out, possibly, but the other two..."
Interlagos, with fans exposed to the elements and the track close by slums on one side, "has undergone an upgrade to the cramped pits and paddock area but there is always more to do." Ecclestone: "They've done a good job, but it needed to be done."
Canadian promoters "have sounded optimistic about keeping their grand prix," but the prospects for Germany, a home race for champions Mercedes and Ferrari's four-times champion Sebastian Vettel, "do not look good" (REUTERS, 11/14).
