SEPTEMBER 3, 2005

Formula 1 keen for a calendar

The Formula 1 teams know that the first three races next year will be in Bahrain (March 12), Malaysia (March 19) and Australia (April 2) but after that there is something of a mystery as to where the World Championship will go. The big problem thus far has been the soccer World Cup which takes place between June 9 and July 9 in Germany. This is disruptive in that there may be direct clashes between races and soccer games.

Closer analysis of the situation however suggests that this will not be quite the problem that had been thought. There are three F1 dates which might be a problem: June 18, June 25 and July 2. On June 18, when F1 is normally in Canada, there are three first round World Cup games being planned. They take place in Leipzig, Munich and Nuremburg and will be at 3pm, 6pm and 9pm. This means that a race in Canada (which is six hours behind Europe) would clash with the middle fixture, although a start time of 1.30pm Montreal time would give F1 the chance to be aired live without a direct clash. Much depends on who is playing in that particular fixture and the draw to discover that will not take place until December 9, the same day as the FIA World Council meets to finalise the F1 calendar. If the match is question features Germany versus Brazil, for example, it would be a disaster for F1 and so it is necessary to wait to see the draw.

On June 25, which would normally be the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, there are two matches in the Last 16 competition. In Nuremburg at 9pm and Stuttgart at 5pm. This means that a race from Indiana would fit neatly between the matches. There is no problem at all on July 2 as there are no World Cup games as the day is free, falling between the Quarter and Semi Finals.