Monday 16 April 2018

Week 3 [16-22.04.2018] Formula 1 in Warsaw

Formula 1 in Warsaw, is it possible?

You can say, never ever…., but try to imagine how many opportunities it can give our city. It seems crazy but LG company proposed this idea in 2009. In the end, they were unfortunately unsuccessful but I can show you the design project of the proposed track


Formula one is not only a race... Thousands of visitors, hundreds of journalists and the same number of car team crew. In addition, the prestige of the possibility of saying that Warsaw is a grand prix city. It all results in a lot of benefits.

But are we ready for it?
Yes! Look, during Euro 2012 the whole city was adapted for welcoming visitors. Many hotels and motels were opened directly for this event. I think you remember that in the centre of the capital of Poland we had quite a nice party zone called “Strefa Kibica”.
Grand prix is a shorter event. One week and that’s all. So it doesn’t kill the city for the whole summer vacation. But the one problem will be the location. I’m pretty sure that if we want this kind of entertainment we need to invest a lot of money and probably even more time. It also affects the quality of life during construction works. I mean that if the correct private and government organs choose the right place for the race, other people need to design a new surface with correct width of the track with possibility to let’s say, fast adaptations for the race.
Please look at the video of the race track in Monaco


also you can read the article about the Singapore GP in which you can find information about preparing Marina Bay into an F1 street race.


For now there are more cities which want to host the GP than all rounds of F1 races during one racing season. Our city would have to rival with for example Paris. Another bad piece of information is prices. How many Polish people will buy a ticket for 200 euro? Is our city rich enough to pay something like 20 million euro for a licence? And that’s nothing compared with the required documentation. There are extra costs of designing and building the track etc. In all benefits there’s the same number of expenses. In the end Warsaw can gain a lot. But is it ready for it? How do you feel about this idea? Would you be interested in working on this project or attending as a spectator?

31 comments:

  1. Personally I think it's really bad, bad idea :) It sounds that you are a fan of F1, so probably you would be happy to have a chance to see a race in Warsaw.
    From my perspective popularity of F1 in Poland has been low since the beginning and after Kubica was forced to resign then it has became even lower. I still think there would be quite a few people to go for such a race, maybe even myself, but it would be rather one time visit.
    The other disadvantage is price. You stated the price is around 200 euro. It's a LOT. Nowadays tickets for polish national football swuad macthes costs around 100-200 zł which is around 25-45 euro. With such a price the stadiums are almost always full, but you must take into considertion that football is the most popular sport in Poland and lately we are having quite a few successes in it.
    To sum up, I think it Poland is not ready for being F1 race host, but in longer future you can never know.

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    1. Actually I'm not a fan of F1. Just wondering how it could be. The popularity of football is understand for everyone, but as i mention for F1 grand prix many people not from Poland country comes. Probably they can spend this costs for ticket ;)

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  2. I agree with Karol, i don't think F1 in Poland is a great idea. On one hand we have those visitors and tourists and the "prestige" but on the other we have blocked streets for whole preparation+race+cleanup, loads and loads of money to adapt the streets to be race-capable and don't forget about the noise!

    Personally i think a much better idea would be to host Formula-E, electric alternative to F1, no polution and almost no noise from cars. Not a long time ago there was a race in Paris with track being in a strict center of the city (link for the map: https://paris.fiaformulae.com/en/race/track/ )!

    Personally I'd much more likely go see Formula-e with tight corners racing around Palace of Culture than F1 :)

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    1. I don't see any problem with noise, let's say that noise is also during the football match.

      On the other side Formula-E would be also great entertainment.

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  3. In my opinion it is real problem, because I would like to go see f1 race. It would be nice to see it in Poland, maybe not in the center of Warsaw. On the other hand it is really expensive. I mean building this and keeping it. The race takes place only once a year. I know that other events can take place on such a track. And if the maintenance costs would pay, why not?
    as for ticket costs. As you mentioned, they are not the cheapest. But I think that some fans would be found ;)

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    1. Sure ! Other race's could be also organized on this track. It's nice to read for me that other person also agree with this idea ! We should be open for new ideas :)

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  4. I think that Warsaw might be ready for a big event like that, after all, as you said it - there was "Strefa Kibica" and everything went pretty well with event on this scale. But I'm really sceptical if this kind of event would even partially payoff. 200 euro is not a small price for a ticket and that means that only devoted polish fans would come to race. Personally, I'm pretty lukewarm about this, but I definitely wouldn't watch this (not to offend anybody but this sport is little monotonous for me :).

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    1. I understand Your opinion, everyone have own opinion and that's brilliant in human being. I can say similar opinion for example about runing around the city.
      Why not in forest ? Why thay can block city for one thay and the other sport couldn't?

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  5. Before I reply, I don't really know much about cars so please correct me if I'm wrong.

    I don't think Warsaw is ready for this. First tickets will be too expensive cover all costs. Second the ticket being sold amount should be really good to keep this going. Only real fans could go there and watch. And even then could be having second doubts if it is worth for that price that is way too high. Maybe try to have it somewhere cheaper but still with good transport? Poland has loads places like this.

    Maybe in a few years this could be a better idea, also lowering the cost could bring more income that selling fewer at higher price. But I think we should have it in the future because Poland could gain a lot from it. If they make it maybe I could actually see it live.

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    1. Okay, for me is understandable but I would like to say you that for F1 race many people come from the rest of the world. So that's why there's no need to be afraid about the costs of the ticket.

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  6. Is Warsaw ready for it? I think that it’s all comes down to whether the event would be profitable for the city or not. How much money and exposure will Warsaw gain? Will it be noticeably bigger than costs of infrastructure investments and maintenances? If it will need long term financial baking from our government then I think we should not stage Grand Prix. And personally I would hate to see this project in Warsaw due to pollution and noise issues. Not to mention all hassles related with construction works.

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    1. Before we join this type of project there will be a lot of cost calculations. I'm pretty sure that no one accept this type of investment before he isn't 100% sure that's it profitable. Problem of pollution and noise isn't issue for me. I'm pretty sure that theres no need to be "eco" in this type of sport. We need to look in our own behaviour and there we should look for first step to be eco.

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  7. I am not a fan of F1 so I think I wouldn't track the events connected with it very much. But you spoke about Euro2012 in Warsaw. Remember that building of our football arena costed almost 2 bilions PLN and isn't profitable today. Warsaw government still has to pay consistently to this undertaking from tax-payers' pockets. I think it would be similarly with the formula track. It is not needed at all, just a fun for only a few, for what we cannot afford yet.

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    1. On the other hand if we start to look for our life in your way of thinking there's nothing that we can build because you never make 100% of Polish people happy.

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  8. I do not want to discuss whether the organization of the Formula 1 race in Warsaw would be profitable, and whether it would paralyze the city. I have a slightly different point of view for it.

    Currently, only a few F1 races are organized on street tracks. These are the Australian Grand Prix at the Melbourne circuit, the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay, the Canadian Grand Prix at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. The first three are outside the urbanized zone, the Monaco Grand Prix is a kind of tradition, because Formula 1 races are organized there continuously for over 60 years. The only reference point for Warsaw remains Baku, but so far only two races were held there. I must admit that such statistics do not forecast well for the idea of organizing competitions in Warsaw. However, we can observe the actions of competitors during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and try to draw some conclusions. The next race will take place on 27th of April.

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    1. Great to hear !

      Thanks for opinion and I'm surprised about your knowledge. Keep going !

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  9. Wow, I never heard about this idea.
    I agree with Jacek. If our country have any inspiration for become a host of this type of events, we should focus on the alternative methods of power in vehicles. This is future. E-formula is the best example.
    On the other hand routes around national stadion are not good places for promoting our country in whole world. Please check photos from Singapour. Totally different landscape.
    I think polish fans are hard problem. Do you heard about FIA World Rally Championship ? Rally Poland was a part of the most popular WRC championship for many years - this is a highest class of international rallying. Personally I thinking that roads in Masurian Lake District were the most beautiful landscapes in championship. The Rally of Poland was removed from the calendar after the FIA repeatedly raised concerns about the event's safety. People stood on the road and interfered in this race.

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    1. In my opinion this bahavior is becouse of let's say low knowledge about racing saviour-vivre.

      But im 100% agree with you about WRC :)

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  10. I don't think Warsaw is ready for an event like that. 20 million EUR seems like a lot of money for a Polish city budget. And according to your text it's only the licence price while the list of expenses would be much longer.

    The ticket price you mentioned may be too high as well. As someone here wrote, it's much more than a football game ticket. You could probably watch Rolling Stones for less money. On the other hand... a true fan could be willing to pay 200 EUR.

    A few years ago there was an automotive event held in Warsaw. I don't remember the details or the exact date but I think it was one of Verva Street Racings organized by Orlen. I was there and had a chance to see some Formula 1 and, if I remember correctly, Formula 3 bolids as well as couple of Dakar Rally cars. After the event I wasn't sure if "see" was the right word to use while describing what happend there. I rather heard the bolids than saw them, despite the fact that their speed wasn't even close to what they usually reach during races. I have to admit it was a bit disappointing. Having this kind of experience I don't think I would be willing to pay for watching a full race. :)

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    1. In my opinion Warsaw is a good place to host the GP F1. Why not?
      It is a huge promotion for the city. Warsaw will be able to take top position of popular capitals.
      We have a leader driver like Kubica. Warsaw can compete with Monaco, Melbourne, Montmeló, Monza,
      Spielberg and Abu Dhabi. Yes it can be expensive, but when Warsaw will join this project it can gain more opportunities;
      The growing of prestige and economy. Maybe the ticket will be too expensive for common "Kowalski", but for the polish fans of GP1 it is the best chance to see this race in their own country.

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    2. I agree with you :)

      That's something wich give Warsaw opportunities on many stages. And if there's only the option we must used it!

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  12. The idea is great, I support it but I do not think that it is realizable at this level :) Although we had such a small f1. Verva street racing. Even f1 old cars raced then. This is the track map from 2012. http://cdn6.se.smcloud.net/t/photos/178781/verva_street_racing_2012_mapa.jpg

    However, the real GP in the city is a huge cost and a logistics venture, Warsaw is probably not ready for it. Although as a fan, I would be the first in the queue for tickets :)

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    1. Great to hear !
      Hope that one day we meet in this queue ;)

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  13. I think it would be wonderful thing to make Warsaw a grand prix city. I’m not an enthusiast of F1 but races on real streets are always more interesting form me. But is it ready for it? I think yes. If it’s ready for inconveniences by Mr. Kaczyński at 10th day of every month and hundreds of marathons blocking over 60 bus lines it is ready for everything. It’s not an irony of course. 😊 And if I can work on this project, I would be delighted. It will be the huge international project which can give me a lot of valuable experience, not to mention amount of money standing behind of it.

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  14. In my opinion it would be great if Warsawa joined the F1 group. I do not think about finances, the route or the organization of the event. I hope specialists will deal with such matters.

    By the way, we're pessimistic and it's probably a national feature. And yet we are experts in many areas like himalaizm, football etc. Maybe, however, we should be cheering ...



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  15. I'm not a fan of F1.. watching people circle around some track doing 200 laps is not entertaining at all. However I knew one person who liked it much, we grew up together and sometimes, at night we could hear noices of his race car while he played his simulator.. well we've made a lot of jokes about him that time.

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  16. For some reasons I think it’s a great idea. I’d like to participate as a spectator. It looks very promising. I like the photo with probable track because I live in Mokotow district, so the traffic jams wouldn’t affect on me. It could be hard to live for people who are live nearby Praga district. The price you mentioned is high, especially when we are talking about event like Formula 1. What you can see during the show is only very fast cars so there is no place where you could see everything in details. You could see only one bolid for a very short time but that is like the race is look. I believe there will be some shows connected with a race and that would be more interesting. I think that Warsaw is ready. Warsaw develop with every year, like Poland do. Warsaw has a lot opportunities for visitors. To sum up, I think it’s a good idea!

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  17. I am not a big fan of car races including F1. Every form of develop and the development of the city and the state is a good thing. In my opinion a challenge could be price- 200 EURO is high price for person a one ticket for a middle class person. If the price will be more tailored to customer it can cause better chance of success. The right advertising campaign could also influence the success of this idea.

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