Opinion: The Power of the Purse

Many fans woke up to last week's news that Imola could be replacing the legendary Monza circuit as the venue for the Italian Grand Prix as soon as 2017.

Despite Imola having a great racing pedigree of its own (although most famously Ayrton Senna's final three laps of racing) many fans feel Monza is a true Jewel of the current F1 calendar.

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Up until 2006 Imola and Monza both featured on the calendar, Monza as the Italian round and Imola as the San Marino round. This could potentially be a solution to the track dilemma however for reasons which are too complicated to venture into detail about, it seems unlikely.

While this news may not suggest that money talks more than racing pedigree and history, it was alarming to see the European Grand Prix being hosted in Azerbaijan - a country which has no racing legacy in both current times and decades gone by and no talents to suggest a future star is set to blow Azerbaijan onto the F1 stage.

Taking all these things into consideration, in some respects it was arguably the worst race of 2016so far and is not just undeserving of a spot on the calendar next season but also is unfit to have the title of European Grand Prix, a name which carries so much history, prestige and weight to the F1 community worldwide.

So with the eruption of Middle Eastern and Asian countries hosting Grand Prix's in recent years it's time to see how many have stood the test of time.

The current calendar features tracks at Singapore (débuting in 2008), Abu Dhabi (2009), China (2004), Malaysia (1999), Azerbaijan (2016), Russia (2014), and Bahrain (2006). Worryingly, other recent additions such as Turkey (2005), South Korea (2010), and India (2011) have already fallen by the wayside and set to never host the F1 party again. Perhaps more concerning is the fact that of the races now defunct, only one of them (Turkey) has managed to hold races for five or more seasons on the calendar.

With rumours of further expansion into Qatar, the question is on an already full 21 race calendar what tracks are going to give? Considering the money generated by the rich Middle Eastern countries, Bernie Ecclestone is unlikely to chop any of the highest paying tracks, however, should he remove any more fan favourites he could see audiences dwindle beyond a point of no return.

When we look back at the tracks lost in recent years, we see the Nurburgring (last raced in 2013), Mangy-Cours (2008), Imola (2006), Indianapolis (2007), Fuji (2008), Turkey (2011), Korea (2013) and India (2013). Many of these were fan favourites and spectators were distraught when they were removed. It leaves many wondering which will be next.

So with many rumours flying around the paddock it's time for Ecclestone to show what he values most and what talks in the paddock, money or the fans.