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F1 has hit the ball into the court of the race organisers, after a spate of violent incidents surrounding the Brazilian grand prix. Multiple teams suffered armed or violent robbery attempts during the race weekend as they travelled from Interlagos to hotels. And now Pirelli has called off a planned post-race tyre test with McLaren, after a van containing staff of the F1 supplier became the latest victim of the notorious Sao Paulo crime.
The situation has triggered speculation F1 might not return to Interlagos, amid rumours Rio de Janeiro or Florianopolis might be alternative grand prix venues. F1 owner Liberty Media has been late to officially respond to the Sao Paulo violence, but a spokesperson now insists that disappointment "is not a strong enough word". The sport is putting the ball in race organisers' court, making clear it requires a strong response.
"It is not our responsibility," the spokesperson insisted. "We are just the commercial rights holder. We sell those rights to the local promoter and security within the circuit is their responsibility. We have our own security team that travels with us and we are actively involved, but we cannot be experts in every city we go to. We have a year between now and the next race to get it sorted, and we would be extremely disappointed if things have not been looked at," the spokesperson added. (GMM)
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Replies (7)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Might actually be good if F1 boycotts the race a year or so. A shame, because I like the track, but this isnt even something unusual. Things like this happens everyday in Brazil.
Barron
Posts: 625
The location of the track doesn’t help - one of the poorest and most deprived areas of Sao Paolo on the doorstep. The annual F1 circus must appear like manna from heaven in their backyard. But wait, was there only ONE incident? If so, the publicity generated is a little out of proportion. I’m sorry to hear that it’s a daily occurrence in Brazil. A few years ago, the economy was booming. What happened?
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@Barron Brasil has always been a somewhat dangerous place to visit, especially Rio and Sao Paulo. However, Lula DaSilva and Dilma Rouseff happened, class-warfare happened, and massive corruption happened.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
There was at least three as far as I know: one raid against Sauber, one against the Mercedes bus, and then one more team was affected. This year. Its happened quite regularly. Im not sure what went wrong, but I imagine its the same as in the other latin american countries: corruption, huge gaps between the rich and the poor, a government that and gang criminality, along with a government that is unable or unwilling to fix the issues at hand.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Ignore the first "a government that". :)
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
It's true, it's not Liberty's direct responsibility to execute on security. However, they can most definitely pull the strings to make it happen. Sanctions and fees to impose. I understand if this sort of thing happens every once in a while. But seriously it's every year in Brazil.
kngrthr
Posts: 203
build a secure accommodation compound at the track.