Permanent circuits take years to build but street circuits can take little more than a year to prepare. Street races are cheaper to get off the ground than those on purpose-built tracks since they don’t require construction of a new venue. They tend to be located on public roads in cities or on the outskirts of town whilst permanent circuits are purpose-built venues designed specifically to host high level motor races. There is no such thing as hosting a Grand Prix on the cheap but the quickest way to pull it off is to run a street race. In reality this couldn’t be further from the truth. After all, it appears that the only facilities required are seats for spectators and a stretch of asphalt for the cars to race on. On the face of it, F1 races seem like they should be cheap to stage. The same goes for the Grand Prix in South Korea which was widely disliked and only ran from 2010 to 2013. The fees have since been cleared but the race remains on hold. The Indian Grand Prix lasted three years and when the brakes were put on it in 2013 it owed $51.4 million in unpaid hosting fees as Britain’s Daily Telegraph revealed in December. Then come the races which got the red light permanently.
The German Grand Prix too has had a troubled history in recent years and although it took place last year it isn’t going ahead in 2017. A race in France will return in 2018 but hasn’t been on the calendar since 2008. Likewise, it is understood that the Malaysian Grand Prix, which joined the calendar in 1999, will not take place after its contract expires next year. The Singapore Grand Prix, which became F1’s first night race when it launched in 2008, is reportedly deciding whether to renew its contract after it expires at the end of this year.
However, other races haven’t lasted as long. The history of some races even pre-dates the creation of F1 itself with its flagship event in Monaco taking place on the world-famous street track which has remained largely unchanged since it held its first Grand Prix in 1929. Indeed the race is even held on the same track – a former airfield known as Silverstone. The British Grand Prix was the first race on the F1 championship when it launched in 1950 and it still takes place to this day. F1 is famous for races which have been on its calendar for decades.
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