Hamiltons dad wants SA F1 GP revival 2015-01-22 Back in 2013 Wheels24 reported that Formula 1 chief exec Bernie Ecclestone was pushing for a Cape Town F1 Grand Prix. The City of Cape Town, however, ruled out the idea despite numerous proposals, most of which named Sea Point and the soccer stadium (for the pits) for a track but they were turned down by councillors. In January 2015 Mercedes doulbe F1 champion Lewis Hamiltons father has become involved in fresh plans to revive a South African GP. FOCUS ON 2016 Since splitting as Lewis manager, Anthony Hamilton has worked on other projects, among them a disastrous stint managing Paul di Resta and pioneering the so-called Info wing that was tested by Force India at Abu Dhabi in 2014. The UKs Press Association has reported that hes working with Ecclestone to return F1 to Africa, off the GP calendar since 1993, and once again Cape Town is the focus, this time for 2016. Ecclestone said: Ive been looking to go back to South Africa for a long time and now we have a good chance. HUGE COST TO THE CITY In 2013 Cape tourisms events and marketing director Anton Groenewald said: We are not in favour of it because of the huge cost implications to the city. And councillor Felicity Purchase said: Right up front we need to say the stadium is not available for racing. We cannot subject residents in the area to the noise of racing. The city back was reportedly considering two of the 11 proposals. The proposed City Challenge Cape Town would be a street race showcasing new technology using gas or electric power and use a circuit outside of a residential area. SOUTH AFRICAS F1 HERITAGE Africa* is the only continent without an F1 race. It was originally held in East London (1960-66) then moved to Kyalami, Johannesburg (1967-80, 1982-85) and 1992-93). Williams Alain Prost won the 1993 South African GP. Should the Cape Town GP receive go ahead and a scheduled Azerbaijan GP takes place, fans could look forward to a record 22-race calendar for 2016. Would you like to see Cape Town host an F1 race? If so, where do you see a race circuit within the city?
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 13:02:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015