The 2012 calendar project is not unanimous
While Bernie Ecclestone has expressed his desire to thoroughly revamp the 2012 calendar, the British man's project does not seem to be well-received by team principals, who are concerned about the logistical consequences.
As we announced to you on Friday, Bernie Ecclestone suggested, during the Hungarian Grand Prix, a modification of the provisional 2012 calendar. This proposes the rescheduling of the Bahrain Grand Prix to the end of the season, just after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, to give the Bahraini Kingdom more time to resolve its internal issues. It also appears that the United States Grand Prix, initially planned for the spring, will not return until the fall, one week before the closing event in Brazil, to allow organizers to finish the circuit.
– Grand Prix d’Australie: 18 mars 2012
– Grand Prix de Malaisie: 25 mars 2012
– Grand Prix de Chine: 8 avril 2012
– Grand Prix d’Inde: 22 avril 2012
– Grand Prix d’Espagne: 13 mai 2012
– Grand Prix de Monaco: 27 mai 2012
– Grand Prix du Canada: 10 juin 2012
– Grand Prix d’Europe: 24 juin 2012
– Grand Prix de Grande-Bretagne: 8 juillet 2012
– Grand Prix d’Allemagne: 22 juillet 2012
– Grand Prix de Hongrie: 29 juillet 2012
– Grand Prix de Belgique: 2 septembre 2012
– Grand Prix d’Italie: 9 septembre 2012
– Grand Prix de Singapour: 23 septembre 2012
– Grand Prix du Japon: 7 octobre 2012
– Grand Prix de Corée: 14 octobre 2012
– Grand Prix d’Abu Dhabi: 28 octobre 2012
– Grand Prix du Bahreïn: 4 novembre 2012
– Grand Prix des Etats-Unis: 18 novembre 2012
– Grand Prix du Brésil: 25 novembre 2012
The end of the season thus takes on the appearance of a true marathon and logistical headache as no less than seven races are scheduled in the program, over ten weeks, spread across four different continents.
In fact, we plan to request that the schedule be redesigned for logistical reasons. It’s about giving more time to operational teams and reducing costs by allowing multiple means of transport, says Eric Boullier, Team Principal of Lotus Renault GP. We have already thought about it and would like to suggest some ideas. We are not involved in the final decision on the schedule, but I know it is not finalized, so there is room to discuss it further and make suggestions.
For his part, Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal of the McLaren team, reminds that the calendar is only provisional and that it seems preferable to wait for the final calendar before worrying too much: « The calendar is challenging, but I know it will still evolve, so there is no reason to complain about a provisional calendar. »
