While it has not yet obtained its new FIA license, the Shanghai circuit has secured its future in Formula 1 by extending its contract with the FOM for seven additional seasons, ensuring its presence until 2017.<\/p>\n
To achieve this new contract, Chinese leaders had been wanting for more than a year to significantly reduce the contribution they pay to the FOM due to the low number of spectators and the financial losses recorded.<\/p>\n
If this kind of consideration is rarely Bernie Ecclestone’s problem (ticketing is the only source of revenue he leaves to the organizers), he has agreed to make a gesture towards China’s economic capital due to its economic power and its appeal to the manufacturers and sponsors involved in Formula 1.<\/p>\n
It must be said that the event has experienced an almost constant decline in the number of spectators since the record year of 2005 (270,000 spectators) down to the low point of 2009 with only 120,000 spectators gathered over the entire weekend. If this number went up last year (to 155,000), it is certainly largely due to the return of Michael Schumacher.<\/p>\n
This is why the organization has embarked on a policy of lowering prices in order to attract more spectators and not present televisions around the world with the sad sight of completely empty stands. Chen Yiping, the director of the Shanghai Sports Bureau, stated in the columns of the Shanghai Daily: “We have learned that high ticket prices have led fans to stay at home. We will therefore try to improve the situation in the years to come.” It will thus be possible to find tickets starting at 221 euros compared to a minimum of 400 euros last year.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, to facilitate access to the circuit, the municipality has extended metro line 11 to create a dedicated exit.<\/p>\n