The FIA released a new version of the provisional 2016 Formula One season calendar. Formula One now finds themselves competing with the World Endurance Championship for viewers, as they schedule a race on the same weekend as one of the biggest motor racing events in the world.
You heard right. The debut of the European Grand Prix at the new Baku Street Circuit has been scheduled on the weekend of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Both events are scheduled to take place on the weekend of June 19, creating some unnecessary competition between two vastly different motorsport disciplines.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans race, also known as the 24 Heures du Mans, is the oldest sports car endurance race in the world. The annual event was first held in 1923 and currently boasts one of the most prestigious events in the world today. A grand total of 56 cars registered and qualified to take part in the day long race around the French circuit, meaning 168 were ready to compete.
Of these 168 drivers, many are past Formula One drivers. Names like Mark Webber, Nick Heidfeld and Alexander Wurz have made their appearances in the event time sheets in the recent years. Even active Formula One drivers can take part in the race, as Nico Hülkenberg showed us in 2015 when he won the race in a Porsche. Having so many talented drivers from so many different motor racing disciplines is part of want makes the 24 Hours of Le Mans so exciting to watch. This new schedule conflict means that Hülkenberg, and other Formula One drivers that would be interested in entering the race, are now unable to do so without getting permission from their current team and missing a points race in the season.
Can the FIA reschedule the race? The 2016 season has been greatly condensed, meaning that the only weekend that the European Grand Prix could possibly be moved to is the following weekend. This could be completely possible if the organizers of the event would be willing to agree. Of course, it would be completely unreasonable to ask the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to reschedule their race, as it was scheduled over a year in advance.
In the end, it was rather foolish of the FIA to schedule a race during the weekend of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Most Formula One fans also enjoy other types of motorsport and many do follow the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The organizers of the new European Grand Prix will be very disappointed when they don’t receive the audience that they were expecting. Formula One battling with WEC for viewers is foolish and a battle that F1 will lose. Given the current state of the sport, it is pretty clear that WEC will take the viewers right out of Bernie Ecclestone’s hands.
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