As Lewis Hamilton said the FIA paper in Belgian Grand Prix it was a matter of money, but one would have to know how much Liberty Media, owner of Formula 1 with the cancellation of the race, would have lost in order to be able to judge the company decision that was made.
This is still unfair to the fan, but racing would be no way. The safety of the pilots comes first and the conditions only foreshadowed strong accidents. Just remember that he recently lost his life on this circuit Anthoine Hubert, F2 driver and carom in the W Series last Friday.
The problem is not that there has been no race, the matter being pretended that there was one for it to be officially as the Grand Prix was held and this exempted F1 from paying dues to sponsors, television and fans.
Last year alone due to the pandemic that reduced the schedule to 17 races, 14 of them without a public, F1 lost $ 386 million, according to the company’s financial report, and lost 877 million of which in 2019 they were 2,020 million dollars against only 1,140 of 2020.
In 2021 there have been several cancellations such as the very popular Grand Prix of Australia and Japan, and of the 23 races scheduled had to present a schedule of 22, still with a competition to define.
It is estimated that the “fee” or fee paid by a Grand Prix to host an F1 race ranges from $ 30 million to $ 50 million, with the exception of Monaco which does not pay.
So imagine if in order to cancel the race F1 would have to return the quota or part of it, not counting the commitments with the televisions that have the transmission rights.
Strictly speaking, so much delay made the TV have an “event” of more than three hours and a “regulatory race,” as it is considered a competition as an official if completed two laps.
Hamilton said that the “pagans” were the fans, who in the end did not receive the product for which they paid, it is true, but I also think that those who ask for a refund could get it, because the organizers could well avoid problems, as I don’t think there are many who are asking for this refund.