One of the most important points of the Metropolitan Council session was the deliberation regarding the annual funding of 2 million euros (for three years) to the GIP (Public Interest Group) which will manage, starting in 2018, the organization of the Formula 1 car race that counts towards the world championship organized by the FIA, to be held at the Paul Ricard Circuit in Le Castellet.
For the record, the last French GP of F1 took place in 2008, on the Magny-Cours circuit (Nièvre), near Paris, with a significant deficit covered by the State and local authorities.
Formula One Management (FOM), the company that manages the commercial rights of F1 and sells the lineup (11 teams and 22 drivers) to each national promoter.
The cost of the F1 lineup is currently estimated at 20 million euros in Europe, and up to twice as much in Asia, excluding organizational expenses.
So, in this case, the solution is simple: either you sign the check, or you pass.
For example: Italian local authorities, near Milan, have just renewed a three-year contract for organizing the Italian GP in Monza. On the other hand, the German GP will not take place in 2017.
The PACA Region and local authorities and the economic world rightly believe that organizing a competition of this caliber will have image and economic benefits that far outweigh the expense.
For Christian Estrosi (PACA president version), “the total economic benefits are estimated at 65 million (note: against an investment of 30 million), to which 500 direct & sustainable jobs are added.”
It’s true that numbers can be made to say whatever one wants…
Setting aside the arguments of some (it’s a profitable investment) and others (it’s a waste), reality imposes itself: F1 is a sport but also a business-spectacle.
To put this into context, the company FOM was sold at the end of 2016 by the CVC fund to the American group Liberty Media for an amount of 8.5 billion dollars (7.6 billion euros).
