Friday October 25th, 2002

By Alan Baldwin

After welcoming China to the Formula One fold this week, Bernie Ecclestone must now turn his thoughts to Belgium.

While the world's attention has been on the Far East, with Formula One's commercial supremo signing a deal last Monday for Shanghai to host a Grand Prix from 2004 to 2010, Belgium has been waiting to re-enter the spotlight.

The 2003 calendar lists the country's Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on August 31 with an asterisk denoting that it is subject to all the teams being willing to race without tobacco advertising.

A meeting in London on Monday of the International Automobile Federation (FIA)'s Formula One commission will remove that asterisk by deciding whether or not to drop one of the sport's great circuits.

Even though Spa is World Champion Michael Schumacher's favourite track and most drivers love the atmosphere at a road circuit harking back to the golden age of motor racing, its place is at risk. And, there is a consensus that if Belgium disappears from the 2003 calendar it may never return.

"It depends entirely on the teams," FIA president Max Mosley told Reuters earlier this month. "If one team says 'we don't agree' then it will be off the calendar. As far as we (the FIA) go, it doesn't matter whether it is run without tobacco. It is up to the teams. They have the right to say 'we have our commercial arrangements, you can't interfere with this.'"

Global Ban

Mosley said at the Japanese Grand Prix that he felt the decision was 50-50. "Maybe even the odds are against the Grand Prix but it's impossible to say, it really is impossible," he said.

The FIA has agreed to drop all tobacco advertising and sponsorship from 2006 in accordance with a global embargo planned by the World Health Organisation. While some countries, such as Britain on Monday, have passed legislation banning tobacco advertising before that date, they have granted exemptions to Formula One until 2006. Belgium has not and Mosley and Ecclestone have not hidden their annoyance.

The country is due to introduce new tobacco advertising laws on August 1 next year and has made no exception for a Grand Prix that generates an estimated 25 million euros a year for the local economy.

The issue has been a running sore for Formula One and Ecclestone since 1999, when the government threatened legal action against teams running with tobacco advertising.

"Every year it's the same thing...while the majority of other countries fully support their Grand Prix, in Belgium I have to fight to keep the race," Ecclestone said at this year's Hungarian Grand Prix. "If we stop, it won't necessarily be because of the tobacco question. It's a question of attitude. It's not nice to go to someone's house and feel you're not welcome."

Five Teams

The focus will be primarily on the five teams who have tobacco sponsorship - Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Jordan and British American Racing.

Ferrari have Philip Morris brand Marlboro as their major sponsor and the race has been a showcase for the team in recent years with Schumacher triumphant four times for Ferrari and six times in total since his debut there in 1991.

Jordan are backed by Gallaher brand Benson & Hedges but Spa has also provided some of the team's finest moments, including a one-two finish with 1996 World Champion Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher in 1998.

The circuit, which has hosted 36 of the 48 Belgian Grands Prix, has long been considered one of the most challenging on the calendar with its sweeping Eau Rouge left-right curve testing drivers' bravery. But some complained this year that technology had emasculated Eau Rouge, taking away the drama in roaring through it flat out.

Ralf Schumacher said last week that he would not miss Spa, with its capricious weather, if it were struck off and others believe the Ardennes track has not done enough to keep up with the pace of modern racing.

Frank Williams, asked this week what ideas he had to improve Formula One's show, was not talking about Spa particularly but his reply could apply to that circuit. "In the 1940s Spitfires needed 10 square miles of airspace to conduct dogfights," he said. "Today a jet fighter needs 100 square miles. So the analogy is clear - we need tracks that reflect the technical status of the cars and have tracks that are long enough to enable overtaking."

Spa certainly has the length but there are other financial considerations at stake, apart from sponsorship, that could tip the balance.

There is no reserve venue listed and Formula One sources said that, since the Championship was expanded from 16 to 17 races in 2000, teams had been paid extra revenue for attending the additional round. The teams may not want to lose that money but Spa is one of the cheapest races for them to attend and the fact that it is scheduled for the weekend immediately after Hungary could be a negative factor.

The addition of China and Bahrain in 2004 means that two European races are likely to be axed, with organisers reluctant to stretch the Championship even if some team bosses have raised the possibility of 18 rounds in future.

"We have 17 races on the calendar and regrettably one of them will have to go," said Ecclestone this week.

Imola, home of the San Marino Grand Prix, is the most vulnerable with the head of Italy's Automobile Association warning last year that the circuit could be dropped from 2004 unless state aid was forthcoming to fund renovations.

Belgium could find itself another casualty.

Published at 02:01:34 GMT