Vroom, vroom! If F1 does come our way the cars will be bigger. They'll also have drivers (clearrants' flickr).
Later this year the New York City area is getting its own big money surfing competition, so why shouldn't we have some Formula One racing as well? Hey, it could happen! Today the Wall Street Journal reports that the mayors of Weehawken and West New York have teamed up to try and bring the "world's premier racing circuit" to the Hudson. As long as the government doesn't have to pay anything, natch.
In a joint statement the two mayors, Weehawken's Richard Turner and West New York's Felix Roque, wrote that, "in these uncertain economic times when every direct and indirect revenue source is vital, our own Formula One race could be a very positive boost to our citizens. This said, we need to ensure that the financial benefits from the privilege of having these races in our towns are equitably shared and that no tax dollars are used. The investor group has already told us that our towns would be substantially compensated annually."
People have been trying to bring Formula One back to the New York area for years. From 1961 to 1980 a round of the world championship was held in Watkins Glen, NY, after that a race was scheduled to go down in Queens in 1983 but was scrapped and Liberty State Park was thrown around as a locale last year. What makes this one different is the support from the mayors as well as Governor Chis Christie. "The prospect of having Formula One come to New Jersey is exciting," the governor's spokesman said.
Lots of details still need to get worked out, but it looks like an F1 race with a Manhattan skyline serving as a backdrop could come as soon as 2013. While we wait, here's a preliminary map of the race's circuit, via F1Fanatic:
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