Kimi Raikkonen is currently on a short visit to Lebanon for the launching of Lotus Cars in Beirut, and according to this news report, he had a meeting with president Sleiman and announced that he’s willing to put the Lebanese flag on his Lotus Renault car during this season.
The report also mentions talks about building an F1 circuit in Lebanon, but is sounds more like wishful thinking, at least to me!
The Lotus event is great taking place at MAD nightclub in Nahr el Mot’s seaside.
Full house here… anyways the F1 Circuit plans were a project that late martyre Rafic Hariri had been working one, but due some political and security problems we lost it to Bahrain, now since bahrain is cancelled they hope that Lebanon can be a substitute and talks are very serious.
“A 78,000 sq m waterside park will provide a metropolitan-scale attraction and house recreational activities, public performance spaces, an open-air amphitheater, a main entrance pavilion, retail kiosks, a prepared strip along its northwestern edge designed to accommodate the Formula One pits, and other temporary Formula One facilities during Grand Prix events.”
http://www.solidere.com/thecity/waterpa.html
“The three-decked Corniche promenade, over 1.3-km long with a width varying between 110 m and 45 m, will be a socially active pedestrian arena with views to the sea, the Jounieh bay and Mount Sannine. In addition to landscaped areas, it will contain ‘activity cells’ for sports and recreational uses, specially designed to accommodate temporary viewing stands during Formula One Grand Prix events.”
http://www.solidere.com/thecity/seaprom.html
I sure hope we get a Grand Prix here in Beirut! But as I heard a couple of years ago, FIA was no longer interested in having a third race in the middle east, in addition they prefer a real circuit over a street circuit like the one in Monaco.
As for a replacement to Bahrain… the crisis there should end soon or later, and I don’t think it’ll be difficult for them to get their race back on the calendar…
Actually what I heard is the reason they were interested in Beirut was because it was a street circuit like Monaco.