I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong, but Brasilia doesn't really have the same presence; it doesn't look as impressive as a city. Heck, if Tilke built a new circuit there, and it followed the trend of quite a few of his other works, the buildings at the track would look grander and more impressive than the central quarter of Brasilia (designed by the late, great Oscar Niemeyer). It's not terribly surprising that Brasilia doesn't have the high-rises and such, with a population density of less than 1,200/sq-mi. (For reference, Manhattan Island, adjacent to the New Jersey GP site, has a population density of ~70,000/sq-mi.)
Bernie has turned F1 very much into an expression of image and power, and the world's great metropoli (New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, etc), in this day and age, are the most effective sort of places/tools for conveying that message. Remember, when F1 was in Indianapolis, a veritable mecca for motorsports, Bernie stayed in Chicago. That certainly ought to tell you something.
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