Back in June, when Formula One’s long-time and very successful promoter Bernie Ecclestone was widely reported to have said “Formula One is crap”, air raid sirens should have been blaring. When is the last time a store owner told you his merchandise is crap?
I believe Formula One has been suffering a slow death for many years now–in loyalty at first and now in fanbase size. The symptoms have accumulated and the doctors are working frantically to save the dying fan base. Their specialties and talents are without question. They are masters of engineering, business and strategic thought. But the cure has continued to elude them despite their new rounds of regulatory therapy every year.
So what has gone so horribly wrong with F1? Let me tell you what I believe the diseases are and how they must be cured if F1 is to have a future.
The Show
I believe a big part of the reason F1 is slowly dying is because of the incessant focus on “The Show” that has pervaded F1 thinking since the mid-2000s.
The theory is that F1 is a “Show” and that “The Show” is based on
- The excitement of the racing on track,
- The glamour of the life off the track,
- The leading-edge technology and
- The marketing polish that brings it all together into a TV-saleable package.
The theory is that if they just make it a good enough “Show”, we’ll all line up to give every cent we have. Let’s take a look at the flaws of this theory and how changes for next year, and perhaps beyond, won’t change the fundamental identity crisis F1 faces.
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Excerpt and cartoon courtesy of Satisfiction.com