THE COLLAPSE OF FORMULA ONE

Yet another manufacturer pulls out of F1, no tire supplier (Goodyear and Michelin both say they are not interested), no deal for the British GP venue, poor attendance at some of the newer tracks in the middle east and asia. Slowly but surely the fabric of F1 is becoming frayed and worn. Bernie's 'all for me' approach has driven the sport to the point of breaking. Of course, he can always fine McLaren another $100million to put a few more dollars into the sport...!

 

really stupid situation, thank's bernie!

 

and Max

 

I agree about Bernie, for sure. His level of greed is ridiculous.

As for manufacturers pulling out - that has been the case throughout the history of F1. The only mainstays are Ferrari and McLaren, the rest have come and gone. You mention manufacturers pulling out, yet you fail to mention the addition of Lotus, Campos, and of course, the USF1 team.

As far as attendance goes in places where there has never been F1 - what do you expect? Places that cannot sustain F1 will weed themselves out. If these places continue to have poor attendance, and the track owners can no longer afford to host a race, the race will go away.

I, for one, really enjoyed this F1 season. Many different race winners, and a good battle for the title. More passing than what I can remember as well. I couldn't have asked for more.

 

This is just what Max wanted. A bunch of weak teams that can't stand up to the FIA.

 

Well Max is gone now!

 

F1 is, has been, and will always be about the teams.
Drivers come and go, race tracks evolve, emerge, or die off.
Sponsors are fleeting.
Nourish and encourage the teams and F1 will prosper.
Use them as an additional income source, play with results, issue ambiguous rules, and sin of all sins; make them economically unviable to the Manufacturer/ Owner; they leave.

There really is only one answer;

FOTA.

 

+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

 

+1, as someone who grew up watching F1 prior to the big manufacturer involvement, I was more than happy to watch the Ligiers, Tyrells, etc. Couldn't care less about Toyota leaving, F1 will find a new tire supplier, but do agree about Bernie as well.

 

It actually died after 2001, when Mika Hakkinen left. Back then there was some really proper racing going on, hockenheim was still cool, not many tilke ruined tracks yet...

 

Looking back, that was the best series of years for F-1 -- 1997 to 2001.

 

I don't know how far your look-back extends but the pre-sponsorship days of the fifties and sixties were a lot more fun for all involved.

 

Tell that to all the drivers who didn't live to see the 70's. I wouldn't trade the fabled 50's for the safety advances more modern F1 enjoys. Not to mention a safer track environment in which to race...
CH

 

No argument about the safety, but even so the spirit of the sport (including drivers) was much lighter, friendlier and fun.
It was a different time and can't really be compared to today's world though.

 

I bet they were. I did not get into F-1 until 1992. My job took me to Europe and I saw it on TV there. From then until today, I have been hooked.

 

Jury is still out if this is a collapse or just a major change.

I suspect the latter.

 

+1. i was there, part of it. We all travelled on the same planes, stayed mostly in the same hotels. I lost friends, Pryce, Brise, Williamson. One of my cars ploughed into Lauda in Germany, I spoke with Niki at Monza. I saw the end of Rodriguez and Siffert's careers but everyone was as one family. At the inaugral Indy GP we had a huge party outside the track, a lot of faces from that era, some still working in F1 then and now.

I love the colour and sound, the tchnology today, but you can keep the BS. Go to an Historic GP at Spa, search YouTube. Brave men, big balls, tremendous atmosphere.

 

+1 "Back then" it was a sport, now it's a business..... [Damn, even when I was involved we used to "lend" each other stuff!]

However, for those that don't remember the "halcyon days" of the 60's and 70's it's worth noting that the grid often extended over 10 seconds from front to back and it wasn't unusual for only two or three cars to be on the same *lap* at the finish - The final points often went to a car that was 2-3 laps back....

We tend to overlook that the grid (and often the racing) is closer now than it's *ever* been.... Those that claim it's "boring" today have short (or no) memories and look back with rose-tinted glasses.

Is it "better" today? I don't know....

IMHO
Cheers,
Ian

 

On the money!

 

The older I get the more it seems that for everything gained something is lost.
In the end comparing different times is meaningless except in terms of our own experiences and preferences.

 

But they could pass another car, often someone would take off clear of the field, later get caught and passed. The fact that the grid times are close and they race on artificial tracks has greatly diluted the spectacle. (Enter debate re Indy 500!)

 

F1: Lotus/Force India In New Spy Scandal

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-lotus-force-india-in-new-spy-scandal/

 

F1 is too big to die. This is certainly a revolution though... Who knows what will emerge at the other end, but unless teams like Ferrari leave the sport for another formula, it's place is assured...

 

Oh yumm.

 

I've said this many times before...Formula one has been the pinnacle of motor racing since its origins. Both, driver quality and technical development. The best of the best is portrayed in Formula 1. The series was created with this purpose. Almost unrestricted, authentic and non cirquesque oriented.
Banning testing, restricting budgets, and continuing to place a muzzle over teams who had made this series a worldwide success, will lead to its demise. The slowly but steady decline in track attendance and TV viewers, suppliers and sponsors, portrays a perfect example of how bad this is. Sadly, the series is starting to look more than NASCAR, IRL and many other artificially blooded circus.
A team which can't afford to be in Formula one, should look somewhere else.
Plain and simple.