La chute du nombre de billets vendus met en doute l'avenir de Monza. https://fr.motorsport.com/f1/news/monza-ventes-billets-inquietude-avenir/3161979/
In English this time !!! Fresh fears over Monza future amid fall in ticket sales https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fresh-fears-over-monza-future-amid-fall-in-ticket-sales/3161913/
If it weren't so expensive for the organizers, then ticket prices would be more reasonable, and more people would show up, often making more money than at present.
It's expensive for the organisers, because the rights holders (Liberty now) ask very high fees to hold a GP. But, by the same token, if Liberty doesn't make a substantial profit on its operations, it will have less to redistribute to the teams at the end. The costs of running a F1 team are too high.
And a complete zoo of hollyweird filth hanging out to get their picture taken. I wouldn’t be caught dead at that race.
Much like Force India and the other money lacking teams, Liberty inherited a sport that is weak.They paid too much. A sport wont last with 2 or 3 'real' teams. Street races will not save it. The Bernie model is dead and they cannot make it work again. Fee's have to go down and you need an 'improved' show. Good luck getting the top 3 to agree on any real changes, budget cap etc. They are the real owners and can walk away and not feel that much pain about it.
To fix a failing business model you either charge more and deliver high quality or charge a lot less and sell more..... cutting the middle of the page rarely solves the problem for long. F-1 either need to cut the cost of fees - and simply make it a less costly model, that allows promoters to make $, and then just have more GP's OR - do less races and promote each race themselves.... and milk every penny. F1 is no longer in my mind a sport at all... its entertainment, and being on sight and sitting in a grand stand = 0 value for money. seeing the cars out on track for 2 hours a day, is terrible, and what is more - buying a GA ticket means you have almost no chance of seeing any racing or cars at all. not to mention you never see the drivers or cars up close. Fan experiences are very limited .. with huge crowds... when I was a kid going to races in the 70's. we could buy a GA ticket, park the car, and then see the race from different corners. that is what we do when we go to the Petit LeMans. that is how F-1 should be again. Sure you can buy a grand stand seat if you like -and that should entitle you to a large screen tv and audio commentary. but if you like to see the race from different corners you should be able to ... right now each part of the track is lined with bill boards so a GA viewer sees nothing. if grand stands were $50 - ok. but $400 - $500 ? stupid. While I like the qualifying format... I wish they would go back to qualifying on Friday and Saturday, and aggregate the two. and free practice should be 3 hours or more in the am and 1 hour after lunch and Qualifying at 3 -4 PM. Thursday should be an open 2 hour test session for each race - with open Paddock after cars are brought back in. same for Friday and Saturday open paddock from 8 am - 9AM and then 15 min after final qualifying on each day. charge $30 for paddock entrance daily. that way you can keep some of the crowd down.
I see your points above Spirot but I dont sense Liberty has a major plan in place. Now they are delaying regulations for 2021 and 'experimenting' with a soft budget cap. Shooting in the dark is more apt. They are facing an auto industry in the change or disrupt mode as power is now shifting away from petrol and to electric in some form or fashion and they have 2 teams + Red Bull with almost 'veto' power over them. So street races that offer little show or racing is the answer? No major news about fee reductions as an aggregate for the promoters and circuits who are demanding little or no fee's or they walk. The model is broken and Bernie is laughing. Talk about a perfectly timed sale lol. They appear to have conflict over your points - volume or quality with fewer races. One day they might decide. They have not so much time overall. I dont sense F1 as a 'growth' industry any longer. Only a fight for survival and the timidity to try something new in the face of the change in auto industry affecting racing overall.
I agree with you that F1 is pricing itself out of reach of the average Spectator. It may seems OK for the new generation, compared to other costly entertainments, but it looks like poor value for money for those who have attended GPs for a long time. True that the best way to Watch a GP weekend was a GA ticket and a good pair of legs to go around the circuit and see actions from different locations. I suspect that most spectators nowadays can only go to Watch ONE GP a year and treat it like a Holiday, where for us it was an excursion at the end of a week's work.. If you take a family with you to a GP, it's as costly as a fortnight vacation now! In my youth, located in Belgium, I could afford to drive to 4 or 5 GPs every year on the continent, park my car, and camp on site. Many spectators used to do that. Same for Le Mans, etc... I have never been a fan of grandstands: I get fidgety sitting for hours. I guess it would be very expensive now for me, to attend the Belgium GP, the Dutch GP (non-existent now), the German GP, the French GP and perhaps the Italian GP the same year.
Formula 1 without Monza is not Formula 1. As mentioned above the cost model is not working. I used to go to at least Formula 1 race a year from 1992-2013. With the new vacuum cleaner power units I decided it just was not worth the cost to travel and see the races live. I have found much better ways to spend my money and precious vacation time and do not see a day that this will change with the direction Formula 1 has been heading. If it goes electric as has been suggested, I will no longer watch the races that I dvr. The FIA and Liberty have their work cut out for them. I think Bernie saw the writing on the wall and knew that he needed to selll when he did.
I agree with most of what you say with the exception that the show needs improving. Honestly the racing is really good, the best we've had for a long time. Three competitive teams with five or six drivers having a shot at victory plus some excellent racing up and down the field. People forget that the good old days tended to have way more cars drop out and far bigger gaps in performance up and down the grid than today. Not every race can be nail biting from start to finish, but on the whole i think the on track action is really good compared to
Count me in. Seriously. Great weather, loads of **** to do outside of the race as well. Can make a proper holiday out of it.
Miami unlikely for 2019: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/24/motorsport/formula-one-miami-grand-prix-2019-spt-intl/index.html
I think Spa and Monza are about the only tracks where you can kind of see the cars on track with a GA ticket. but you don't see much. my last time at Monza was fortunate to be in the Paddock Club so that was good, but then all you see is the front straight and pits... which is nice, but again its limited. on race day if you try to move around the track - you are dead - as its packed and hard for cars to move around & no parking. Out by the lesmos there are some places where you can see the cars pretty good as the track is lower than the ground - and the track side boards don't obscure the view... but again you cant really move around much. Spa still has some good view points, but the cars are far away.... for me the best place to see F1 was Detroit. or Old Montreal when you could walk the barriers. I used to have a photo credential - and back in the 80's - 90's your FIA credential would allow you to walk the entire track - in side and out side.. except for some highly dangerous corners or where the barriers were either too close or far off. you had to stay behind the barrier that was at least waste high. they would have a shuttle drive you around various parts of the track. every hour or so. it was hit and miss depending = Monaco was terrible. where ever you started the day is pretty much where you stayed. unless you started at Mirabeau and could walk to casino. sadly now you are only allowed in designated Photo areas. and you don't have free access into the paddock all the time.
Exactly why it will fail. There's plenty of things to do in Miami other than see a race. And, those who don't want to see the race will be upset that the race is spoiling their vacation.
Its virtually impossible to get everyone in the city to agree to the track layout, traffic problems, noise, etc.
Exactly. Unlike some other places where there is little else to do. Also easy to sell to the Misses. I went to Spa twice but there is really not a whole lot else to do, let alone to even find accommodation. Monza has at least Milan, which makes everthing better except for the track, which is pretty boring. I know it's holy ground and all that but as a track it doesn't offer great views for the spectators.
You go to Monza for the atmosphere. It's still the best race I have ever attended... Sure you don't see much of the track but who really cares, you see none of the track at home and it doesn't stop people enjoying the race Or maybe I have that special attachment to the track because Schumie won in a Ferrari that year.
I used to like Montreal in the '80s where there were plenty of places outside of grandstands to watch the cars and take good photos. But the last two times I went, all the photos that I took were from my grandstand seat; all the other old viewing areas were either occupied by TV cameras, hospitality chalets, more grandstands, or otherwise secured areas. The only European tracks I'd like to see races at are Spa, Monza and possibly the Red Bull Ring, especially if they lengthen the latter to something approaching its original configuration. Monaco? The only reason to go is to say that you've been there! As for Miami, the only reason I'd go is because I used to live there and have friends in the general area. Generally, though, I hate street races; I went to Long Beach and Detroit and really did not enjoy them.
This, by the way, is why I don't go to any professional sporting events--it simply cots too much for my enjoyment return value.
