Why isn't F1 popular in the States

It's solely the fault of F1 that it has such little following in the States. Had BernieCo viewed the bigger picture back in the 80s he would have realized the value of maintaining continuity of the Long Beach GP over the extorted sanctioning fee, since Watkins Glen was already lost. But the basic lesson is, you can't disappear and reappear, in different locations, and expect people to care. Look at the venues that are new in the last few years: Malaysia, Turkey, Bahrain, China. The inevitable pattern is for interest to wane after only a couple years and the bloom fades off the rose. Put it this way: how popular would F1 be in Europe if there was only 1 race, say, in Spain, no, wait, a parking lot in Munich, or, how about through the streets of London...? Get the idea? The U.S. doesn't need F1, and that has nothing to do with snobbery one way or the other. We've got more sports entertainment than we know what to do with. I've always said that F1 screwed the pooch by missing out on the great sports landgrab of the 90s when cable, satellite and broadcasting just exploded. They weren't here, and now guys sit and watch other guys play poker on TV. Love or hate F1, there's no way in hell you can tell me that watching fatasses in cheesy mirrored Oakleys playing 7-card is more exciting. If F1 ever expects to be anything here, then they need to stay the course and stay. You don't just wave a wand and magically create history after being gone for nearly 2 generations. People move on, and that's what the Americans did.

 

Please....

 

NASCAR is a smart business. They take a long-term approach to its future. I think F1 fails in this regard. One thing that F1 use to have is the glamour, glitz, and the personalities. Now, it's about the technology and making the most money right now.

The F1 needs a long-term approach. They need to make the drivers the focus of the series. What makes NASCAR tick is the fan interaction between drivers and the fans. It's not the "brand" of the cars anymore, it's the drivers. Along with the corporations pushing these drivers as marketing tool.

The series needs an American driver or two, but they need the right drivers. You need someone exciting and has a general appeal. Most importantly, they need to be able to compete for the title.

 

That's 'cause Scott Speed is a goofy California surfer kid. A nice one it seems, but not the one to represent the USA in F1.

 

1) Too much competition here from ALL other sports, be it college, semi-pro, or pro, Cable TV, computer games, playstations, DVD movies, the Internet, etc.

2) Hard to get enthused about ONE event that happens ONCE a year in the USA with folks we have never heard of. It's not the Kentucky Derby.

3) No name recognition in the USA of any of the drivers. (yes, ANY of the drivers, including Scott Speed). The ONLY way F1 racing would pick up here would be if Nico Andretti won the Indy 500, Mario kept a visual presence, and then Nico went to F1 and won A LOT, still with Mario keeping a visual presence.

4) At one time, USAC Indy car racing was by far the most popular, but then came the infighting, and the constant influx of 'foreign' drivers, and nascar took over. Timeline is about right, think about it.

5) Most fans like us could identify with AJ, Al and Bobby Unser, and Mario, but today, those types of characters don't exist in ANY open wheel series - IRL or CC. See 1) again.

6) NO major media will cover it throughout the entire season the way they do ANY other 'major' sport. See 1) again.

 

Even when Mario won the the title, not many except Mario cared about the title. I think it would certainly take an American driver, but it would also take an American chassis that stayed in F1 for more than a couple of seasons. Look at the top teams in F1 today: Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BMW/Sauber, they have been F1 staples for a long while.

F1 will never be to the USA what it is to Europe. The only other American series that could be popular with race fans is the IRL, and until they merge with Champ Car, they will always be second rate to NASCAR. I like NASCAR, the races are usually exciting, and in 90% of the events, there is an exciting finish. It is reverse snobbery to try to put down a successful series as NASCAR has become. They earned it, while F1 has done everything to deserve their non-image.

 

GREAT point.
Everyone remembers Jimmy Spencer punching Kurt Busch through his window screen, NOBODY remembers who won that race, or even WHICH race that happened at.........
We all remember seeing drivers throwing helmets at other drivers as they drive around the track, but again, nobody remembers those races themselves.

 

I'm a fan of both series. It will be interesting to see how NASCAR's future will be. I know the France family has international goals.

 

When I see Alonso doing humorous commercials, or dressing like a cowboy, then I will agree with you. Until then, no I don't, I stick with what I said eariler.

 

That will never happen BECAUSE of the competition for air time with ALL the other things begging to be on TV. A sponsor can afford a million or two for a tennis or pro golf tournament, I highly doubt they will afford 10-15-20 million to sponsor a race where there is NO fan interaction, NO american 'cars' or drivers.

I beg to differ - I don't think the IRL is the ONLY american series than can be popular in europe, I think the NHRA is the ONLY series that can do that.

 

It is getting really tiring to read this "Nascrap" reference. You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. I am first an F1 fan. But I also really enjoy NASCAR. There is no comparison between the two, one has lots of side by side competition, the other does not. One has drivers with personality, the other does not. F1 is the latter in both examples.

F1's biggest advantage is the technical aspect of the cars, while NASCAR intentionally controls the technical aspect to prevent cheating. Enjoy both, they each have something different to offer a true race fan.

 

I would not say never, just highly unlikely to an American chassis in F1. I was not referring to American racing being popular in Europe. Although, you are probably right about the NHRA and Europe. I was referring to the IRL/Champ Car series being popular in the USA.

 

FI is not popular in the USA for the same reason that soccer is not popular in the US. It's an international event with events taking place in the wrong time zone for most in the USA. There is also almost no consumer connection to the products and brands being advertised, nor any connnection to the brand of cars. The leading teams are Renault (current World Champs) - not available in the USA, and Ferrari, (prior year's world champs) who sell a grand total of 2,500 cars year in the US.

Fans have to have an emotional connection to a sport and F1 is simply not "American" in nature in any way at all.

It's the same reasons that NASCAR is not big in Europe, and I'm pretty sure no-one in Europe is asking why that is, because it's obvious.

 

I agree, however I would like to see a NEXTEL cup car run the streets of Monaco...just for a good laugh!

 

You see me mention Alonso? though I agree with you - Ferdy's got as much charisma as dishcloth.

 

The NASCAR point is interesting, but it's endemic to me of why American sports are not well-covered (dare I say well regarded?) outside of the US.

I'm a racing fan - I watch F1, Le Mans, ALMS, FIA-GT, DTM, BTCC, WTCC, WRC, GP2, Masters GP, A1 Grand Prix, IRL, Champ, Moto GP, (my girlfriend's very accommodating). I attend races, even pretend to know what I'm doing at some events. But there's a noticable absence from my list: NASCAR. I'm afraid, the only driver I know is Montoya, and I'd be hard-pressed to name a single race. Does this make me not a 'real' race fan, or is something else happening?

Just like NFL, NBA, MLB & NHL, NASCAR is a homegrown sport serving - self-consciously - a self-derived market. It's not interested in other markets, as it's home one is huge, (just as the 'world series' doesn't involve any other countries except for N American territories!).

NASCAR has never managed to translate to other territories, and though F1 doesn't have the US fanbase some think it deserves, as a business, the US simply isn't that important to it. The emerging markets all want an F1 race - Russia, Korea, the Middle East - the list of proposed and 'in contruction' F1 circuits is around 15-20 globally, and these all have commercial reasons to engage. Bernie is going where the money is, and it's not ever going to come from US fans buying the hats and flags.

F1 is a Euro-centric sport which has commerical and consumer appeal outside of its core territory - that's why it spans 5 continents. The real reason it's not got a stronger foothold in the US is simple: a cultural difference. F1 will never bridge this culture divide, but neither will it attempt. The US GP has commercial aims, and it (just) satisfies these - the race is one of the least profitable on the calendar - and so it remains, for the timebeing, a cultural anachronism for many US sports fans who dont' and will never get it.

 

Have you seen the MS Shell gas station pitstop commercial? It's on youtube, but I have no idea how to find and post the link.
It's really well done and MS certaibly looks like he's having fun.

 

Yes - I've seen it - it's great. As a Schuey fan, I've always thought of him as a bit of a personality though. And over the years, the private schumacher has appeared to let his hair down now and again (remember the forklift/fridge-out-of-window/toyota-shirt/drunk incident???)

To say they're all faceless is a little harsh. As someone (very) tenuously connected to a couple of F1 drivers, I can say for sure that Jarno's a lovely fella, as are Sato, Kimi and Filipe. But MS will always be a legend for that Shell commercial

 

Ask and ye shall recieve. http://youtube.com/watch?v=eEloyTu6qTQ

 

Here's the one I was commenting on:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Uo1jKLvkZJM

 

I agree. They could, but probably never will, which is their loss really.

One of the reasons I like WRC so much is that they're outright lunatics, kind of like F1 drivers were back in the turbo days. What I wouldn't give to see completely unrestricted turbo cars yowling around the track again.

Yes, Virginia, you can get killed driving a race car. That's kind of the point. At least it used to be.

 

The popularity of NASCAR (and football) in America is in a sense a grass-roots phenomenon.

Millions of people attend NASCAR races in or near their home towns, and root for their local heroes. This has been going on for decades. NASCAR's more recent super-popularity on TV is an outgrowth of its popularity in real life.

Football is popular because people played it (or watched their classmates play) back in high school.

 

A big reason as well is the infusion of the new breed of drivers, such as the F1-type personality of Jeff Gordon (by this, I mean a more global jet-setter) and the rock-and-roll young guns from all over the country.

 

3 main reasons: passing, different winners each weekend, and driver access. My Customer service manager went to Bristol, had cheap seats, and got autographs from 3 of the 10 guys in the Chase.

F1 has become pretty tedious as a racing series. Look at this board, someone posts the video of the Arnoux/Villeneuve battle and everyone goes nuts.

 

Not enough crashing or passing. Look at how we react to airshows: http://youtube.com/watch?v=N_yXDqetpCs