Why isn't F1 popular in the States

Gilles, do you find it odd that at the height of ROAD racing motorsports popularity in the USA, let's just say 1978 (or insert any year here), there were no such things as 'sports bars' ?

Today, there are dozens of 'sports bars' in cities, loaded with people drinking, eating (and drinking some more), and watching 'the big game' ?

Back then, you had a few people over, bought some chips, and a case of Bud, and watched the 'big game' on your 27" TV. No cable.

Today, everyone meets at a bar..... or you have more guys over, you have several different kinds of food, several different kinds of drink, and you watch the game on your 60" hi-def, or a projection TV.

It's just a different era today, in the USA.

 

Where I live there is no way anything can compete with college football or NASCAR. F1 never will take off here.

I was sitting with a friend at Alabama's homecoming game last week laughing at the very real fact that Schumacher could be sitting right between us and no one would have a clue who he was. He could even be wearing a Ferrari button down and it wouldn't help.

 

no chili cheese fries

 

Not just race cars.

I've seen 8 year olds get excited at seeing a lowly 328. A toddler loose in the condo complex made straight for the Ferrari when the garage door opened (ignoring the Alfa and the rallye car), and was quite put out when his mother snatched him away for fear of his getting fingerprints on it. (Even before I could tell her it was okay.) A group of teens, however, saw the Ferrari, and their comment was: "Ooh, it's shiny!"

In the US, cars in general and sportscars especially are "politically incorrect". Hybrids are "green" --- even among those who intellectually know that manufacturing and recycling byproducts negate any "greenness". Society has reached the point where the popular myths are preferred to reality. "Competence is elitist".

Is this the result of a culture that prefers quitting without trying to possible failure? Or a puritanical based ideology that what's bad for you *must* be good for "society"?

"Egalitarianism" has become an excuse for hiding out in the middle of the pack. "Standing out" makes you a target.

It seems like success is considered prima facie evidence of "cheating". (Look at the hostility towards Schumi). If you succeed in business, you must be a cheater, too.

If Ferraris are signs of success, then it brands you as "bad" ... for being different.

... But in parking lots, the Ferrari collects a lot of *adult* fingerprints.

When nobody's looking, they're still "cool".


People seem to want to think that *every* Ferrari is unobtainable. If they assume that they can't get one, they don't have to think about their priorities.

When people wonder how I can afford a Ferrari, and I tell them that there are Ferraris as cheap as $20K, nobody responds with an expression like "I could get one!". They all look annoyed to have their misconceptions challenged. If they can't "afford" one, they don't have to worry about "bucking the system" by getting one.

There was a point in the late '70s where a company actually offered a conversion to disguise a 308 as a Bricklin.

I think Americans still start out with a love of gizmos. But they're torn between their appreciation of excellence and a culture that denounces excellence as "underhanded".

On forums like this, you still see people who like Ferraris because they want a car that responds to the controls. But people who think that "drive" is a verb, rather than a gear, are in the minority in the US.

We're all weirdos, here.

For example, at a random seatbelt check in MA a while back (at the company main gate, so they got around the probable cause), a cop expressed surprise that I was actually wearing my seatbelt.

I told him that it's one of the "bad habits" I got from racing.

Even NASCAR fans are a minority in the US. If cars are "bad", racing must also be bad. NASCAR fans can at least tell themselves that it's "american" --- so it's patriotic.

 

NASCAR is the number 1 sport in the USA by all counts...ticket sales, TV viewers and money...in fact,per the AJC, the one Atlanta 500 NASCAR race brings in more money to the Atlanta area than all the Braves, Falcons and Hawks games per year COMBINED!

 

Good Point.... Today Watkins Glenn, would only be 1.5 hour chopper flight from NYC! so the drivers teams all the hoi poloi... could still stay at the St. Regis, and see F-1... in Monza the last time I went, I stayed up in the lake area, and choppered in each day.... only cost $200 for the weekend.... so I supposed this would work at WG... if they would ever consider the track again... which will never happen.

 

Well, there's one other count:

Ask people around the office who won the last baseball/football game (depending on season), and ask who won the last NASCAR race.

In Atlanta, NASCAR might be close. Anywhere else, most people won't even be aware of what and when was the last NASCAR race.

But then, most of them won't know what their tire pressure is supposed to be, either.

 

The only "count" that matters though is MONEY...that is what makes the world go around...there are plenty of parents at 8 year old midget football games too...but, since there is no money there don't look for such games on ESPN any time soon...

 

NASCAR is the WWF of motorsport. It appeals to the same people who watch the mean, obnoxous behavior of reality TV. We are living in Rollerball!

Another issue is the fact that we are becoming a world population. Much of F1 is rooted in national competitions; British Racing Green, Italian Red, Germany's Silver Arrows, etc. The Internet has put everything into one big hopper.

rick - Formula 1 marshal

 

And what is even stranger is that NASCAR is catching on in Europe much more than F1 is in the USA...http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/FREE/60821026/1003/FREE

 

Answer - They discovered girls.

 

Well, there is a big step between saying that Jochen Mass is trying to promote NASCAR racing in Europe, and saying it's catching up.

Rockingham, near Derby, UK, and the Lauritsring in Germany are two new tracks that have been built for the purpose of oval racing. Both have tried to introduce some form of stock-car in Europe (Saloon V8, I think it is called in UK), and both have failed to meet their target. Rockingham has been losing money on every meeting under that formula, because of lack of spectators, and no interest from the TV channels.

I doubt that it will change. Stock-car or NASCAR is a phenomena unique to the States, and what pleases the American public is not what necessarily satisfies the European spectators.

 

Teenage boys everywhere wish the answer were that simple.

 

maybe more pepole need to read this book to understad what F1 is all about.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Formula One Racing for Dummies
This book delves into the strategy, technology, and spirit needed to win a Formula One race. Every angle of a race weekend is covered in detail, from scrutineering to pitstops to podium. You’ll also read about the rivalries and politics that have turned the sport into a global televised drama. Illustrated with colour photographs, Formula One Racing For Dummies will serve the die-hard spectator or armchair fan alike.

Discover how to:
Identify race strategies. Understand the role of each team member. Master the latest rules and regulations. Appreciate a Formula One car’s cutting-edge design
Enjoy Formula One from the stands and on TV The Dummies Way

Explanations in plain English
"Get in, get out" information Icons and other navigational aids Tear-out cheat sheet Top ten lists A dash of humour and fun

 

The attraction of F1 needs to be discovered in person. You can't sell it through text any more than you could football. Heck, F1 barely portrays itself properly on TV. Take a friend to a race, and they'll be hooked for life.

 

I agree. F1 live is very contageous. Its more than the racing. Its the whole F1 circus that winds us up.

-rick, F1 marshal, U.S and Australia

 

I agree.

This may be why MS vacations here in the USA.

And even those that do know who he is or his records have no clue to the significance of them or the history involved.

Michael Jordan should be so lucky...

 

Seriously?! There's an F1 for Dummies?? I have to get that (really)

Well said. And before anyone jumps on me for this -- I'm not saying driving a stock car is "easy", and no I don't think I could do it better or something, but that does not change the fact that stock car racing is like a handicapped step-child to open-wheel road racing, F1 simply being the pinnacle of the latter. NASCAR is about beer-swilling, tobacco *chewing* (not that I endorse smoking, either, but there is a bit of a, shall we say, "cultural" difference here, I think you'll agree), redneck sport. It's like a giant slingshot on wheels... And who still plays with slingshots into adulthood... Well, probably the same people who watch WWF "wrestling" (which is just plain retarded, in my humble, and clearly *not* universal, opinion).

F1 is about finess, speed, strategy, style, elegance, competition, so much more. Sure, there's plenty of beer to be had, but it's really more of a champagne sport. And no, I'm not advocating elitism, merely pointing out a style differential, if you will... Europe understands finess, too, in a way the US doesn't. On this side of the pond, whether in politics or racing (often the same), we've always had the "blunt force" approach... NASCAR is our baseball bat to F1's scalpel... Ok, I'm done with the analogies now. Hope you've enjoyed some of them.

No reason why you can't love both. In fact, both together... Even better.

 

Arguably, MJ could take similar holidays in Europe and noone would bat an eyelid.

I've seen Valentino Rossi walking around in London, where he gets no hassle whatsoever, but in Italy he needs a police escort wherever he goes!

 

Doubt that... I'm pretty sure MJ would be recognized the world-over. Not as much as here, maybe, but definitely... In fact that is a prime example of the difference between F1 and basketball. One truly is world-wide (though I don't know about Khazakstan -- ask Borat ), the other (F1) isn't yet...

 

People here in the states like things simple, and uncomplicated. Nascar racers, and Indy racers (for the most part) drive in circles. It's easy to keep up on things. F1 is the most complicated motor sport there is, and also the most challenging, and the most technically advanced. It's what I love it for, but in general the majority of people in the states don't appreciate that.

This can be "proved" by the success of simple pop music, the success of convenience stores, etc. Our country's economy is fueled by convenience and simplicity.

Damn shame too, cuz I think Nascar sucks personally.

 

Personally, I follow F1 a bit, but it's hard for me to get too excited about it. Here's why: The cars have become so specialized and technologically advanced, that they are more of a curiosity to me rather than a car I can get passionate about. They also have very little to tie them to the sports cars that I have personal experience with.

I like to watch cars that have some relationship with cars that I can drive or see on the street. A modern F1 car has very little to connect it with a street car. For that matter, it also has very little to distinguish it from any other F1 car on the grid. Take all of the F1 cars, paint them in identical paint schemes, and folks would be hard put to distinguish between a Ferrari and a Renault. Modern F1 cars have little appeal to me visually, either. I find all the aero stuck onto the cars makes them uniformly ugly. Also, the performance characteristics of the F1 cars are so similar, that it makes the cars difficult to distinguish from a performance standpoint as well.

For me, the most interesting race series are those like the Speed World Challenge in the United States, and the GT3 in Europe. The cars are instantly recognizable. There's no mistaking a Porsche for a Ferrari. The cars are based on cars that I can drive and that I see on track days and races when I am at the track. Although the cars may be very closely matched when it comes to overall speed, they have very different performance characteristics, so they have to be driven differently. This leads to more passing opportunities and more interesting racing overall. I've seen races where a smaller, more nimble car would consistently overtake the other on the twisty sections, while the bigger, more powerful car would pull ahead on the straights. There was lots of passing, lots of positioning, while the two drivers maneuvered their cars to maximize the strengths of their cars and take advantage of the track lay-out. The cars in F1 have such similar performance characteristics, that you almost never see this sort of racing.

I like the semi-professional drivers in the World Challenge and GT3 too. The drivers may not be the most skilled in the world, but they've got some serious competitive blood in their veins, and aren't afraid to take chances. I remember a GT3 race where the commentator kept saying that there were only 2 places on the track where you could execute a pass. The drivers kept passing lots of other places, and finally, the commentator concluded that "nobody must have told them that you can't pass there."

Take a look at these two clips, and tell me when was the last time you saw anything like this in F1:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELt-6-xKWUM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhMUp_T500c

F1 may be the "pinnacle" of motorsport, but watching it is usually pretty boring. I wouldn't watch any F1 race on TV without a fast forward remote control in my hand.

 

When I was a kid... early 70's Sports Car racing was just as big as F-1.... 917 Porsche, 512 - Ferrari, huge Lola's, Matra, etc... not to mention the Real CAN AM.... What F-1 has done is wrapped up all the sponsor money and TV coverage and made Le Mans an almost afterthought... its fairly big now... but it used to be THE Race!.... its just nowhere close now. To me it was natural to see Jackie Stewart, Dennis Hulme et all, race in F-1 and then in Can AM, or Sports Cars.... hell Andretti used to race all those and do USAC - Indy.... but its just not like that now... the mid 80's was great example ... 956 Porsche, C2 Lancia, and some other small marques... great racing that rivaled F-1... but about 1984 - 85 Ecclestone & Balestre got the formula right to stick it to the Sports car crowd... and it was F-1 or nothing... mostly since they wanted all the money !!!

ALMS is going well, I wish they had more of the European teams involved, and could make it a real World Championship... but the FIA would never here of it!

 

I agree of most of what you write kpl. Sportcars and GT racing was and still is my first love. That maybe because my first encounter with motorsport was at endurance races. Sport cars used to be big stuff in the 60s & 70s, with the Ford-Ferrari war, followed by the Porsche-Ferrari duel, and the Matra-Ferrari era. FIA killed the World Sportcars Championship.

I like the diversity of cars, and talents.