George: F1 must wake up to American needs

Just posted on Autosport:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/60747

I actually agree with him on the need for a few things - Quoting:

"The promoters, in this case Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Formula One, have to provide the leadership in a working relationship that includes a national broadcast partner and a title sponsor that will actively embrace and support the event, along with a number of other things. Those are the important things that really have been lacking."

National broadcast partner - Gotta get it on TV.....

 

Tony had eight years to figure it out and get the job done. He failed. It's not Formula one's fault, it's Tony's IMVHO.

 

Didn't Fox TV surpass NBC in the ratings? That would make it a national broadcast, no? So in that sense they did succeed, but Fox simply treats F1 piss poorly. Their cluttered screens triggered my gag reflex endlessly.

 

+1 the damn ads popping up at the bottom were annoying to say the least, and their need to go to commercial every 3-4 laps for the last twenty minutes of the race drove me nuts. It's a shame Indy is gone, looks like I'll make a trip to Canada when I finally get to an F1 race.

 

Doesn't Bernie do the TV deals and all that? That's not Tony's fault (god, i can't believe i'm defending that piece of slime). Bernie simply wants a new venue. He could give a crap about the American fans. What exactly could Tony George have done differently to make more people come out to the race? I suppose 05 was his fault too?

 

Well, here's the question that will tick off a lot of you:

Does the United States 'NEED' Formula One ?

The answer is no, we don't 'need' Formula One.

Some may WANT it, but we can do without it simply because there are thousands of other things to do, and literally hundreds of other motorsports events to attend throughout the year. It isn't ingrained into our lifestyle like it is in some europeans, like soccer and cricket is. Like Baseball and American Football is here. This isn't the 60's anymore. (damn !)

Let me say this: I don't like Tony George at all for what he did to split up open-wheel racing here in the USA. That said, HE put a lot of money into making Indy into a respectable F1 venue, *AND* he paid out a huge sum of cash to F1 every year.
Is it Tony's fault fewer and fewer fans attended every year ? I really don't think so, as much as I'd love to say it's his fault, I just don't think it was. Tony is in it to make money - make no mistake about it - and with all the money he put into it, let's face it - F1 today just isn't worth it.
If Bernie can squeeze 20-30+ million out of a foreign government to have a race in their country, then how can he face them and say he is having a race in the USA for 10-15 million ?

Let's not even get into racing at another venue in the USA because it's just not going to happen, unless Donald Trump or Steven Wynn put up a lot of money - and both of them will 'run the numbers' and easily see the ROI is zero, so they won't do it.

And I will preface it all by asking you all this simple question:

How many of you would pick ANY other car besides a Ferrari or a McLaren to win ANY race ?
That's the problem - F1 is a 4-car series, and it's not going to change anytime soon. And the f1 'fans' know that.

 

That's a silly argument. With that argument you can shoot down anything. Does the US need NASCAR, does the US need Gold, does the US need Baseball etc etc. As you say there are many other venues, so the answer is always no. Besides, what is "the US"? It is the people living here and some of them want these things.

F1 is important to some here as Baseball or anything else is important. I don't give a damn about any sport but F1, so do I need Baseball? Hell no.

 

Its a valid argument...The U.S.A. does in fact need NASCAR, baseball, football, ect as we are both socially and economically dependent of those sports....do you know how many jobs and fortunes would be lost if any of those sports pulled out of the U.S.A.? Not so with F1...the fan base is just too small and our entire national athletic system from midget leagues to high school and college are not based on F1 like those other sports. IMHO, F1 does need the U.S.A. however. And, I predict that BMW, Mercedes, Toyota and Honda will be having a meeting or two with Bernie and a 2008 USGP may just be back on the 2008 schedule before the end of the 2007 season...you read it here first...

 

Yeah, we need nascar like we NEED Britney Spears. You've got to be kidding.

 

The manufacturer's interest has probably always been the reason for having a race in the US, just as the case with Audi in ALMS. Sell road cars ! ! Sales market for each in the US speaks volumes.

In order for F1 to be successful in the US, the image of F1 needs revamping. The fan base is obviously quite small in comparison to NASCAR and to many of the ALMS races (90K at Road Atlanta last year, ticket sales higher so far this year - Don Panoz got that series right!). The "better-than-thou" image generated by F1 just doesn't cut it for the average American. Bernie needs to take lessons from ALMS, LMS - very successful, fan-based, fantastic racing, inclusive tickets, a great venue of sport races and a myriad of other things.


Carol

 

You must have been asleep for the last 25 years or so. Do you realize how much money, jobs in the sport itself as well as the economies in all those communities where races are held depend on NASCAR? That doesn't even include all the interdependent marketing companies, transportation companies, ect that depend on NASCAR to survive. If NASCAR ceased to exist tomorrow, our economy would be dramatically affected for the worse.

 

It depends on how you define "need": Not having a USGP does indeed have an economic impact on the US. Granted on a much, much smaller scale than if you'd pull baseball out of the US economy, but there is an effect: Indianapolis got an additional $ 150 mio into its local economy because of the race. There are thousands of people nationwide selling F1 memorabilia and stuff, there are companies manufacturing bits and pieces, the list goes on and on.

Does pulling out one of our "national pasttimes" like baseball have a negative effect on the US economy and social fabric? You bet. But so does cancelling the USGP and taking F1 away. Just on a much, much smaller scale.

That's why the argument remains silly: It can be applied to ANYTHING.

 

How can Tony George say the USGP needs a national broadcast partner? Didnt they have Fox this year and CBS (was it CBS?) for at least two years prior? What, those aren't national networks? He DID have a national broadcast partner, didn't he?

As for a title sponsor, does he mean someone to pay for the race (or a large portion of it) so they can put their name on various banners at the track and then let Tony keep the money from the ticket sales?



There are a few issues going on here. The debacles that have been prior USGP's haven't helped - the faux Ferrari finish, the Michelin ordeal. That hurt the sport's chances in the USA big time. The fact that Bernie knows some other country will pay him $25mm or more to have a race that will be unprofitable, whereas it must make economic sense here - what motivation does Bernie have to give up $10mm to keep it in the USA? Given the low numbers, who is going to finance the growth here? Is Tony G gonna pay for banners all over the city and TV commercials to promote the race? Is Bernie?

Bernie has said he doesn't care if there is a USGP - well, he's got what he wished for. The only way we will have a USGP is if Bernie feels that it's important for the future of the sport. Maybe he does and maybe he doesn't, but he keeps saying he doesn't. And unless the manufacturers band together and let Bernie know he DOES care about a USGP, nothing will change.

 

I prefer F1 over NASCAR too. However,NASCAR still rules economically in the U.S.A. though. For example, in Atlanta, the two NASCAR races held here pour more money into the local economy that all the Falcons, Braves and Hawk's games combined...I suspect that is the case in most of the other markets around the country...

 

+1

Exactly, and this attitude starts with Bernie, that little runt.

 

As much as I would like to agree with both, you are WRONG... Ferrari sold more cars here in the USA every year when there was no USGP... it will continue... BMW, Mercedes etc... the Average American just does not have the "sporting" connection the car is basically a tool... and for folks on this forum its more than that... but we are in the minority. The car companies will not spend a dime to bring back a race that many people dont even know about... For F-1 to work it has to be on Enertainment tonight every night, on all the talk shows etc.... then it would get traction and create demand... then the money will come, but untill then its going to be flat.

I do think that with the proper exposure MTV, VH1 - Ebony etc... Lewis Hamilton could be a super star here in the states... ofcourse he would have to be like a rapper... but if he hit it off with the kids... he could be HUGE... the demand for a race would be terrific....untill then it aint gonna happen... NASCAR appeals to the average sports minded guy... the guy who follows the spors like the seasons... Foot ball in the fall - winter, Basketball winter spring, base ball & NASCAR - summer - fall... it also has the WWF tinge to it.. so its got Drama between characters, sexy girls, wild partys, etc... lots of partying etc...

F-1's social appeal is that you are surrounded by rich and sophisticated people... the jet set, famous etc... so that is how you have to play it... you cant dumb it down... we already have a mainstream racing series for everyman ( white man ) so I see F-1 being the cross cultural upwardly mobile set.... ( wanna be's ) if I can be so blunt.... thats where your appeal is across a mass market.. you will ofcoures attract the car guys who like technology & racing ... I think that set exists with folks who are willing to spend the money to partake... but you have to mass market it, to develope a base... and nobody F-1 or IMS did any of that. They were banking on the traditional fan... who has seeped away to other things.

My opinion...

 

I think the track itself, and pretty much everything inside the gates at Indy was fine, (other then the fact that the only beer I could find was a Fosters). It was everything out side the speedway that seemed to really take away from the experience, everything looked run down, and very very boring.
When I go to a race or a ball game in another city there is an experience outside the event. Things like restaurants, bars, clubs, shops, decent hotels ect. This stuff adds to the experience, and people are willing to spend money on this stuff. This money would be good for the city, thus the city would have an investment in the race.
This is just not the case with Indianapolis, the city is just not wired right to profit from this thing, thus no one is willing to fight for it.
take that track and put it in a different city and the race would be a success.

 

beg to differ . . . Audi is spending one helluva lot of money racing in the US

Carol

 

One of the amin problems is Tony George.

He basically killed CART and many people resent that. the thought of putting money in his pocket nauseates me.

It's all about his ego. To think that Tony did everything he could to promote F1 in the US is naive. Not nearly as important to him as NASCAR who does all the promotional work for him. Easy money for Tony. F1 was a four letter word called "WORK".

Tony never figured out that he needed Bernie more than Bernie needed him. Tony's huge ego got in the way of his being effective.

Just my opinion. People like me vote with their dollars and we have spoken. It's George who needs to wake up not F1 as Tony asserts. I think he doth protest too much. He's trying to put the blame elsewhere to protect his huge ego.

 

So who would do it? I mean, if not George, who would have the interest to put F1 back in America? Where?

 

i think you have the question the wrong way round

does F1 need the United States.
and the answer im afraid is avery big no.

More and more countries are clamouring for F1 grand prixs, the governments there are willing to invest big money into new venues etc.
Bernie knows this well and uses it as a threat over the existing races, hell the man has even threatened the british gp and thats the most historic race of them all.

 

There's Roger Penske, one of the Movers and Shakers, himself, who has the MONEY, as well as the POLITICAL Horsepower, in these here United States.

He may not be the best choice, but is one of the Players, who can do this.
I won't go into his involvement in Racing, Good and Bad, as it would take me an hour to type it out. In considering the question, he comes to mind, first.

Ciao...Paolo

 

Depends on the definition. The first Grand Prix was held in France. Monaco has a longer tradition than the British GP. The British GP is memorable because it was where the first Drivers Championship was started in 1950. Bernie isn't trying to kill the British GP, but rather to get the BRDC to bring Silverstone up to modern F1 standards.

 

obviously im biased (im british) but yes i know what you mean.
However your correct in that i was referring to the Britain hosting the first ever World Championship event.

 

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