Thanks. I'd love to see it too and they do have the bucks to spend but it's their reputation that is at risk.
Yes, I do know it... it was a joke that apparently misfired. All the best, Andrew. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Soon, more people will stop watching F1 as well. Even within my group of friends, one by one slowly are stopping watching F1. 'Boring' 'Too complicated' 'Horrible Sound' are one of the few excuses..
Was very impressed though with how easy it was to watch Le Mans. 2 minute search and then I was sitting in Webber's Porsche. Fantastic, via 24 Heures du Mans Site Officiel But yes, unless involved boring is not strong enough Pete
From Pitpass.com In the wake of claims and subsequent denials that Ferrari is considering quitting F1, company president Luca di Montezemolo has called for a summit meeting to discuss the sport's future. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal carried an interview with Montezemolo in which he suggested, not for the first time, that the legendary marque needed to consider its future in the sport, the Italian making it clear that he is far from happy with, amongst other things, the new rules introduced this season. The Italian team subsequently issued a statement denying that this had been Montezemolo's intention, suggesting that such reportage of the interview was "pure speculation". Today, in a further statement, Ferrari has revealed that Montezemolo has called for a summit meeting to discuss the sport's future. It reads: "Ferrari has had Formula 1 coursing through its veins for over half a century and that’s why it has decided to make a move to turn the sport away from the wrong turn it appears to have taken. The Maranello marque has decided to do this through the means of a formal act, which is a concrete proposal, in the form of a letter from its President Luca di Montezemolo to the Formula 1 rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone and to the president of the company that owns Formula 1. It is not an ultimatum, nor a threat, but a proposal to call together all the key players in the sport to sit down around a table and come up with new ideas that will see Formula 1 continue to set the benchmark in motorsport, on level terms with global events such as the Olympics and the football World Cup. The President wants to see a collective brainstorming from the group to act for the good of Formula 1. Contributions from all areas are of value; teams, sponsors, promoters and media, so that the key values of Formula 1 can be re-established. President Montezemolo would also like to see other high-end players invited, those who are currently not involved or only partially so; new media, social networks and colossi such as Google and Apple. Formula 1 has to be based on technical innovation, research and development, but this must all be done with sustainable costs and above all, must be moved forward as part of a product that can put on a show. Because it is the show that draws in the commercial partners, the sponsors and, above all, the fans, who are the real end users of the Formula 1 product. Finding the right mix of these ingredients will be vital for the sustainability and the future success of our much-loved sport." Chris Balfe Ferrari calls for summit on F1's future - Pitpass.com
F1 has become a sport of petulant narcissism from top to bottom and inside out. You would think that would sell in this world of the 'housewives of ....' reality shows, except that the established base of fans don't watch that crap. They've lost sight of their market. I guess this doesn't have anything to do with Ferrari continuing in F1 other than LdM is just part of that show IMO. The characters and people and moxy of the F1 of my heydays died at some point for me. Clearly, I am not their target audience anymore.
A "race" that airs once a year vs a series run in 20 different venues? And don't get me started on the Le Mans drivers: the has-beens and never-weres of F1 Yeah, I hope you enjoyed watching Webbo.
Funny how that goes: here in the US I find more F1 fans each year, seriously the fan base is growing, particularly now that the races are on more mainstream channels
Yes, those in-car cameras are easy to find, but at least here in my country there is not free live coverage and almost zero media coverage of Le Mans. Although soon there won´t be free F1 coverage either, so it really doesn´t make a difference.
It´s not that I´m joining the F1 eschatologists, but we can´t live in denial: F1´s ratings are going down almost everywhere, in some places dramatically. Oh, well, maybe in US a few more are watching, but nobody cared about F1 in the US before.
If you think nobody in the US cares about F1 I recommend you go to an ALMS race (or whatever it is called now). You can pick your grandstand. It will be yours and yours alone. The F1 TV numbers will always easily beat any LeMans coverage.
You do know there's a whole world outside of the US, right? The global success of F1, at least in terms of generating revenue for its participants, continues. Sure, audience figures fluctuate, but it still has zero competition (outside the World Cup ) in the worldwide scheme of things. The WEC is irrelevant. MotoGP is irrelevant. F1 is where it's at! Cheers, Ian
Ha, true, the only ones who think that people cares about endurance racing are the talibans of endurance racing, and that´s true in the US and anywhere. And now some will say that the grandstands at Le Mans and the Nurburgring are full, but it´s easy to find enough endurance racing talibans to fill a grandstand once a year. And yes, I can be a endurance racing taliban sometimes.
No need to remind me of it, I´ve never set foot in the US. But the issue is that F1 ratings are going down in its traditional markets. P.S: you´re wrong in that MotoGp is irrelevant. In Europe it´s really relevant, and in some countries like Spain it was A LOT more relevant than F1 till Alonso came around (and I suppose it will be again when Alonso retires).
MotoGP is KING in spain, indeed. When I lived there it seemed every 2nd bike I saw was a Honda with Repsol stickers on. Viewership is 15% down in Spain for F1 compared to last year.
Ratings have been slowly going down the past 4 or 5 years. And in 2016 F1 is going to be on pay-per-view only, so expect a downfall even if Alonso starts winning everything. Even worse, in Italy ratings are 30% down. I suppose that the fact that some races are not for free doesn´t help.
