Bottas announcement expected this week

LOL

 

Why do you waste your time asking someone who isn't a "car guy"?

 

Not sure honestly

 

LH in the larger scheme is not that popular and that is an issue for F1 as well. His 8000 fan submissions for a helmet design is considered under-whelming. Liberty have a lot of work to do to broaden the appeal of a sport that has declining viewership. Pics of LH on a jet facing the same way each time wont do it LOL

He is 59th on the top 100 athletes of the world. Behind, golfers, tennis stars etc

ESPN's World Fame 100

Why F1 drivers aren't as popular as you think - F1 - Autosport Plus

--In an F1-focused world, it's easy to think of the top drivers as the most famous people on the planet. But when you compare their popularity with other sports stars, it makes you question how significant they really are to the wider world.--

 

Its probably due to the fact the other/most sports don't change i.e. rules, format, marketing, etc. They stay consistent. F1 is in constant flux and for most, having to keep up with the rules alone is hard. Plus I would say since the introduction of this new power unit and the "illustrious" powers that be (FIA/FOM), some/most have stopped watching and some/most probably have ventured into the GT series(don't have proof of that or stats buts thats just a hypothetical guess).

 

Try asking the average person on the USA street to name F1 teams /Drivers

At a guess they might manage Ferrari maybe Mercedes how about Haas?

Drivers hmmmm maybe Vettel or Hamilton?

 

Yup. They are relatively free in the US to walk down any street without being recognized. ~500k out of 300m people watch a race on tv here on average. The peak was around 1m viewers in the mid 90s. Just not that many fans really.

Now Mario Andretti. That man is a star. Perhaps get him more involved again to help? He still gives 2-seater rides for Indycar!

 

But the average person in the USA won't know not even basic things such as what is the capital of Canada or where Italy stands on the map. ;-)

 

All this is not very relevant to the quality of the racing to me, so I really don't care if the top F1 driver is less well known than athletes from other sports. F1 is not a popularity contest, and shouldn't be measured by the number of FB hits so-and-so gets, etc...

Of course people at Liberty are interested in larger audience, good return on their investment, growth, etc.. because they treat F1 as a business, but if one sees it as a sport, these considerations are very much secondary.
F1 will probably never be the Number One sport worldwide; that is soccer.
As much as you try, I think that F1 audience is limited, whatever the effort to inflate it.

 

You are so cruel .

LOL

 

A bit like the average Brit has a bit of trouble with the Capital of OZ,or even Canada for that matter?

 

Hopefully good quality racing will bring the attention and fans it needs to survive. The drivers would then be more notable among the world at large.

 

Don't forget that Australia and Canada are former colonies of the British Empire; Brits of older generations learnt about them at school.

 

FEBRUARY 10, 2017

Bottas hits back at Hamilton career killer jibe



Valtteri Bottas has replied to what might be seen as the opening salvo in a new psychological battle between Mercedes' F1 drivers.

Claims by Lewis Hamilton's father Anthony that the triple world champion is a "career killer" for his teammates was widely interpreted as the first mind game fired at Finn Bottas.

On a one-year contract, Finn Bottas has been signed up by Mercedes to replace the now retired Nico Rosberg, who shared a famously strained relationship with Hamilton dating back to 2013.

When asked about the "career killer" jibe by the Finnish broadcaster MTV, Bottas commented: "Well, I wouldn't want to be my teammate, either.

"Let's wait and see. The season starts soon so we'll see how it goes," the 27-year-old reportedly smiled.

 

Yeh,but can they now remember that far back?

 

They sure can, well at least half of them....

Who else do you think voted for Brexit.....

 

Lol....it is amazing that c 18% of the population is over 65

 

Jeremy Clarkson quote: (Feb. 10,2017)

"“There’s no question that the Americans have a sense of theatre about them,” explained Clarkson when discussing the acquisition of Formula One by American media company Liberty Media. “Think whatever you do of NASCAR, they can fill 250,000-seater stadiums, which no other sport on earth can do.”

 

Must be why the USA is the preeminent world power.

Right fellas?

LOL

 

That would imply that we care.

LOL

 

All sports are a popularity contest on some level. A big part of the appeal is proving that you are the best to everyone - yourself, others you respect, the fans that provide the money so you can play a child's game for a living. If everyone stops caring about what you do, then people stop doing it. They find other challenges more interesting because those are more popular. Most young athletes chose sports specifically based on popularity - what is popular with their parents, their peers, their country, etc. It is the exact principle that let's certain nationalities continue to be dominant in certain sports of multiple generations.

Sport but not a business? Name one major, professional sport in the world that is not a business as well? The line you draw no longer exists in modern sport.

No effort has been made in one of the largest sports markets to grow F1, so how can you conclude that they cannot do better?

 

It may be so, but I personally deplore that F1 and motor racing in general is becoming too professional and considered a business. Business means exploitation and I feel that the public is increasingly exploited. F1 is becoming a cash cow for big corporations, and that really puts me off.

Probably why I still follow it, but wouldn't spend a penny on it. I truly believe that I saw the Golden Age of F1, and nothing will ever replace that.

 

Give me 50 teams competing for 26 spots (pre-qualifying returns!!!!) with unique engines and chassis designs based on a finite budget and I'll happily approve of Johnson +Johnson, Apple, Pep Boys, Fruit of the Loom and Lancome racing against Giacomo's Medicinal Marijuana, Spokane Kia and Leona's Previously Owned Wedding Apparel. I'll deal with stupid Halo craziness next season (seems inconspicuous safety devices are not worthy although they've been around for the last 20 years in Corollas and Civics).

Hopefully Bernie returns with Brabham and buys out all the good folks from MB and the Cans just to bother Liberty. I'm no fan of e, I simply want top end racing to return. Pre-qualifying was the ultimate.

 

Great answer.

 

I agree with that - the prices of attending many sports are largely too expensive. It's a real sacrifice for a middle class family to attend many events which bothers me. But, there are always other options. You limit your audience based on price. There is certainly a balance to strike. Some sports get it right and others not.