Simple question, can it ?
I think F1 w/o Ferrari would end much like CART after Penske and Ganassi left, it would soldier on for a while on sheer momentum, then slowly fade away. In the 80's Ferrari went so far as to build an actual Indycar to send a message to F1. Ferrari was the trump card against the breakaway series a few years ago. F1 knows where their bread is buttered and won't let Ferrari go anywhere.
I think one team could leave and it still survive, but Ferrari, no way could it survive. Look at the history that is in Formula 1 just from Ferrari, I know, you can't live in the past but you can't take that much history away from anything without it effecting something. Look at all of the fans that the sport would loose, not only in Italy, but all over the world. The fans make Ferrari and Ferrari makes the fans!
+1 Look how the public interest in F1 skyrocketed in the 90s here in Germany with Schumi and some years ago in Spain with Alonso, and now in the UK with Hamilton - every country is rooting for their drivers. But when it comes to the teams, most of the fans in every country are Ferrari fans, be it Italy (well, 100% there) or Germany or Brasil or wherever. F1 would lose half of its fan base if Ferrari left.
I think F-1 would slowly die away with out Ferrari. Like it or not, they are the biggest draw, from a Historical point of view. Mclaren and Williams just dont have the world wide draw. Same for BMW, HONDA, TOYOTA... so there could be a racing series, but I think it would loose its draw. where ever Ferrari would go, would benifit immensly.
any of you been to an F1 race? lately? ever? the stands are seas of red no matter what country. a few patches of other colors, but the predominant color is red. the people are there to see ferrari. everything and everybody else is just a side show. the only possible exception to this rule is mclaren.
Love them or hate them, there's no denying that Ferrari are the soul of Formula 1, something the sport is in short supply of. Ferrari is the hero and the villain to legions of fans, and if they left I feel the sport would only just do that: survive. It wouldn't be a question of whether the sport would continue and march on, but rather what level of emotion and passion would remain. Very little, in my opinion. Without the Red, Formula 1 would become a much more sterile place.
I think that is a tad harsh, when I went the Spanish GP you could see alot of red, but hell I'm sure the FA fans out numbered them, I tend to agree with Far Out, I think it would survive albeit on smaller scale.
Make your own mind up.... I admit there is a alot of red in them stands over yonder.. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Absolutely F1 could survive without Ferrari. Ferrari would do what then? Start another series? Join Indy? Nascar?
It could survive for a short while, but without Ferrari F1 would never be the same. No Ferrari in F1 is like saying to Yankees in baseball. Certain teams make the sport.
My Vote is no.... There's only two teams currently that can win on any given Sunday (minus crazy days like today or Monaco this year). And Ferrari is one of them...... There'd be no competition for McLaren and F1 would slowly die.....
I went to the F1 race at Indy. in Sept. 2000, the only thing I remember seeing there was red hats, red flags and Ferrari shirts. I will agree with you about McLaren, that was the next most popular, silver shirts and hats.
I think that has already been answered, there is no way that F1 would be as popular as it is now without Ferrari. Please don't insult Ferrari by putting them in the same sentence as NASCAR...lol...lol...lol..
If Ferrari joined Indy or Nascar I would have no doubt that all the Tifosi including myself would follow.
At least for the first lap I think it would fail, to a lesser extent if mclarean left it would be a whole new ball game. Without the riviraly between the 2 teams you would have ferrari vs ???? ferrari It would be great to see the ferrari win 90% of the races but much like when shumi would win by 40+ seconds its great but not the best tv to watch.
It may just be old thinking but could ferrari survive without F1? I'm sure they make a bunch off the cars but how much does the racing program generate?
If Ferrrari ever left F1 I would presume they would go into endurance racing. How did NASCRAP get into this conversation?
Of course it can, people don't watch F1 just for Ferrari. F1 viewing figures went down during Ferrari and Schumacher's non stop winning. I think the idea that Ferrari can make or break F1 is arrogant and presumptuous.
