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Hey! Thanks for not asking to broad of a question! Do you mean in terms of finance? The fact that most american racing fans prefer Nascar? Please be more specific.
i think its more the race times and the fact that No one has any thing on it at all. You piratically have to hunt for race info, and results in the US. The thing i dislike the most is every one assumes its IRL or Cart. but nothing beats while im wearing my MS hat... "Hey what does you hat say?", i tell them and say "It's Michael Schumachers podium hat" to that they respond "is that like some guy in NASCAR" to that i respond "yea something like that" then i walk away. Its a sad state of affairs in the US indeed.
Yup, F1 is a sad state of affairs in the US indeed. So is WRC rally and many other sports (table tennis and badminton just to name a couple). Basically US don't play well with other international communities, period. If US were not dominant in that sport then US will not play or participate. If US were not leading in that sport then no corporate sponsorship and no TV coverage and no audience and no fan support and therefore no such sport in the US. Yeah, US tried to warm up to soccer during those weeks of World Cup it's because the whole planet was into soccer while US just don't want to feel left out. Look at the major network TV coverage during the Olympics Games. It's pathetic. If US is not in contention, then there would be no TV coverage of that sport event...WTF. US is big on NFL but who else on this planet plays that? US is big on NBA and MLB it's because US totally dominate these area. US is not big on F1 so we only get TV coverage at those hideous hours like 4am while the prime time slots are occupied by NASCAR, IRL, CART and even NHRA. Ok, just my rant. Now I've got it out of my system... Just a die-hard F1 & WRC fan hoping to see more TV coverage here in the states. Edit: Only if Scott Speed were Lewis Hamilton or at least performs half as well as LH, then we might have something more going for F1 here in the US. Remember Michael Andretti...? Oh, well, nevermind.
There are a few reasons why F1 isn't that popular in the US (imo). 1) Coverage. It's not played on major networks (Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC) except very very rarely. The times they're played is not suitable for most viewers. Yes, they can tape-delay them, but I think most people would rather enjoy live coverage. 2) Connection with fans. They already have a problem with this with fans at the tracks they visit, but I'm talking broader terms. They only have one race in the US, at Indy. If you're a fan in the US and want to see them in person, get ready to drop lots of time and money on traveling to see them race to turn 1. This basically means you lose potential fans that would've "converted" if you visited towns like the moving circus through town. NASCAR has 35+ races around the US. That's one reason they have a lot of fans here in the US, but not that many overseas. 3) Competition with other sports. It's not a huge factor, but it could play a part. We have the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, IRL, ChampCar, MLS, etc PLUS college sports, which is widely popular in football and basketball (Go Gators! ). Throw in some of that two wheeled non-sense as well. In Europe, football (soccer) is obviously king with F1 probably close to it. Other than that, you have lower motorsports in DTM and then the two wheel stuff. I'm not sure what else. There's NFL Europe in Germany (used to be more countries) and some bball, but not nearly as many in the US. You throw all of this into a bucket along with the "it's a European thing" and you pretty much covered the gamut on why it's not popular. P.S. You could also include a driver that is a "country-man" such as Alonso:Spain, but it didn't work too well with Scott Speed. Maybe if it was someone who could actually drive a car along with being a household name (i.e. Jeff Gordon), people would watch. Sort of like a few people switching over to Nascar because of JPM. Tons of new Nascar fans in Columbia were made when he signed that deal...
How many times has this topic been debated just in the last year ? Al - you are wrong - 3) is by far the biggest factor.
What's so funny about the people here on Fchat is how someone can put up a non-post, such as "??" and people are still busting out long treatises in response! In summary, yes. To clarify, F1 is too much for USA.
I'm assuming CBS bailed on F1 coverage? Couldn't find anything suggesting they're doing it for '07. Anyway, it just doesn't pay here. So, it's not too much it's too little
"In 2007, FOX will provide live coverage of the U.S. Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix, plus taped coverage of the British Grand Prix and French Grand Prix. SPEED will provide live coverage of qualifying and practice for the entire season." http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/6210614 (ya gotta love the URL )
This thread pretty much answers the question http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127045 Started by yours truly
To the original point -- I think the US is too much for F1. There's too much going on in competition. The US isn't some third world sandbox trying to make a name for itself, and so you don't have the gov't dumping $$$ into infrastucture and such. Even back in the days of multiple US F1 events, the level of interest wasn't that high. At least today the event is at a decent facility, rather than being the world's fastest AutoX like in 81 and 82
M-m-m-m, attendance and interest in Nascar is on the wane and open wheel and gt races are attracting new interest. Positive signs I think as the general populace is growing weary of pimped out sedans (decals and more decals) going round and round ad nauseum with Nascar officials doing naughty little things to make the race more interesting (throwing cautions for non existant debris). Perhaps the time is right for a bit more sophistication and a lot more variety.
OK, thanks. Well that's good news that Fox figures they'll take a crack at it. They obviously feel there's some potential.
I think quite the contrary - The USA is too much for F1, and if you think about it, it is, for the reasons we have already discussed ad nauseum, most of which Al listed in his post, and Tillman too. Another major sickening fact is - someone brought up the stickerbox cars of nascar - all looking the same, but as I have said before, you paint all F1 cars the same color, and they all look the same. Copycat cars. It's not THAT far away from IRL cars, to be honest.
I think it's maybe also the lack of F1 racing heritage in the US. The F1 has been born in Europe and will always have its focus here, although the countries in the east have their share today, mostly because they don't have any own racing series or mostly not even big car manufacturers there (Japan excluded). In the USA, you have your 'own' formula racing like Champcar or whatever (you see, even a car nut like me doesn't really know about it ), with American teams and drivers, I think its normal that the average American is more interested in that stuff than in battles between European cars and drivers.
Oh for ***** sake, don't get me started on this. The list is way to long and probably to boring to go into here. Short version, it is a two way street and both are missing the turn on to the avenue. F1 does not get the US and Tony George doesn't understand F1. It's like an arranged marriage, good for politics, but not much romance. F1 needs to learn about US fans, and I don't mean the diehard group here. Indy needs to learn how to put on a show. Case in point, Montreal/Melbourne. Those who have been to Canada will make my point on that one. Before I do go on, I'll stop and long for the sound of screaming engines and the bark of upshifts.....
