That's a bit more tangible than all the hype and talk we had so far. Still I wouldn't loose any sleep over it for a couple of reasons: - It needs FIA approval to become anything meaningful and Mosley is Bernie's alter ego. - Ferrari is not on board. Even if this series gets off the ground, as long as Ferrari is not in it, to me it is as meaningless as A1GP. Just another racing series.
Does it? There's plenty of racing series running without FIA approval. Personally I could car less if Ferrari's on board. If I had a chance to watch a series with BMW, Daimler-Chrysler, Honda, Renault, and Toyota that'd be my pick. Now if it came down to Ferrari, Williams, McLaren against the others... that might be a hard decision only because I'm nostalgic. But, I'd be willing to bet the GPMA teams will have the recourses to pull the best designers and engineers as well as drivers. Which as we know is what really makes F1, F1.
I can't see how a series like that would have any prestige, that can be used for Marketing purposes if it is not an officially approved series. This is where we have to agree to disagree. I might be rooting for some other drivers some times, but if Ferrari as a team is not in it, I have simply no interest.
This is really where we are going if nothing is changed. Personally I would watch it vboth, but like Senna21 said, it would be a shame to split the big constructors and the old teams into seperate series. I much prefer to see it all happen on the same track. This would also hurt the A1 GP I beleive, but thats a lesser issue.
I wonder where they think they will get meaningful sponsorship or air time. They can have drivers and designers up the waz, but none of that matters if there's no real money or exposure. On top of all that, the thing will be run by manufacturers. No thanks. I'd take Bernie and Mosely any day of the week and twice on Sunday over any series run by a collection of manufacturers. Especially one that boasts Honda and Toyota as members.
Build it and they will come. The teams have been taking it for years. I dont remember exact figures but the teams have been given (+ or -) 25 % of the total revenues from the races. The FIA gives what ? Its blessing ? Granteed Bernie has grown this thing to mega proportions but its the teams that are the stars of the show. Not the drivers BTW. Yes Ferrari is a draw but not the show, and the show WILL go on if they are not on board.
Have any of you ever seen the Eddie Izzard bit about flags? England "conquers" India in the name of the Queen to protests of the inhabitants who have lived their for centuries. The Brits respond by asking "But do you have a flag?" It's funny, trust me. Anyway, this website is nothing. Gpma-online.com? It's like a bad Yahoo-hosted fan site. Putting up a website like this, if anything, tells me they're getting desperate for popular support.
the gpma without Ferrari is like baseball without the Yankees, love them or hate them, that's always the team you want to say you beat.
I think that once this series gets started and more and more people get onboard, more TV coverage is given, more of the F1 teams may decide that this is a new alternative to Bernie the tyrant. Bernie has pi$$ed of enough people around the world and since there is no competition, has gotten away with it. Remember the good old days, F1 was what this new series will start out to be. You may not see Ferrari in it right away but you can potentially see them there a few years from now. They are not married to F1, they are married to exposure and competitivness.
You're right in the sense of wanting to beat the big guy. But there are other issues as well: The Yankees, with no one to play, cease to be the Yankees. Therefore, (switching back to racing before I confuse myself) as I have said ad nauseum, Ferrari needs F1 every bit as much as F1 needs Ferrari. The sport is pushing Eastward, and as the Japanese manufacturers get stronger and stronger, popularity will continue to swell in their favour. True racing fans will continue to follow the sport, and unlike you hear from time to time, F1 will not crumble up and die without Ferrari. Sure it won't be the same for a while. Every year that Ferrari is out of the sport, its legacy will fade ever so slightly. Working against them as well is the brave new world of performance cars, where the Old Guards (Ferrari, Porsche, Lambo) are always being challenged by comers (Noble, Saleen, even McLaren and Mercedes!). It's a complacent attitude to believe that Ferrari could walk away from competing in racing's highest echelon and remain to be considered as the Big Kahuna. Every sport has seen the erosion of the value of history, and motorsports are no different.
