Yesterday I had a most interesting time at Canal+ in Paris, where I was asked to take part in a programme called Les Specialistes de F1. This is basically a talk show about F1, with opinions being expressed by various people with different roles within the sport. This particular programme featured Thibault Larue (the name, for those who are not tuned to the ways of the French, is pronounced Tea-Bo). He is a fellow F1 journalist for the last 15-odd years. The presentatrice (anchorwoman) Margot (the t is silent) Laffite is an accomplished automobile journalist, TV presenter and racing driver, who has known F1 all her life thanks to the fact that she is the daughter of Jacques Laffite, who was one of the top F1 drivers in the early 1980s, winning six races and equalling Graham Hill’s long-standing record for Grand Prix starts (176) before breaking both of his legs in a crash at the start of the 1986 British Grand Prix. The others involved were Jerome d’Ambrosio, a Formula E racer (and winner) who had a brief F1 career but did not have the sponsorship to get enough time to make his name, and TV reporter Laurent Dupin who specialises in F1.
Put a group like this together and you are going to get some interesting opinions because there are many different levels that exist in the sport. I believe that at least part of the failure of the sport at the moment is that the media does not have the tools to do a great job. There could be way better TV coverage than there is, there could be way more data integrated into the coverage, there could be way more access allowed and drivers could be way more open and less terrified of being themselves. Part of the process of creating heroes is having people who are not bland and vanilla-flavoured. It is hard to idolise those who talk about failing to maximise the potential and forever say that “tomorrow is another day”. This is a complex subject but it comes in part from the teams and sponsors who want to always be politically correct, in part from the drivers who are taught blandness from the age of about eight onwards. Interesting opinions create discussion and that is exactly what F1 needs. At the same time heroes must also be people. Real people. F1 drivers who hide behind high hedges and don’t talk to the media are not helping the sport at all – this is why Bernie Ecclestone was recently critical of Sebastian Vettel and why he views Lewis Hamilton as a great star. Lewis lives the way he wants to live and he’s a character. Perhaps he is a little odd, but what’s wrong with that? We’re all a little odd. Dealing with people who are unwilling to show their characters means that journalists are like artists with brushes but without paint.
Another element is the sport’s refusal to properly engage with social media and its desire to charge for everything. This is so short-sighted, but one must expect such things from the dull-witted financiers who know how to juggle figures but are not good at things that require any imagination and vision. They know that if you have money you can make money. They are really nothing more than asset-strippers and one has to say that one of the things that Bernie Ecclestone must take the blame for is that he let these people into the sport. The key to long-term success is to get rid of them and pump some more life back into the sport.
One can blame the governing body for failing to govern and not keeping control of what is important. It should not be for the competitors to make the rules. The governing body should do that, with input from those involved.
In the modern day and age, everyone can have an opinion thanks to social media. Some of these opinions have no value at all and are formulated by blockheads. The skill is to know who to listen to and who to ignore and even in that respect F1 is complicated because fans have different levels of interest. I think the best way to describe this is to use a parallel with the different dimensions in physics.
You can watch F1 in one dimension. You’re not interested in anything other than spectacular racing, crashes and so on. You probably could not name all the drivers on the grid, but you are part of the audience that F1 tells sponsors that it has and so you have a right to a voice, even if perhaps you don’t really have any idea about the way the sport works. Those who have more interest watch the sport in a two-dimensional way. They understand that racing is about strategy and managing the technical side of the cars. Probably this group can name all the drivers. The third dimension is for people who see the many different levels of activity that come together to create the sport. They understand that the drivers are only part of a huge team and may understand the importance of every element involved. Finally you have the fourth dimension for those who understand the history of the sport and know how F1 became as it is and where it could be going in the future. For those who have done more than scratch the surface, the racing is never really dull but do they have more right to an opinion than those who don’t really care?
What F1 should aim to do is to amuse and inform so that everyone gets to the fourth dimension…
Was great to see you on C+ !
Dear Joe,
Very interesting and I agree with your comments . But in the context of your joining the group what did the other members of the group have to say ? Did their views differ from your own ? Did they have anything new and interesting to contribute? Maybe you can tell us in your next blog ?
Dr Frank Newton. Silverstone .
Sent from my iPad
>
An excellent article Joe.
Having followed, watched and attended where possible F1 since the 60’s I would like to think of myself as belonging to your “4th dimension”. I have to agree though that broadcasters, F1 journalists and F1 management itself make it very difficult. As illness means I can no longer attend races, I am much more dependent upon “the media” to keep me updated, totally really! As you say, the official F1 position is to not engage people like me. Thanks to people like your good self, I can get an idea of what is going on.
I have seen trends come and go, one that went a long time ago was non-championship races, e.g. the Gold Cup at Oulton Park. These informal F1 races allowed the teams to have a much more relaxed weekend and the fans to get really close to every part of the F1 operation. Today’s calendar and Bernie make sure this type of event no longer takes place, but I think it highlights the point you make about the asset strippers and everything being charged for, Open access to an F1 race is beyond the means of all but the very rich, which is a great shame.
Keep up the good work.
Regards,
David
I’m a businessman (so i ‘get’ the incentives for CVC & BE) but also a father, husband and F1 fan enjoying the show, the technology, the sport and their complexity. In every dimension of F1 its enjoyment has added to my life. 10-year trends in F1 are coming to a head soon, social media (and savvy competitive series like WEC and Formule E) will precipitate this and are perhaps the sport’s best chance to reinvent itself. From fan surveys to the blogs like yours to multi-dimension exposure to races in my iPad, the elements of a wonderful F1 are there – but the sports economics and foundation need to get back in balance among the teams, owners and fans.
Thank you for this opinion, pieces like this help show the way.
“What F1 should aim to do is to amuse and inform so that everyone gets to the fourth dimension… ”
good point there Joe. But maybe there is even more to it. I think there is enough interesting things going on that we might try and get people interested in the 4th dimension first so to speak. Get them interested in people stories in a high pressure environment. Then, they might also gain interest in racing as such🙂
Example: here in the Czech republic, a documentary maker was fascinated by the stories of her grandparents from the “protectorate” period in the Czech Republic. She created a “game show” where real 3 generation families were put in a created environment similar to what life was in the early 40s, with actors playing the people around them.
Part social experiment, part history lesson, part game show. Got quite decent viewer numbers that a documentary would have never gotten. My son loved it and learnt a lot about that time (he actively looked and kept track of when the episodes were).
Off course it would be hard to do exactly that for F1. But i can imagine taking a group of young students and giving them the carrot of getting a job in F1 and then make a show out of it.
I think one way to achieve more fans is one of your earlier points in the blog, and it’s key: personalities. An example here in the U.S. Is CNN television personality Anthony Bourdain ( pronounce “bor dane”😉 ) who is the antithesis of politically correct. Although edited, the F bomb happens to fly from his lips quite often and he’s never one to plow down a beer. He’ll also not hesitate to talk badly about music that he feels, sucks… And music really isn’t the subject matter of his show at all. Even if you like the artist he’s degrading, you really can’t help but laugh along with him, as his delivory is so well put together. What he is not, is a cardboard personality. No, Bourdain is cool and that’s why people like him. He’s no afraid to say anything. In an era where so many are afraid to speak their mind, it’s refreshing to find someone like that. I’m a big Alonzo fan, but hearing him say “moving to McLaren was the right move” just doesn’t hold water, especially after Ferrari’s success this year. I’d much rather hear him say “the car is a piece of shit and the engine is the laughing stock of the paddock. McLaren and Honda are great organizations, but we have a LOT of work to do!” Now that would be refreshing.
I wish SkyF1 would do a 1 off programme similar to this where there was a in depth discussion into the future of F1. I am not talking about their Friday night show….
If it happened it would be great if you were on it Joe.
Joe, if I recall correctly F1’s desire to charge for everything has been part of Bernie’s ethos for a long time and predates the involvement of CVC. – There was a season in the 1990s when the UK broadcaster at that time (think it was ITV but not entirely sure) was unable to show qualifying for a number of races.
The reason for this was that Bernie realised midway through the season that his contract with them did not explicitly give them the right to broadcast the qualifying sessions, so he took them away and re-negotiated the deal (I think Brundle’s grid walk may also have been under threat).
I’ve no idea if he actually succeeded in screwing more money out of the broadcaster or not, but this shows the mentality was alive and well along time before he let the moneymen in, and was perhaps what drew them to the sport in the first place.
Yes, it was ITV; yes, that’s what happened re. the qualifying sessions; and yes, he did, respectively.
A couple of seasons later they paid out extra for the Friday practice sessions, only too late realising that they’d forgotten to ask for Saturday morning practice as well… I think that time they decided to say “sod it” to his request for more money, and so we didn’t get them until the BBC took over.
Oh and yes, you were right about the Brundle’s gridwalk bit of it too.
A really interesting article Joe. I would count myself somewhere in the early fourth dimension – my history pre ’80’s is a bit ropey.
It is not the likes of me the sport needs to attract – I may whinge about stuff, but I’m probably here to stay.
Attracting people at level 1 is probably OK – these casual viewers may see a trailer for a race, get caught in watch a close season or a spectacular race, but will be transient and a season or even a couple of races of domination by one team / lack of action elsewhere will quickly see them leave.
Getting the level 1’s to level 2 and beyond is therefore key – and this is where F1 falls down. It is too complicated. For me to fully enjoy a race I need to have a TV, laptop and phone to get enough data to understand what is going on.
Thats a lot to ask of a casual fan.
Maybe we should restrict the pit wall to a single screen showing the TV feed, restrict telemetry to the very basics (but keep pit to car radio) and see what the teams and drivers make of it all. Once the teams are racing and making decisions with the same level of information available to the casual fan then the sport should become more accessible.
While I’m coming up ideas, why not limit pit crew to 7 (four wheels, two jacks, 1 lollipop). We could see what’s going on, pit stops would be longer and probably introduce more variables to racing.
I’m confused Ian. Why do you need a ‘phone? The only time I’ve used a lap top is when my decoder played up and cut off the drivers’ times and positions. If the sport is too difficult for some they need to change sports rather than F1 dumbing down everything to the lowest common denominator. Your idea regarding the pit stops falls into that category – the speed of stops is one thing people who don’t follow the sport know about and admire.
I have the TV coverage on the TV screen,
Timing screen on the laptop and driver position on track graphic on the phone screen.!
I wouldn’t consider fewer pit crew as dumbing down – it would spice things up a bit as the slickness achieved through the extreme division of labour we have now makes the stops (if we can still call them that) a non-event.
I’d like to see you do that and balance a mug tea at the same time!
Did any interesting or thought provoking ideas come out of your Canal+ participation?
Yes Joe, but what about the broadcast? Did Les Specialistes de F1 come to any conclusions? Was there any agreement about the way to proceed? Do the French feel different about F1 since they claim ownership of it or at least it’s origins. The French usually have a unique viewpoint on most things.
Watch it and find out
Can you tell us when it’s on TV, Joe?
It was on yesterday
Someone has kindly uploaded the episode on Dailymotion. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2tkdf4_les-specialistes-f1-10-juin-2015-720p_auto
Sadly no English subtitles for us ignorant Brits. So I am still none the wiser. But I did note that there were over 40 scripts/trackers etc running on that linked page.
Ah brilliant, I’ll grab it on their on-demand service.
Where do we catch it? Also, I’m guessing that as a French program, it’s in French, which many here on your blog may not understand.
It was in French
Not available yet Joe – at least in the UK, rights reasons probably.
Just watch it Joe. Apart yourself of course (!) I found d’ambrosio’s take on Lewis interesting, that is from a ‘current’ driver’s point of view who admires his flamboyance, which he remembers from his early career, and Seb’s low-key approach. Many valid points points raised and it was well ‘chaired’ I thought. It was also good hear Nico and Toto being interviewed in French for change. Hope you enjoyed it, it looked that way.
I watched it
Sorry Joe, I meant to say I watched it not watch it! I’m going to sack my proof reader! Anyway, I enjoyed the programme and hope it’s not the last time we see you on tele, French or otherwise. Salut.
Your use of physical dimensions as an analogy is an excellent teaching tool. You should commend yourself. Keep up the good work.
There’s the hordes who follow the red cars. Also the business clients and prospects that are invited to the track by the teams and sponsors. While I’ve largely stopped listening to what drivers say, it does seem like they’ve recently been given a longer leash, and who can forget Lewis praising the sport where everyone “has the same resources.” Priceless.
I very much agree that people should be more informed.
After reading some whinging about lift and coast, tire management and more after Canada.
I actually thought of asking you: Why don’t more drivers from the earlier days come out and talk that they had to do the same and sometimes even more?
We had tire blow outs, cars running out of fuel, brakes failing, engines malfunctioning. So to me I can’t imagine they weren’t doing the same back then, just that they had to rely more on themselves instead of the fleet of engineers with telemetry they have now.
And on another note: I really do miss gravel traps lately. Even if it would ground my favourite drivers once in a while.
“What F1 should aim to do is to amuse and inform so that everyone gets to the fourth dimension…”
I think this is a fairly impossible target to achieve and frankly: quite unnecessary IMHO. When you watch the Olympics, you know some sports well, some not so much and some you just heard of. Some are more liked than others, because they are more appealing on face value. You don’t know every sport that well. It is talked that wrestling may or may not be out of the Olympics, which is sad on one hand, because it is one of the core sports the games have been featuring since ancient times. On the other hand, if people are not very interested in it, then the question arises inevitably.
The immersiveness “getting to the fourth level” needed would mean people had to eat, drink and dream about F1 all day long at the current level of information sharing, and even if the broadcasts were more informative, the complexity of it all just bounces off many new potential fans.
It is a Sunday afternoon pastime for most people who tune in as it was part of a seasonal soap opera and many times they don’t get a story to care about on the surface. If it wasn’t for Twitter, I’d find myself sleeping on the couch, being woken up by the national anthems.
In other words (as I understand) you say F1 should make an intricate crime story to sell (and stick) every other week or so, while (as I think of it) they should sell a crime story that is funnier, easier to consume, easy to follow and being able to enjoy if you just tune into one episode.
The main problem is that F1 fell victim to its own success: it’s the pinnacle of motorsports with all the technological warfare and the rules to further complicate it, but it has to appeal to an audience as wide who treat is as a regular TV show not unlike “The Only Way is Essex”.
At the level of information explosion we are at – with so many distractions, it is impossible to do both.
Ok, it’s hard so let’s not try… You’re not a racer, are you?
Don’t get me wrong, I think your point is valid, and I find everything in F1 fascinating, but the on-track action isn’t really there to draw in casual fans, IMHO. Well, it’s much better than – say – 10 years ago, but in the Internet age “excitement” is exploding from everywhere and F1 – in it’s current form – may not be able to keep up with that.
Why would he be? I thought the point was to attract fans, not racers who are a small proportion of the worlds viewing public.
And lots of the racers are whinging too.
GV not a racer. Deepest of repsect Joe (you are the only part of F1 that still holds my interest), but the current era of F1 is an insult to racers IMO, because software is in the way of skill and the DMP.
I have no idea what you are talking about.
To be fair, people in the 60s complained about F1, saying it’s all the engineers’ work and the drivers just come in and lap around the track.
It’s a different set of skills to be used, difficult on it’s own right, but – inevitably – a lot less entertaining for the viewers and drivers alike.
Formula 1 has always been this. It seems to me that the people who complain are mostly those who, in common with many these days, have very short attention spans and/or know nothing of the history of the sport. I’ve never seen a ‘dull’ race since the first one I watched, but then, apparently, I’m a 4th Dimensional being (Thank you Joe!! =D). The drive to win a new audience ultimately will kill the sport if not carefully managed, because it will reduce it to an ‘average’ that appeals to those who love spectacular crashes and behind-the-scenes gossip. The sport needs to sort itself out a little and remember what it it and what it’s about, and make adjustments accordingly, and promote THAT. To hear the likes Ecclestump publicly slagging off the sport to improve the cash value of his ‘deals’ is nothing short of disgraceful. However, I digress…
Like it or not, it’s an engineering competition. The fact that you have these heroes holding the machine on the grey stuff is a bonus!! Reducing it to a popular average may work well for the bean-counters and it may become the most popular TV show ever (Deathrace 2000, anyone?), but the essential essence will be lost. A bit like, no matter how long The X Factor runs for, it will never re-discover The Beatles.
I think when you find a 6-hour or 24-hour WEC race more interesting and entertaining (at least I do in recent years) than a 1.5h sprint race, F1 is doing something wrong.
Well, I will be watching the Le Mans race this weekend, and F1 the next. If one loves RACING, I don’t see any reason to pitch one against the other. Never really understood why people compare in this way… and I’ll bet you don’t sit for a whole 24 hours being ‘entertained’. This comparison is utter rubbish, in my humble opinion, Racers race what they’ve got, end of story.
“The immersiveness “getting to the fourth level” needed would mean people had to eat, drink and dream about F1 all day long”…..
I couldn’t have put it better myself.
Thank you, Joe.
It’s not that hazard!
You can thank me😉
This is a thought provoking post however it makes the assumption that once a person reaches the fourth dimension – everything suddenly becomes ‘interesting’. Many readers of this blog are long time followers who demonstrate awareness at every dimension as described. However it is clear a good proportion of even these ardent followers are disenfranchised. If one spends 100% of one’s focus on a single sporting past time or hobby, they are unable to appreciate its place among the broader spectrum of alternatives. Like it or not, in comparison to several alternative sporting contests (motoring and otherwise), Formula 1 IS dull and boring. That is why Formula 1 is losing its core following. These other options offer equally compelling layers of strategy, history and intrigue while also delivering a better (and fairer) ‘sport’. Max Mosley’s recent comments suggested the competition is not a level playing field and many appear to agree with him by voting with their remote controls.
As one would expect I don’t agree with the analysis of dimensions of viewer. In my experience of 50 years following motorsport, there are 2 kinds of viewer only. There is the casual viewer who will tell you that Hamilton did a great job in his Lotus last week, and there is the dedicated fan who has stood out in the rain and snow as well as in the sun, to watch racing whether it be autocross or F1. I’m in that category, and would quite happily listen to Joe talking about racing in the beginning, in the 1920’s, or 50’s or whenever. About Robert Benoist or John Love, or Silvio Moser, or whomever, as I’ve had a long time immersing myself in the sport and every aspect of it.
Having any sport that purely relies on an influx of casual viewers, who are on the one hand, to be entertained by the ease of overtaking with DRS, while on the other hand expected to hold a Computer Science Degree to understand the fuel usage during a race, is not logical. What you need to do is use F1 to attract fans to their nearest motorsport venue, and really connect them with the sport. Just a fluffy time with some Z list celebs and a confused and frankly boring series, is not going to pull anyone in or keep them.
Just because I don’t bother with F1 from a viewing point now, doesn’t mean I’m not a motorsport fan anymore, or that my interest in the history and well being of the sport is any less than previously. Just as I have not bothered with the BTCC for many years, all it means is that one particular series no longer excites me as it is now too artificial and does not provide a sporting contest to draw me in. I hope that it will one day change some aspects so that it does excite me as it used to. However to do so it needs good looking cars, a lot of visible power, drivers that are not on some PR leash, proper tyres, no DRS, no legions of computer engineers and some decent tracks. All of that would help to promote proper racing and would bring in fans who can understand a simple plot of driver vs driver, team vs team, with no stupid stuff, just action.
I’ve come to the conclusion that it is not me that has had my interest wain because I happen to like other sports that used to be secondary to motorsport for me, it is that some areas of motorsport, are simply no longer interesting, unless one is directly involved. And those directly involved keep wondering why fewer people are watching either trackside or via media, but because they can’t accept the simple and logical reasons why it is declining with the public, they won’t be able to learn the lessons and there will be continual decline. Some people in F1 seem to get what is needed, but their own overriding greed will prevent them from actually doing anything about it. Really sad, but look at FIFA and just accept what happens to anything in life, including sport, when one throws vast amounts of cash at it.
I see Kimi has had a bit of a moan this week, and Mansell, but no doubt the fact that both are former WDC will not be considered when their thoughts are instantly derided by F1 and those in it. F1 is caught like a rabbit in the head lights, with bags and bags of cash the only thing it can see, and when that runs out, we may get our sport back. Until then, no chance!
great sermon.
Another excellent post on the state of F1. To me this is the most pertinent point regarding asset strippers: “The key to long-term success is to get rid of them and pump some more life back into the sport.” The sport its self is in good shape despite the whining of some one dimensional “fans”. It is the business around it that is damaging it.
Hear hear!!! Bring out the value of the nuances rather than criticize their existence.
100% agree about integrating more data with the coverage. The F1.com website is hopeless, and what’s happened to the ES usage display on screen? A whole fascinating and vital aspect of the sport is invisible.
We should have all the temperatures, fuel, modes… even for less fanatical fans it would equip commentators to explain what’s going on.
I completely agree that the media doesn’t have access to enough information for their race coverage.
There is a big difference between being on-site and watching the race on TV. At the track you have the feel, the sounds, and the various smells. All this is missing when you’re watching the race on TV. This is why more information is needed to understand what is going on. This would help when a race is especially processional like Canada.
“What F1 should aim to do is to amuse and inform so that everyone gets to the fourth dimension…”
Put me down as respectfully disagreeing on this one. Perhaps I see things a little differently.
My take would be that, while it’s a noble goal and one which speaks volumes of the engagement of fans, the priority need for F1 may be simply increasing the size of the pyramid than worrying about getting everyone to the fourth dimension.
The fourth dimension fans are the ones who’ll travel to races, who’ll invite their friends over to watch races and who’ll put their kids in front of F1 as soon as they’re old enough to recognise cars and colours.
But everyone starts off like those little kids, as first dimension fans. So while the sport would be foolish to listen to everything the first dimension fans have to say, especially if it risks disenchanting the fourth dimension fans who act as evangelists for the sport, it must try to learn what brings people into the first dimension in the first place.
Note that I steered clear of suggesting that F1 listen to the first dimension fans. Reams of data will tell you that people are terrible at telling you what they actually want and what truly motivates and attracts them. On that aspect at least, Bernie has a point.
Understanding what people want without having to ask them is the talent of most of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs. I wonder whether Bernie remains among them: whether he’s lost his touch or whether CVC have tied his hands.
I wanted to ask this question a day or so ago on a another post, but anyway…
Several of your posts call for fundamental overhaul of the sport in multiple areas and offer excellent suggestions. They way I see it, that change can be incremental and involve the people currently running the show. Or, it can involve tearing the house down and rebuilding it from the ground up. Normally, I’m mostly a change from within type. But, given the forces involved, it doesn’t seem fundamentally possible to change the sport from within (Bernie is out of touch and not very flexible, FIA is neutered and not doing anything, and teams are fractured, selfish, and not looking at the bigger picture).
So, do you have an opinion on how to implement the excellent ideas you have presented? What will it take to change the direction of F1?
It will take someone with force of character, or bureaucrats
I advise all those who enjoy Formula 1 as it is now and as it has been for a very long time to watch the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend. It may come as a surprise, or even a shock, to those (including David Coulthard, apparently) who have not followed the race in recent years.
There is considerable technical innovation and variation. The cars have become steadily more economical and yet they have also steadily lowered their lap times. They race each other hard from start to finish without any “lift and coast”. The result is unpredictable.
None of the above applies to Formula 1. I expect I shall be accused of whingeing, or even “whinging”, whatever that is.
Why do you think I am hoarding energy drinks for the weekend?😉
your comment on lift and coast is incorrect
Yes, you are right. But the technique has far less effect on the racing than in Formula 1.
@Peter Dron
This is what I’ve seen from WEC: There are 3 manufacturer teams way out in front, and no one else. In Q1 in Le Mans only those cars plus one independent (Rebellion) were within 107% of pole. All other LMP cars were way slower. Relatively speaking, twice as slow as a Marussia.
The race is highly predictable: if nothing strange happens, Audi will win. Now one thing LM has on F1, is that it lasts 24 hours, so reliability problems (mostly extinct from F1) will play some part. If the Audi’s fail, Porsche will win.
Now on the cars, technical layout is pretty much like a F1 car, only there’s more freedom for interpretation. So engines and hybrid systems differ from car to car. F1 should allow that too.
On the other hand, to my eyes WEC cars are ugly. I’m not impressed with the current shape of F1 cars, but at least they look quick. WEC cars look like, I don’t know, a rejected Transformers design.
Le Mans is 24 hours live on Dutch free-to-air tv, so I’ll be checking in from time to time, but there’s a good change I’m watching the final stage of the Criterium du Dauphine Sunday at 15.00.
Is the program available via the Canal+ website or is it for subscribers only?
It should be on the website but there might be rights issues
It is not up on the website, yet. They have earlier programs up so expect it in time. Surprisingly, able to be viewed, too
It sounds to me like your group there would be a far better strategy group than the one they currently have .
But , they prefer to put out surveys to the great unwashed .
I’ve participated , and thought to myself both times , that , because of the length of time required , it must be reasonably dedicated fans of F1 taking part , if they don’t give up before finishing . Attention spans are not seemingly getting longer in the general populous .
So , perhaps the read on it might be that most of those who fill it out might fall into category 2 , 3 , or 4 .
But , both surveys had me seeing leading questions , pointing at slanted multiple choices .
A simple discussion group like the one in which you participated is far , far more useful in solving issues than any survey will be .
We , as fans , are too involved with watching the show to be dispassionate enough to decide how to present it .
The actual “Strategy Group” is too involved with the racing , itself , to be able to represent anyone other than the corporations they represent .
Real debate and reasonable conclusions are what we need , from people like yourself and that group , because you are the ones whose only agenda is to make a more healthy series of F1 .
I’d count myself in the 4th dimension , but feel a bit helpless when the survey doesn’t include questions i’d like asked .
So , keep the faith , man . You give me hope that there is someone carrying the torch when all the stupid occurs .
Keep asking the questions , and explaining the answers to us all .
Please .
Some day I hope they will listen .
Count me in the 4th dimension, then. Long ago I gave up about having an interesting conversation about any kind of motor sport with any friends or family. It’s been a challenge but also a rediscovery to teach my 3 year old son about why two cars going round in circles is so damn cool. A sport that needs a pay TV and an iPad with a paid subscription to feed the viewer with data so that he / she can understand what’s going on in just wrong.
But I feel a healthy sport should have a pyramid, with those who are merely interested at the bottom and the “nerds” at the top, in much smaller quantity proportionally. Fans should have a path (called access) that would take them through the dimensions if they’re interested to explore.
I suspect that many of us fluctuate between all four dimensions when it comes to following sport or other interests. Looking back, I’ve probably gone through 1-4 in several sports; F1, Football, Cricket and Three Day Eventing. To name but a few. However I am now down to probably the first dimension in cricket and eventing, the second for rugby, third for football and only F1 remains in the fourth. All four of them are perfectly good places to view from. But the problem with F1 is that it appears to be over reliant on 1st and 4th. Those seeking instant gratification or those fans with longstanding attachment to the sport.
It is losing those fans and you can see the reasons. Why would the crash bang wallop fans go through a paywall when they can see the latest ‘Monster Bull extreme freestyle donkey racing’ for free on youtube? Those of us who love the intricacies are being driven away by BCE and CVC chasing the foreign dollar whilst neglecting the very fabric of the sport.
What it needs to do is provide a spectacle that appeals to all four dimensions. A bit of sensation.
For the 1st, four famous for being famous girls walking down the pit lane, maybe.
For the 2nd, A Pirelli person talking about tyre strategies,
For the 3rd behind the scenes at the factories.
For the 4th ‘The History of F1 presented by J Saward.’
All available on different formats for free.
Then by all means charge a reasonable amount for the main event.
Oh and don’t forget the zero dimension, those that don’t even know f1 exists yet. ‘Cars go F1’ by Disney, soundtrack by Violetta.
+1 Tim, particularly liked how you’re comparing F1 to other sports. Saying something is dull is stupid but saying something is dull in comparison to something else has merit and can be justified.
Beauty so they say is in the eye of the beholder. Ditto F1
Completely concur on that one. Its all comes down to subjectivity of the individual in the end.
There are a couple F1 histories. The one we can read on websites and in books, and the other one that is never published, but spread by word of mouth. Stories that you know about and occassionally alude to, but never put into print. By the time the ‘truth’ can be told, it’s far too late to be of interest to newcomers to the sport or it’s denied by those involved.
Is Lewis Hamilton the only driver who really appreciates the fans? I watched the BBC post race forum on Sunday. Lewis and Nico went up onto the pitlane wall and spent some time signing autographs and talking to the crowd. They both went to a Mercedes photocall and some tv interviews. When they’d finished, Lewis went straight back to the crowd and continued to sign autographs and was still up there when the programme ended. Nico didn’t return. No other drivers were shown interacting with the crowd. I believe that for every ‘internet hero’ who badmouths Lewis, there are a thousand who know he’s a great driver and a great bloke.
I think the media have a role to play with regards to bland driver personalities.
At present, when a driver says something outside of the PC PR script they are hounded relentlessly. They get asked to clarify their statement. Next race they are asked if they still feel the same way. Their team mate is asked, their team principal too.
I see this as another reason why drivers don’t speak out. It’s just easier.
Media just need to chill. Publish it. Then move on.
The problem is that they all want clicks
And that is the crux of the issue…it leads to hyper-sensitivity which hardly encourages the characters that the competition is crying out for.
For a sport to be succesful you need to attract all those levels and not necessarily get everyone to the fourth. It maybe an ambition, but you should never forget that attracting the first dimension is a necessity to get new people in to the sport. It’s also a requisite for people who do get it. I’ve been following F1 for a good 30 years now and caught up with history and races well before that, but still I’ve grown tired of the races where everything happens away from the actual track. It’s almost getting worse than the fuel stops age.
Also, there is a lot of noise being made about the sport being in a bad state. I do agree this is mainly down to politics, but you really can’t claim that ‘the rules are made by the wrong people’ or ‘bernie and cvc sucks the money out’ or even ‘the wrong teams get most of the money’ and then saying that the races are still exciting. Surely the stuff that is wrong has filtered down visibly to the screens, otherwise we wouldn’t really care. The rules are shit, smaller teams aren’t joining the battles because their cars are underdeveloped and so on.
Apart from all the politics, also the battles have become less involving. Sure we’ve seen fantastic battles last year and even some fantastic moves this year (although mostly from drivers making their way through the field after a mishap). But the drivers aids, drs, aero,… are having an effect on driving style. Not only that, but ever since the first Tilke tracks came on the calendar I hated the way these (unnatural) new tracks are laid out. They have one single line that is the fastest and often when someone makes a pass, it’s way too easy to protect his position. Making a pass should mean you’ve gone off the ideal line or will go off the ideal line and so the guy who was passed should naturally have an advantage. Look at the epic battles in the past where drivers batlled through corner after corner, outbreaking then overtaking then getting overtaken again,… a bit like the battles between Hamilton and Rosberg last year and yes I know they were on a Tilke track but you should also see that most of those battles went on because they played a bit with the track boundaries.
All in all, in my opinion we should go to a type of car / tire / aero combination that would allow you to overdrive the car and be faster, but it would mean that you put extra stress on the car and get slower later on. Or brak down. In fact I had hoped (not really the correct word) that with the turbo engines you’d see them turn up the boost to the point of breaking, having to turn it down again, get others to turn it up after that,… Which would all be a bit more natural than the 80’s video game style DRS that we see now.
So come on, we should be honest and admit that the things that are wrong all have had a massive effect on the on-screen racing. Get rid of all that brake balance tweaking and so on, make the cars more physical to drive, get rid of the artificial stuff like DRS however smart it is, get them sliding around some more and go to a system where the money is distributed fairly, people like me can actually afford tickets again, the racing is good, if you are at the track, look on one screen or look on 5 screens. Get the adrenalin flowing so the drivers are all energised – or completely exhausted – when you talk to them after the race. Emotions. Physical stuff. Driver, car, tires, team having equal effect on the outcome. Make it so that F1 history actually continues and creates a couple of fantastically skilled heroes instead of robots to talk about. So that we can say the 2010-2016 era was indeed a disaster but things got to the real “F1” stage again.
…or, we all move over to FE, support their move towards increasing the range of chassis manufacturers and power/battery suppliers and sit back and watch happily as the series grows in depth, strength and introduces a more challenging range of tracks.
Support the future. Let the F1 dinosaur die, along with all its ‘dimensions’.
You’ll die of boredom waiting for the FE cars to trundle past at Formula Ford speeds
Well I didn’t die of boredom in Moscow and I doubt I will in London either. Perhaps I simply can’t cope with the immense speeds and who-will-win excitement of the current version of F1?
As a man who has carefully nurtured all his eggs in the F1 basket I wouldn’t expect you to be singing the praises of FE. However, I would have expected someone who has an intimate knowledge of how F1 started and developed to appreciate that ‘things grow’, they don’t spring into life fully formed.
Anyway, when Bernie starts rubbishing something you just *know* they have a good product.
What a daft view. I will appreciate Formula E if it becomes good. It’s not. I am not in any way F1 exclusive. If you think I am it just goes to show you don’t know much about me
I’ll bite. What makes a series ‘good’ in your view? I’m genuinely interested.
And no, I know nothing about you other than what I read here. My apologies for suggesting you’re F1-centric if you consider yourself to be otherwise.
The article about which this comment was written, explained the rich tapestry of interest that F1 is, at many different levels. Almost every F1 race has interest and merits.
But what if there is an alternative that had an equally (if not more) rich tapestry of interest AND was a better and fairer sporting contest? That would imply in comparison, F1 is not interesting and may potentially have fewer merits as a sport. Many on this blog are attempting to express this position (albeit perhaps not as well articulated as when you express your own lucid and erudite thoughts).
Be interested to know what your level of appreciation of something a tad better than Formula E is, such as MotoGP for instance?
+1 – you’ve hit the nail on the head Patience. Very well articulated point about how one can’t have it both ways – if the rules need changing, money is being sucked out the sport, there is inequality among the teams, hardcore following is declining and the contest needs more characters, then by this very definition something is clearly amiss and to suggest the racing is still as interesting as it once was is a rose-tinted view.
There is a difference between good and how it could be…
There appears to be a difference of opinion of ‘good’ (which is fair enough). F1 currently falls well short of many a hardcore followers’ definition of that word today. We all have different standards.
Indeed we doing
Interesting thesis: F1’s not boring rubbish, you’re just not clever enough to understand it …
I think in years to come, after the demise of Bernie Ecclestone, fans will look back at this era and shake their heads at the calibre of journalists who were too craven or inept to expose the rotten core of our sport. I’m sure that when the truth eventually emerges, thanks to a new corps of journalists who won’t have to depend on BE for their sacred passes, we’ll realise that Sepp Blatter was a choirboy compared to those who ran F1.
It is not about being clever. It is about being passionate
Hey Joe. Will you be doing an ‘audience with’ in London again this year before the British Grand Prix??
This is the plan
Nothing more to say…..👍
Off topic Joe ,do you know what contract Danial Ricciardo has with RBR ,there seems to be some conflicting stories about .
It is probably a lock-in contract if he achieves certain results. Hence the confusion.
got to watch the canal+ programme and found it more interesting than most due to some divergent views
someone has alluded to jerome’s statement about hamilton being the only driver not being afraid to say anything in case they made a betise as our french friends say [ I would have included alonso in that statement ] ; is it really that bad [ you didn’t seem to disagree with him ]
and a fashionable stubble and no tie ? shame on you , you will be destroying the image of the english gentleman ! or maybe you were straight off the flight !
but I was disappointed that you were not able to expand on your point about canada being tense ….. there no longer seems to be an appreciation that in the past F1 was more exciting to the casual viewer because there was a tension about something they could understand …would the cars break down [ what was the lowest number of finishers at monaco …perhaps 6 ? ; now they need to know about the pit stop position / fuel situation / what tyres / et al , just as much tension to me and I am sure you , but to joe public ? I think not
The unshaven look is laziness!
Laziness or not, bravo for endearing yourself to the younger generation when F1 is failing so miserably at this. Very chic sir!
Wasn’t Lewis fantastic on c4 TFIF tonight.
Oops .. may be against copyright to tell you what he said.🙂 .
Many will have forgotten Jacques Laffite as an also-ran, but he sticks in my mind very prominently…
The ’86 GP weekend was my first experience of seeing F1 in the flesh; before that it was just hill climbing, my dad’ s past hobby.
I was 10 years old. I attended Friday practice with my dad, and suddenly everything came to life and made sense. Instead of TV shots moving from one patch of grey tarmac to another, I could see most of the track from one position, and was rapt as an engine blew in front of me – I could taste the oil in my mouth. Suddenly F1 was real.
I took Polaroids, most of them captioned “Prost had just been through here” or “that blur would have been Piquet” or whatever.
Poor Laffite was the only driver caught in focus by my inexperienced snapping, since his car was stationary and on fire. Perhaps that was a portent and he should have abandoned the weekend…
The greatness of Formula 1, and indeed motor racing in general came about as it was as a sport that activated the senses of sight, sound, smell and indeed engaged the brain stirring emotions of courage, bravery and hero worship. One could taste the fear and the dangers plus the brain needed to compute and calculate the on track action pre the days of instant information.
Drivers, teams and cars were far more accessible one could talk to the participants and receive coherent answers, easily see the engineering and technical differences and revel in the competition between established and new teams.
Todays Formula 1 is but a pastiche of that greatness, coasting on the reflected glory of past days, the cars look slow and awful, have no sound, no smell of burning rubber or fuels and run in the main on sanitised tracks devoid of character where the public is restricted to being price gouged observers.
One can listen to or view scripted statements redacted of anything not acceptable to the various powers who use the once great spectacle for their own means what a sorry mess it has all descended to.
Of course like heavy metal music Formula 1 is not a passing phase in ones life so one stays involved hoping that this era will pass by and somehow it will save itself.
Was mulling this further and would propose a fifth dimension that is somewhat not properly captured by the existing four that you’ve set out in the article. That of the amateur participant. I’m not talking about ex-drivers but those who have participated in motorsport generally and understand from first hand experience the nuances of hitting an apex correctly, the difficulty of various kinds of overtakes (including the fear factor of executing them) and the effect of tyres (at various stages of their life). These followers are perhaps less interested in the politics of F1 (although many will stay concurrent with that element too) but rather appreciate the skill of the drivers involved. I would equate this to the amateur cricket or football player who participates for a local team on a weekly basis themselves and then goes to witness an international match. The nuance between this and the 2nd dimension that you set out, is the element of having first hand experience – something the majority of those meeting the 2nd dimension are likely to lack and therefore are unable to appreciate.
The problem comes from the vast number of blockheads, who collectively have a loud voice. These same blockheads shouted loud enough, persuasively enough to the management of world wrestling. The old men listened and added more spectacle, and then some more. Finally the only thing left was to turn it into a circus for children…
Send in the clowns at your own risk.
I would have to reluctantly agree that F1 has already transcended into the realms of ‘sports entertainment’ too far. Those in charge need to address this trend as a priority to avoid it falling further away from the notion of a true sporting contest.