JUNE 25, 2009

A time to look ahead

Today the talk is of who won the FIA-FOTA conflict and what will happen next. The reality is that it does not matter who won and who lost and it is wise for the winners to be generous in victory. There are more important things to do than gloat.

Today the talk is of who won the FIA-FOTA conflict and what will happen next. The reality is that it does not matter who won and who lost and it is wise for the winners to be generous in victory. There are more important things to do than gloat. Formula 1 is a great sport but much needs to be restructured. The financing of the sport remains a problem. Half the money that is gathered goes to bankers who give nothing to the sport. Ticket prices are too high because the fees demanded from promoters are more than they can pay and they balance the books by squeezing the fans. The Formula 1 argument is that the local authorities, who benefit from the events, should pay the bills, as they do for other major events such as the Olympic Games, Superbowl and so on. Some governments do, some do not. It might be that they would be more willing to invest more if they felt the money was going to the performers rather than Bernie and the bankers. Many of FOTA's ideas are good ones and the sport will benefit greatly from addressing the public more effectively. There are some who say that controversy is good for a sport. We do not agree. F1 needs to be glitzy but it is often tawdry; the arguments are arcane and uninteresting. Who cares which billionaire gets more money? What the people in the grandstands want is good racing and a dream of a different kind of life that lifts them from the drudge of daily living. They don't want to be F1 people, but they like the idea of it...