Op-Ed: Should F1 become Formula Ferrari?
February 6, 2010 by SJ Skid
Filed under F1B Op-Ed, Parc Fermé, Prime & Option, SJ Skid
The debate over why the crowds came out to the Valencia tests, and Ferrari’s statement about it, got me thinking:
Would Formula 1 be better off as a Formula Ferrari series?
I know that running 20+ Ferrari Formula cars would eliminate the competitive technological and aerodynamic battle, which this year is awfully compelling. Who gets it right? McLaren? Ferrari? Red Bull? Mercedes? Someone else?
That’s definitely one of 2010’s exciting story lines.
But does it hold up, really, to the driver battles? We’ve got Fernando Alonso versus Felipe Massa. Michael Schumacher against Nico Rosberg. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Even Mark Webber versus Sebastian Vettel.
Now, imagine if these drivers all were in the same cars. We’d have Alonso versus Schumacher, head to head. Hamilton against his somewhat idol. Massa against Button.
Best driver wins, right?
And if it is Ferrari that has all the fans, and all the cache, shouldn’t these drivers all be climbing into a red (and white) machine? [Well, maybe the liveries could be different. Did you see the Sauber car, after all?]
We all ran through this idea last summer when the FOTA teams were threatening a breakaway series. The bottom-line of that debate: Where Ferrari goes, so go the fans, the money, the TV.
Ferrari, after all, is one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Now, I know this goes against the very DNA of Formula 1, against its status as the pinnacle of motorsports, against its being the cutting-edge of technology.
But would the trade-off be worth it? Schumacher vs Vettel, no excuses about the Renault engine holding one of them back?
Well, maybe not, but how about this? At the very least, what if IndyCar fielded open-wheel Ferraris? You wouldn’t rather see that than a bunch of Honda-Dallaras running around? Wouldn’t that up your interest in this year’s Indy 500, or more importantly, the IndyCar Series at Kansas?
And wouldn’t it be its best way of bettering NASCAR?
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First of all Ferrari does not have “all the fans, and all the cache”. I am not a Ferrari fan, but I’ve been a fan of F1 for almost 30 years. I find your op-ed to be cynical and myopic.
You think the driver battles are the only reason people watch F1? I love the technical battles, the evolution of the cars. The controversy over rules. The inconsistency of the stewards. The outrageous attempts at cheating and corporate espionage. The drama of human mistakes in the pits as well as the political maneuvering in the press.
All that is why we watch, but it’s also why we visit this site, and participate in the forums and argue at the water cooler.
F1 is not just about the dram of racing, but about the drama of technology, economics, politics and above all, people. That is why we are fans. Not because 2 of the cars have a little prancing horse on them.
I’m with you Lotus. There are a plethora of reasons people watch F1. Ferrari is one of them for me as a Ferrari fan. But, I must confess that I like a lot of the teams and drivers and the technical detail as well as strategy.
Oh. Please. Goodness. NO! Steve, you mustn’t put ideas like these in the heads of the people at Maranello pal, for they seem just about arrogant enough these days for them to sink in.
I’m almost surprised Luca hasn’t suggested this by now. After all he wanted extra cars to ensure that he wouldn’t have to earn the constructor’s title.
Though putting the Tifosi aside, there’s plenty of homologated/similar/single car series out there. Too many, perhaps. The truly great thing about F1 is that it’s still a little different in that regard. Granted, the cars have been getting more and more similar – thanks to a combination of relatively saturated technology and ever stricter rules – but there is still that inter-team competitive element that the majority of series either never had or sacrificed long ago.
Mark H – Ferrari already dabbled in becoming a single supplier and screwed up A1GP didn’t they.. check my lengthy rant
mark h since you mention Luca and his attitute here is his later diamond from Autosport:
(Di Montezemolo believes at least three other teams will be battling with Ferrari for the 2010 title.
“I think Mercedes – ex-Brawn and ex-Honda, as everyone here buys teams but the only real constructor left is us – is the rival to beat,” he said.
“Then there is Red Bull, I’m certain it will be very competitive considering the advantage they ended the season with last year. And there’s McLaren too.” )
Talking about being having to big of an idea about your self. Strangely enough this kind of attitude is that concise people like the writer of this article that Ferrari are above others.
Get of your high horse people. Ferrari is just a team. And if they hadn’t won all those championships along with the help of the FIA-FOM in this last decade i really doubt they would have been that popular. Let’s not forget here except the Italians lot’s of the many fans they have in the other parts of the world are because of the Schumacher success story.
Ferrari is NOT F1 no matter how Montezemolo and Ferrari fans want to make it so. Is just a very popular team.
Also i find this article kind of offending to the million of supporters of other teams like Mclaren, Williams, Renault and others. Especially teams like Mclaren and Williams that are not new and don’t come and go all the time, they have a very solid fan-base in many countries around the world like Ferrari. I found Ferrari and Mclaren fans arguing while watching a race on TV in small countries that don’t even have a racetrack for normal car races. I don’t think those guys in suck countries that don’t support Ferrari will take kindly your words.
To end it the mass of people was there because of Alonso and other Spanish drivers along with Schumi and the presentations. In Spain people barely bother with F1 before Alonso appeared and the general interest was so low that even TV stations didn’t want to show it. Ferrari was still racing at those times. It didn’t seem to make them care very much.
SJ – Basically your proposal is to reduce F1 to a spec series where all drivers will be driving similar spec car and then it will be more about drivers and less about car..
Didn’t Ferrari dabble in A1GP, where they couldn’t manufacture enough cars to supply all the teams? When they had first announced becoming single supplier to A1GP, I had voiced out my concern (albeit on different sites and forums) that it was more from pressurizing Bernie and getting biggest piece of pie in last years “Concorde” renewal. But with introduction of FOTA and Ferrari leading the initiative (unlike the GPMA) the story took a different turn. I was expecting FOTA to buy out A1GP infrastructure and agreements and use that platform as a “Breakaway”. But alas that didn’t happen, Ferrari stuck with bickering FIA/FOM/CVC and the F1 series.
However what started as Vendor not supplying enough car to the grid in A1GP, ultimately ended with a wierd charmless season (on back on very closely contested season previous year where all competitors were eagerly looking to drive in Ferrari F1 car in 2008-09)and A1GP ultimately ending up with liquidators. I can’t help but think, that Ferrari had something to do with A1GP mishap and was infact executing contract for Bernie, to finish A1GP, which was slowly gaining popularity and was threat to Bernie’s Circus…
Going back to the Ferrari series, well Ferrari can do what Renault and BMW have been doing for ages running single seater openwheel series across the globe in form Renault 3.5, Formula Renault and Formula BMW(Europe, Asia, America) series. Drivers will have one more platform to hone their single seater skills if indeed Ferrari do take this initiative…
SJ, You are a terrible troublemaker. Never fear, the off season will be over soon enough.
LOL. He is! He is a trouble maker isn’t he? And he is in public policy for crying out loud. :)
QUIT BASHING THE LIVERY. ITS THE EXACT SAME ONE THEY HAD FOR THE FIRST 7 YEARS OF THE LAST DECADE.
no F1 shouldn’t become a spec series, and we already have formula ferrari its called a1 gp.
I thought the turnout was because the test was in Spain and Alonso was driving?
Should F1 become Formula Spain?
All Spanish drivers, Alberto Contador hands out the trophies on the podium.
I wouldn’t watch it.
I believe a reason so many people were so passionate about Alonso was due to a Ferrari drive being so rare. Schumi and his No.2 took the only available seat in Ferrari for such a long time, so the availability of a drive was rare. Whenever a well liked driver gets the chance to drive for Ferrari, it is a huge event.
Indycar has lost a lot of its appeal due to going to a one make series. When there were many engines and many chassis to choose from it was interesting to see who got the best package together.
Can’t we at least agree it is a great idea for Indycar?
I do think folks missed my “IF” when I mentioned Ferrari being the engine that drives F1. “If” that were so, why not just go full-on Ferrari?
Let me be clear: I’m also all about the tech battles. I can’t wait to see what Red Bull has pulled together.
But this off-season, I have been more struck than recently by the intra-team driver battles. Part of me thinks it would be cool to see Schumacher vs Hamilton vs Alonso vs Vettel vs Button etc. on an even field.
But better than F1 as it is? No.
But somehow certainly more interesting than IndyCar is.
Really, I’m just trying to drum up a saving grace for our U.S. open wheel. :)
And I appreciate everyone ripping me in such polite ways. [Really.]
When Ferrari announced to become single supplier for A1GP,the teams, the drivers, the fans everyone said it was a great idea. What happened next is documented in my previous post.
While IRL doesn’t have much glitter with Honda-Dallara Supplied cars, but they are somehow managing to get by, we don’t really want the repeat of A1GP, Do we ?
Stay away from the whisky.
The top notch circuit (F1) should benefit from driver/maker competition. No sense in limiting the fan base, sponsorship, interest, or anything else by trying to pick a winner. Ferrari wasn’t the best last year, and though fast last week hasn’t won a race yet this year. In fact, one could argue the long-dead Honda still holds the title belt.
Plus, above all I don’t want splintering of the good drivers into competing formalae based on their manufacturer allegiances. A Ferrari championship, a Renault championship, and so forth. Part of the grabber of F1 is a legit claim to most of the world’s best drivers, even if NASCAR steals some.
Spec’ing is a more useful idea at the lower levels, eg, DTM (which has become quasi-spec with Audi v. Benz), Porsche Supercup, Indy, IndyLights, GP2 (of course, Indy is sufficiently cash- and interest-strapped where, Izod sponsorship or not, they often have relatively empty stands and many part time drivers — including Hunter-Reay, their ironic poster boy ….. which is really why they are spec, to save a buck and try and stay alive in a niche while NASCAR dominates US racing as it has ever since the open-wheel split). It should lower the bar on entry, allow more young drivers their chance, keep the races competitive, etc.
DREADFUL IDEA
Nah, Ferrari F1 isn’t as exciting as it sounds.
Imagine Man U League?
Driver battles are one of many parts that make F1 great. But various manufacturers, exotic destinations, and all the other personalities (already miss ya Flavio!), are what create the “circus” as they call it, and have us talking about F1 through the off season and between race weekends. If you take away the various car companies that compete, and many times beat Ferrari, you take away what makes all the in between so great! People don’t actively talk about the progress of various teams, drivers, etc, in other racing series off-seasons nearly as much, and because of this, those series draw less overall attention, which makes it harder for sponsor to want to buy in, and harder for blogs, magazines, and motorsports shows to come up with anything worth reading/watching about them.