Formula Money - Driving Popularity

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StockCarRacer

StockCarRacer

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Hey there, check out this article:
http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/15500.html

Let's take a look at how they changed F1:
--Michael Schumacher, in Germany, for example, TV audiences soared there by 50% after coming out of retirement; since he retired, TV audiences dropped massively; before he joined F1, it was an unknown sport and rarely seen on TV; when he started dominating, everyone in Germany was watching him and the whole nation knew the sport; big German brands such as BMW, Allianz and DHL were starting to being involved in the sport
--Fernando Alonso, in Spain, took the sport by storm there. Before him, it wasn't shown on live TV; Spanish drivers had no good records, and journeymen in the 80s and 90s had done nothing for the Spanish appetite; when Alonso came along he answered many prayers within the sport as there is no easier way to get a nation into F1 than to find it a star driver; Formula 1 is now one of the most watched TV programs in Spain; from nothing in 2002, the audience has gone from strength to strength; they built steadily between 2003 and 2005, his first championship; it reached a turning point that year at the Brazilian Grand Prix title finale when an average of 8 million turned in peaking at 10.5 million; as he racked up race wins, there was a 57.2% rise in advertising revenues from F1 broadcast; interest in him brought Spanish money to F1 in the form of sponsors; Spanish bank Santander is now one of the biggest in the sport, spending $50 million annually at Ferrari; plus $4 million more on McLaren and around $25 million more on trackside advertising and race title sponsorships
 
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What's your point? If the public has a driver to support, then they're more likely to show an interest in the sport. It's always been that way.
 
prisonermonkeys
What's your point? If the public has a driver to support, then they're more likely to show an interest in the sport. It's always been that way.
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My point is, the more a driver wins, the more interest will generate in his nation.
 
... And?

That's not a point. That's telling us what we already know. The more any competitor experiences success, the more popularity that sport expreinces in said competitor's home country. It's been that way since sport was invented.
 
Say, for example, if an American like Alexander Rossi, Michael Lewis, or even McLaren up-and-comer Santino Ferruci starts dominating Formula 1, then CORPORATE AMERICA WILL FINALLY EMBRACE FORMULA 1.
 
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StockCarRacer
Say, for example, if an American like Alexander Rossi, Michael Lewis, or even McLaren up-and-comer Santino Ferruci starts dominating Formula 1, then CORPORATE AMERICA WILL FINALLY EMBRACE FORMULA 1.
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No, they won't. They will only support Formula 1 if it makes sense for them to do so. And I highly doubt any of those drivers are the next Sebastian Vettel. I have a feeling the next Sebastian Vettel is not American, but Estonian.
 
Paulie Walnuts
With the US GP problems and so on, this has been said quite a lot recently: F1 needs America more than America needs F1.
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Wrong. It's more like Bernie Ecclestone wanting F1 in America more than either need it.
 
prisonermonkeys
No, they won't. They will only support Formula 1 if it makes sense for them to do so. And I highly doubt any of those drivers are the next Sebastian Vettel. I have a feeling the next Sebastian Vettel is not American, but Estonian.
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Look, I know that both Schumacher and Alonso have made F1 what it is today in their nations. And rest assured that we can hope these Americans will do the same for F1.
 
prisonermonkeys
Just because it works that way in Spain and Germany, it doesn't mean it will work that way in America. It's foolish to assume otherwise.
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OK, we know the fact: Formula 1 is one of the highest watched TV programs in both Germany and Spain, but will it ever be one of the highest watched TV programs in the USA, my home nation?
 
StockCarRacer
will it ever be one of the highest watched TV programs in the USA, my home nation?
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That's not a question I can answer with any certainty ... but if I had to speculate, then I'd say no. I seriously doubt that Formula 1 will be able to compete with other major sporting events, like the Superbowl, World Series baseball and the Indianapolis 500.
 
Peter.
Wrong. It's more like Bernie Ecclestone wanting F1 in America more than either need it.
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Bernie wants F1 in America because the sponsors and manufacturers (minus Renault) involved F1 want F1 in America. America happens to be a very large market for pretty much anything.
 
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prisonermonkeys
I seriously doubt that Formula 1 will be able to compete with other major sporting events, like the Superbowl, World Series baseball and the Indianapolis 500.
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I predict that Formula 1 will become one of the highest watched TV programs in the USA only if an American driver can dominate and win races in F1.
 
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Paulie Walnuts
Bernie wants F1 in America because the sponsors and manufacturers (minus Renault) involved F1 want F1 in America. America happens to be a very large market for pretty much anything.
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That is everything but true. None of the teams in F1 want to go outside Europe. Bernie wants it, that's all. It's good marketing.
 
*In sarcastic tone* Because Formula 1 is pointless, useless, boring, Irrelevant, and stupid since its not in America.
 
Carlos
None of the teams in F1 want to go outside Europe.
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They don't? Why not?

I can see your average Joe mechanic in the team bemoaning the fact that they have to fly hither and yon every week, but the teams as a whole are presumably fairly aware that the foundation of the sport is a buttload of cash. I can't see them complaining about travelling to somewhere different if it'll make them money.
 
Carlos
None of the teams in F1 want to go outside Europe.
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And yet, none of them complain about it. The teams and drivers regularly enjoy Australia, Malaysia, Canada, Brazil, Japan and now India. In fact, the teams were the ones lobbying for a return to the United States because it's such a lucrative market. And they're also the ones who floated a willingness for two races in America.
 
Carlos
That is everything but true. None of the teams in F1 want to go outside Europe. Bernie wants it, that's all. It's good marketing.
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Yeah, because all of the sponsors come from Europe (except the big oil companies that come from South America and Middle East), all of the manufacturers are European (except the Japanese ones (not that long ago!)) and none of the manufacturers sells cars or has interest outside Europe (except all of them).

Seriously... drop that Bernie=F1 thinking.

ps. "F1 team principals think it vital that the sport properly breaks through into the American market, although whether that is next year or with the New Jersey race in 2013 remains to be seen. McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "America doesn't need F1, we need America. So I think we are excited by the prospect of going to the States."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96246
 
No. It's usually on too late to get a good ratings share. Sometimes, I think the only reason why we get every race is so that the broadcaster gets thei money's worth - they only really make a big deal out of the Australian Grand Prix.
 
prisonermonkeys
No. It's usually on too late to get a good ratings share. Sometimes, I think the only reason why we get every race is so that the broadcaster gets thei money's worth - they only really make a big deal out of the Australian Grand Prix.
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So, what are the F1 audience numbers in Australia?
 
Carlos
That is everything but true. None of the teams in F1 want to go outside Europe. Bernie wants it, that's all. It's good marketing.
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Ironically, Martin Whitmarsh believes Formula One needs to "conquer" America. If F1 succeeds in a new market (especially one as large as the US) that means more money for the teams. So I highly doubt they don't want to leave Europe.
 
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Hey, Santino Ferrucci may become America's next great Formula 1 racer; this means Corporate America will finally come to F1 and everyone in the United States of America will finally get to know the sport.

 
It would take a seriously good American driver and a revolution in junior US motorsports to convert the USA to spending the kinds of money that Brazilian, Spanish, German, British, Japanese/whomever do.
Even for Brazilians/South Americans, its still a necessity to move to Europe for most of their career. Its hard to see so called "corporate America" jumping on the bandwagon ever really when the junior levels for US drivers aren't great.

To get to F1, pretty much any US hopeful has to move to Formula 3 in Europe at some stage and they have to take part in European-focused series such as Formula Renault 3.5, GP2 or Formula 2. This is obviously very expensive for an over-seas driver and extremely limiting for sponsor exposure.
Your average US company probably doesn't have much presence in Europe and would gain very little from exposure in F3 or GP2. Sure, there are the big companies like McDonalds, Coke, Pepsi, Microsoft, whoever. But most drivers never land such high-profile deals. We're talking local businesses/medium sized companies for the average racing driver. For these companies, there is very little gain from sponsoring a driver in Europe.

Indy Lights and Indycar is a reasonable ladder but hasn't produced much success if any in F1. So its hard to see any US sponsor funding such a career step with a goal of F1 - the goal would surely be to stay in Indycar. Indycar doesn't really lead anywhere.

I don't know what the current status of junior karting/open wheel motorsport is like in the US but I've been told and I've read before that it isn't easy. Certainly not as accessible or widespread as in Europe.

So I don't know where this talk of "Corporate America backing <driver>" comes from, but its overly optimistic to expect any change to America's general disinterest in what is still a European-focused sport. The Fernando Alonso of the USA has to happen first, not the other way around.

I'd also like to add that I hope people don't throw too much expectation on Alexander Rossi. I'm hoping he does well but I fear people are going to vastly over-rate and build up an inflated reputation of him, just as happened with Danica Patrick. There is nothing wrong with wanting a driver to do well but its not helpful blow up expectations to the point where they can only disappoint. I sense that people are recently being cautious around Bruno Senna - perhaps the same can be done with Rossi.
 
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Even if a driver is successful in F1 from America, it does not mean that the crowds would follow. F1 would need a hybrid of Danica Patrick and Sebastian Vettel who is also American to possibly sway crowds to watch but let's face it, that couldn't even guarantee it. F1 ratings will be down because only 2 races occur at a reasonable time (Sunday Afternoon). Some races occur at 2 AM or 3 AM (which kills ratings) and 8 AM Eastern isn't going to be widely watched anywhere in the United States. And to be honest, how good will ratings be if they are on SPEED Channel, which is on Cable? There's no point to put the races on FOX that late at night because it won't get any ratings. Early season tape delays will be passed on in order to air NASCAR races and late season events will be passed over for the NFL. Its not really an ideal spot for F1 due to what is here. There is almost a 0% chance that F1 will be a top watched sport in America anytime soon.
 

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