Fan's on the Edge

[Sawtooth-spike]

For Starters, I know this is a technical forum and I also know people are discussing a lot of this in other places. But i am at a total loss of what as a Fan of 25+ years I can do save a sport that i Love. For years now, the focus has been on the promoters and the Teams, there is token lip service paid to the fans and future Fans. In my opinion the choice that are being made are pushing Fans away while not creating opportunity to unlock new Fan bases. The Important thing that this sport is only as big as it is because people watch, that why Manufacturers are in the sport, that's how promoters sell tickets and that how sponsors make money back. Without Fans this all goes away. Dont get me wrong, some teams are there because they want to race, but they would not be able to have everything they have now without the money that Fans have brought in.

When you look at the current situations (sorry just going to focus on the F1 as a UK Fan) I can see to many contradictions for example:

The new Sky Deal, does not help increase the views for F1. Sky gets a lot less views of F1 races than even channel 4 got. How does this help somebody discover F1 in the UK? Or have they given up on this market? Without Free to Air races, F1 fans are going to become a Greying population. It just seems sort sighted. There does not seem to be any thought or plan in how to get new people in the door.

The New qualifying system, I know some people like bits of it, but i think it was clear as fans that it was poorly thought through and now we are going to have to put up with it for another weekend. The Team bosses Panned it, Drivers rubbished it, The Media Slaughtered and us fans made our voices heard. Yet nobody has stopped it. Team bosses have failed us, Promoters have ignored us and anybody else in the room when this happen should hang there heads in shame. Its a shambles. Bernie's idea for time Penalty's for winning a race is up there with the most stupid things i have heard. Pole should be the fastest person.... simple anything else may as well be pulled out of a hat. If they go down this route i will just stop watching.

I was going to list of more things like The Dumbing down the sport, The Cost of Tickets and Schizophrenic rules and decisions. But i feel l have ranted enough.

I simply want to the Fastest Cars, The Coolest Tech, The Best Drivers pushing the limits, Taking risks, Winning and losing.

There is no clear direction and nobody looking out for the Fans. Everybody is looking out for themselves. The Drives (amazing) seems to care more than than the teams or FIA, maybe because as kids they sat down on Sunday and watched the Racing on TV and said "one day that will be me". I know a lot of people dont like lewis, but listening to him talk about watching F1 as a shows how much passion he has for the sport. I dont see this anywhere else outside the drivers and pundits, I just hear words that sound like passion, but actions that show greed.

I am not saying Fans should be in charge, I am not saying Fans have the answers, to be honest, i really dont know what would fix the mess they are in right now. I am just saying that as a Fan of F1, I am on the edge of walking away from something I love and true believe in. It really does feel like the end of a relationship, I remember the good times we had together and the hard times we got through , but i cant stand watching it fall apart at the seems and seeing it destroy itself.


I just wonder if I am alone in my thinking. I also wonder if F1 Cares.

As i said, its just like the end of a relationship.

(i am sure i am going to get flamed for some of this, but i do wonder how many F1 Fans are sitting here thinking the same as me)

[flynfrog]

First off where the hell have you been.

Second I agree with pretty much everything you typed.

[Flying Scotsman]

Well, Sawtooth-spike,

As also a fan of many years, I could not agree more with your thoughts and observations.

The following is a copy of a post I made on the qualifying thread....it sums it up for me

COPY
I just watched my recording of qualifying and as many have stated, this new format is an absolute farce. It is a shame that because of dwindling viewers on tv and attendees at the tracks, The bozos that are running F1 have to come up with idiotic formats to "spice" up the action. I have attended and watched F1 since 1964 and have witnessed the slow strangulation of the origins of this sport...a lack of drivers with charisma/character, grit and skill (most are talking heads)....strange rules on aerodynamics of race cars, that decrease overtaking..... rules on amount of allowed fuel rate ( let the boys put the pedal to the metal ).... huge run off areas that do not penalise the driver for a dumb mistake and then allow them to re-enter at times in a dangerous way due to an unfocused driver, etc. etc.
This is my first post on this forum, so please forgive me for my rant, but I do care about this sport.

[bdr529]

As fans of the sport it's hard to force changes, albeit there's millions of us, we are at the bottom of the pyramid,
and to get all of us to band together, let alone agreeing on what the problems are is next to impossible.

I hate to say it, but it's up to the younger fans of the sport, the facebook and twitter,
Instagram generation to bring this to the forefront. You young folk are good a social upheaval
Start a campaign to boycott F1 in all it's facets, pick a race to target, preferably the one that will get the most media coverage, like the Monaco GP,

Start using the facebook and twitter accounts of the Teams, Drivers, FIA, FOM and also all their sponsors sites.
Let them know that you will be busy doing something else on the weekend of May 26/29-2016.
Tell them you'll be watching the Indy 500 or the Nascar race, or your going camping or what ever else you can come up with.
And then on the first day of practice (thursday) use twitter or instagram or the other social media things,
post pictures of you actually doing something other then watching or fallowing the Monaco race.

Essentially filling their media pages with non racing activities.
that will not only get their attention but also the attention of the F1 media.
And once that snowball starts rolling down hill the rest of the general media will take care of the rest.

[Sawtooth-spike]

First off where the hell have you been.

Second I agree with pretty much everything you typed.

I have been here all the time, I try and keep upto date with what's happening on here. I just don't have time to post anymore.

Glad I am not alone on this.

I think fans as a group need to take action. That's not us saying which rules we think are best etc. I just think we need to a much simpler message that we can all agree on. Something like a vision for what f1 should try to be in 10 years time. Not this short sighted cash grab it has become.

[bauc]

@Sawtooth-Spike

Dude you are 100% spot on! I've been following F1 for 20 years now.... haven't missed a race. For me also it starts to feel like an end of relationship, and you know deep inside even tho you refuse to believe in it , is that if nothing changes for good, you will eventually split. Formula 1 should be about the fastest drivers driving the fastest cars on the fastest tracks around the world. It that simple. Give the teams the means (rules) to go after the impossible, let see where the limit really is (not in Tyre wear) but in all aspects, let see who has the balls to go flat out in some corners and how has the balls to brake as late as possible but in close fight with the other cars side by side. Give the fans the possibility to follow more races live instead on TV, involve them in the weekend, engage them, challenge them to be there. You cant do that if someone need to save money for a year to visit one GP, and watches a race where noting happens. You cant do that if there are rules that even the people that work in the teams do not understand. You cant have that when someone says, Hey did you watched the last GP? What happend, why did Vettel did not win...well it is because the team made a mistake in selecting the wrong tire 4 months ago and he was a sitting duck for the guys behind him who passed him with DRS.

What F1 has done in the past years is that it transformed the drivers into a subordinates of a predeterminate scheme. That is not a sport, that is not racing, that is not F1

[mep]

I hate to say it, but it's up to the younger fans of the sport, the facebook and twitter,
Instagram generation to bring this to the forefront. You young folk are good a social upheaval
Start a campaign to boycott F1 in all it's facets, pick a race to target, preferably the one that will get the most media coverage, like the Monaco GP,...
...Essentially filling their media pages with non racing activities.
that will not only get their attention but also the attention of the F1 media.
And once that snowball starts rolling down hill the rest of the general media will take care of the rest.

I really like the idea of a boycott. It is time for things to change to the better while there is still a chance to do so. The officials and teams will not improve things when we never show our force. I have listed a few major issues going wrong at the moment:

1. Most circuits are having massive depts. or face bankruptcy.
The race at Monza, a historic and one of the most popular ones in the calendar is going to be dropped for 2017. Silverstone, Hockenheim, Nürburgring, Spa, all have massive depts. and are constantly in discussion if they can remain in the calendar. The main reason behind this is Bernie Eccelstone who squeezes out as much money as he can. The fees for the circuits rise by 5-10% every year! The ticket prices are already too high; fewer fans are interested in the races. The circuits have no chance to run profitable business models without governmental backing.

2. TV broadcasting fees are massively high.
Can you imagine that F1 will not be shown in free TV in UK anymore from 2019? Unbelievable – in the home of motorsport, the home of F1, the home of almost every team, it will not be free to see the races in TV! However, when you think about it, it is a logical result of too high TV broadcasting fees – Eccelstone sucking people out. In other countries broadcasters have to show commercials or have governmental backing. All results in the same – lots of money flowing into Bernie’s pockets. Don`t follow that route! Don`t pay for Sky, if it`s not free don`t watch it!

3. Not enough of the money F1 makes is flowing back to the teams.
Eccelstone keeps too much of the money he squeezes out for himself. Just like the circuits are all teams in massive depts. some of them face bankruptcy. Even the ones supported by manufactures are making a massive loss each year. F1 is in the permanent danger to lose his teams. New teams can only survive a few years. Most automotive companies have dropped out and are not interested in coming back. Sponsors are not interested anymore to invest in F1.

4. The rules are constantly changed to “improve the show”
Neither the sporting nor the entertaining value justifies the massive costs of F1. The motorsport itself, the development of the cars is actually not what makes it so expensive. It is the huge amount of money Eccelstone squeezes out everywhere. That is why the FIA constantly has to come up with new, even more ridiculous rules to change something. As a result the sport gets more and more destroyed. Football is successful because it has simple rules which never change.

5. The new qualifying format is kept
Despite everyone agreeing that it is flawed it will be kept for another GP. The interest in the supporting sessions to the race has dropped over the years. Free practises are usually not shown live anymore. The qualy is another bastion to fall. Last year, German podcaster RTL stopped to show the qualifying when it was on prime time – unbelievable 10 years ago.

In this context the new qualifying format is the least problem but it is the point where we can make a difference simply by not watching it. It does prove our point and with Bahrain it does not hurt a circuit which has financial issues. It offers the first chance for protest, an effort to save the sport.

[SectorOne]

Just one area the sport is quite messed up in.

[wesley123]

Start a campaign to boycott F1 in all it's facets, pick a race to target, preferably the one that will get the most media coverage, like the Monaco GP,

And then what?

Essentially filling their media pages with non racing activities.

So that those pages reach more people because of the increased interaction? All those pages really do not care if you post anything irrelevant, as your interaction with the page will help them reach more people

[strad]

any boycott would be doomed from the start. I bet you couldn't get all the people on this site to boycott Monaco, let alone enough of the millions of viewers who wouldn't give a damn or wouldn't even know about it.

[flickerf1]

To add more fuel to the fire: http://www.grandprix247.com/2016/03/27/ ... -internet/

[Just_a_fan]

Monaco is F1 in a nut shell. Huge amounts of money swilling around, most of the people involved don't care about the racing. The race is often dull too. Indeed Monaco is the most pointless circuit on the calendar. I'm happy to boycott Monaco.

[bdr529]

any boycott would be doomed from the start. I bet you couldn't get all the people on this site to boycott Monaco, let alone enough of the millions of viewers who wouldn't give a damn or wouldn't even know about it.

As you can see my first point said as much

As fans of the sport it's hard to force changes, albeit there's millions of us, we are at the bottom of the pyramid,
and to get all of us to band together, let alone agreeing on what the problems are is next to impossible.

[bdr529]

Start a campaign to boycott F1 in all it's facets, pick a race to target, preferably the one that will get the most media coverage, like the Monaco GP,

And then what?

I'm not sure if you read this part

Start using the facebook and twitter accounts of the Teams, Drivers, FIA, FOM and also all their sponsors sites.
Let them know that you will be busy doing something else on the weekend of May 26/29-2016.
Tell them you'll be watching the Indy 500 or the Nascar race, or your going camping or what ever else you can come up with.
And then on the first day of practice (thursday) use twitter or instagram or the other social media things,
post pictures of you actually doing something other then watching or fallowing the Monaco race.
Essentially filling their media pages with non racing activities.

So that those pages reach more people because of the increased interaction? All those pages really do not care if you post anything irrelevant, as your interaction with the page will help them reach more people

I'm not sure I agree with you on this point, I'm not talking about a few post, you would need 100s if not 1000's of fans to flood their facebook and twitter pages with comments of displeasure with their involvement in F1, or just non related posts or even mentioning the companies competitors in the comments, an example of this would be showing photos or talking about Monster energy drinks on the red bull twitter page. I'm pretty sure that this would get notice.

They know that only 4-5% of dissatisfied costumers ever say anything, that means, for everyone 1 complaint they get there's 25 more people that agree but haven't bothered to say anything.

I picked the Monaco gp because it's the crown jewel in the F1 calendar, it can get the most media coverage outside of the usual motorsport media, and the people that attend that race are the owners and ceo's of the companies that sponsor teams and drivers in the sport, and if not then Bernie looks upon them as potential investors in the sport.

I'm not saying that I have the best solution or even a good one, I was just offering up an idea, that's all

[Andres125sx]

+1!

The most depressing part is I think F1 has no salvation.

TVs go to PPV so audience numbers decrease each season, Ticket prices are extremely high because Bernie fees are extremely high, so track attendance is decreasing too, so both track attendance and TV audience are decreasing constantly, and this means sponsors interest decrease too, so money is being reduced. Add to that competition is becoming absurd and the result is F1 is almost done... drivers who can´t push, tires that can´t handle a race, cars that don´t have fuel to push the whole race, tracks with no fans on the stands.... Any aspect of F1 is becoming so absurd it´s almost a caricature of its own

Meanwhile Bernie account continue raising, so there´s no problem for him. Long term problems are not a problem for someone who is 86 years old