Every now and then I post off topic because even Linux geeks get tired of me ranting about how vim is better than emacs, paludis is better than portage, and Gentoo is better than Arch. So today I’m going to give my thoughts on F1 Racing.
I’m American. I live the US of A and am very proud of it. But I’m also weird because while I have my favorite drivers, I don’t really like NASCAR. Its just not my style. I do give the drivers there a lot of credit though because going around oval tracks is not as easy people think. I’ve seen many drivers attempt it and fail. Juan Pablo Montoya is a pretty good example of that actually. He’s only really done great in about three races. His only victory was at a road course. So yeah, it takes skill. I digress though…
F1 has withdrawn their only American Grand Prix. This really saddens me because now that I have a job I was actually planning on attending next year. They complain that no one in America likes F1 and that race attendance is poor. Well I have several thoughts as to why that is, but one big one is summed up really well by Bernie Ecclestone:
Q: Are you sad, that we lost the United States Grand Prix?
BE: America is a continent as big as Europe. In order to have the same impact as in Europe we ought to have eight races over there. To have just one Grand Prix in the States does not make Formula One popular.
I agree. Do they really expect everyone in the US to go all the way to Indie just for one race? I don’t think so. And I think a lot of it has to do with the people who run F1. In the US we joke a lot of times because people from Europe who come here many times don’t realize just how big this place is. Driving across England (East to West or vice versa) takes at most, what, a couple of hours if your slow? And a lot of the other countries are the same way. America isn’t like though… not at all.
And where is Alonso going to be next year? A lot of teams have already announced their picks, it looks to me like the only place he’s really got left is Renault.
Enjoy the Penguins!
One Comment
I think if F1 got a little more exposure here in the US of A, it would become more popular. Bernie’s just made it too unaccessible and exclusive to a people who are used to the incredible accessibility of NASCAR.
I do agree that it’s hard to have only one race in the US, but then again: what’s Bernie’s explanation for India, Singapore, and Turkey? Those are practically third world countries. The only people able to attend are essentially Bernie’s private group of wealthy groupies. Don’t you tell me he gets a bigger audience interest in those countries than he did at Indy.
He’s got no excuse why F1 shouldn’t work in America.
Nice post, though! Thanks for supporting F1!