Is Formula One still the pinnacle of motorsport?

[Nitrodaze]

With the raft of changes introduced for the 2022 season. Can we still say F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. Afterall, all of those things that warrant such a claim has been effectively removed. Chassis ingenuity is gone, engine is frozen almost like go karting. Driver wages is about to be capped.

It would be competitive racing but you can get that from F2, formula-e or even the W-Series or F3. Afterall the format is exactly the same.

What do you think?

[Fortitude]

GOOD question, as I sometimes wonder whether the administrators keep making changes to justify that they have that power and to show that they are 'doing something'...

Yet maybe, it is trying to encourage the F2 teams to 'move up' to F1, the F3 teams to 'move up' to F2 and so forth...

[F1nKS]

When you look at viewership, it does say it is still the pinnacle with nothing much challenging it.

1. F1 - 87 million per race
2. Nascar - 11 million
3. IndyCar - 1.3 million (on a good race), average is lower)
4. F2 - 0.177 million (it is equivalent to minor league baseball)
5. Formula E - 31,000+ (nobody watches, doesn't make a profit)

[Nitrodaze]

When you look at viewership, it does say it is still the pinnacle with nothing much challenging it.

1. F1 - 87 million per race
2. Nascar - 11 million
3. IndyCar - 1.3 million (on a good race), average is lower)
4. F2 - 0.177 million (it is equivalent to minor league baseball)
5. Formula E - 31,000+ (nobody watches, doesn't make a profit)

I get that. But l think that figure is based on the current regulations. The question really is; can they sustain that level of interest with the new rules? I suspect it would continue to be as there is nothing out there really challenging it. But if Narscar or Indycar were to elevate into an international event, that might change.

[pantealex]

Pinnacle of all Motorsport ?
NO.

[Nitrodaze]

Yet maybe, it is trying to encourage the F2 teams to 'move up' to F1, the F3 teams to 'move up' to F2 and so forth...

But why should they? What is the upside for them doing that? I suppose, to have the prestige of saying they are a F1 team. But does that still mean the same thing though from 2022 onwards?

[F1nKS]

I get that. But l think that figure is based on the current regulations. The question really is; can they sustain that level of interest with the new rules? I suspect it would continue to be as there is nothing out there really challenging it. But if Narscar or Indycar were to elevate into an international event, that might change.

As an American I find NASCAR and IndyCar to be boring. I don't see them ever gaining much of international audience.

Formula 1 is really the only racing that is gaining popularity in the U.S. Formula 1 already exceed the TV viewership of NASCAR and has been growing double digits. The Austin grand prix sold out in 2019.

The thing that will hurt F1 in the U.S. is competitiveness in F1. Americans love sports where the underdog can win (look at the popularity of NCAA Basketball March Madness first weekend of play - people take vacation to watch the first 48 hours of games).

People in the U.S. have been introduced to F1 in larger numbers the last few years due to streaming and NETFLIX, but the riisk is the new will wear off and if it continues to be a 1 team competition there is risk there for at least U.S. interest they will get bored and move on. if the new rules bring more competitiveness and excitement with great racing then that can only be a good thing for the sport and it growth at least in the U.S.

[Nitrodaze]

As an American I find NASCAR and IndyCar to be boring. I don't see them ever gaining much of international audience.

Formula 1 is really the only racing that is gaining popularity in the U.S. Formula 1 already exceed the TV viewership of NASCAR and has been growing double digits. The Austin grand prix sold out in 2019.

The thing that will hurt F1 in the U.S. is competitiveness in F1. Americans love sports where the underdog can win (look at the popularity of NCAA Basketball March Madness first weekend of play - people take vacation to watch the first 48 hours of games).

People in the U.S. have been introduced to F1 in larger numbers the last few years due to streaming and NETFLIX, but the riisk is the new will wear off and if it continues to be a 1 team competition there is risk there for at least U.S. interest they will get bored and move on. if the new rules bring more competitiveness and excitement with great racing then that can only be a good thing for the sport and it growth at least in the U.S.

The 2022 regulations bode well for F1 in the USA then. That is good to hear. However, the traditional fan base in the rest of the world is where the concern is. If they can carry them over to the new regulations, then all is well. There is also a good differentiation between F1 and Indycar for instance for F1 to be able to market itself as a strong racing platform. Such drastic changes usually come with a price.

[Jag_Warrior]

Why is F1 still, and will continue to be, the pinnacle of motorsports? Because in the land of the blind, the one eyed man remains king.

As was mentioned above, there are no legitimate challengers to the throne. Year by year, NASCAR is losing its stars, and the gimmicks it introduces (stage racing? PLEASE!), along with overpriced tickets, are driving away fans and viewership. I was never a huge NASCAR fan, but I have virtually no interest in it now - and I'm an American living in the south. IndyCar? After being a hardcore CART fan for decades, I want to get back to following American open wheel racing... I really do - especially since Penske has taken over from the Hulman-George clan. But I don't know most of those little people anymore. To be a somebody, you have to beat a somebody. And now, there aren't that many "somebodys" left. The drivers I followed are my age now and most have long since retired. I like IMSA. I try to follow it. But it's not close to challenging F1. NHRA drag racing is doing its best to dig its own grave - and I don't know most of those drivers anymore either. Le Mans is once a year and WEC is doing what sports car racing has always done in Europe: reinvent itself every few years to the point that casual fans can't keep up with the changes. What's left? DTM - barely hanging on to relevance? Touring cars - where have you gone, Rickard Rydell? Formula E - cute sewing machines whizzing around a street course? Most of what's left are national series (like Aussie V8s) and they don't have any meaningful international following.

F1 is going in a direction that I don't approve of. But it's still the best game in town IMO.

[Fortitude]

What do you think?


GOOD question, as I sometimes wonder whether the administrators keep making changes to justify that they have that power and to show that they are 'doing something'...

Yet maybe, it is trying to encourage the F2 teams to 'move up' to F1, the F3 teams to 'move up' to F2 and so forth...


But why should they? What is the upside for them doing that? I suppose, to have the prestige of saying they are a F1 team. But does that still mean the same thing though from 2022 onwards?


GOOD reply and riposte, THEREFORE, IMHO, the administrators keep making changes to justify that they have that power and to show that they are 'doing something'...

[Nitrodaze]

GOOD reply and riposte, THEREFORE, IMHO, the administrators keep making changes to justify that they have that power and to show that they are 'doing something'...

Yep, it feels like somebody giving you fake dollar notes and telling you "don't spend it all at the same place!".