ANTHONY ROWLINSON
“F1 remains greatest sporting spectacle”
I
t never ceases to amaze how great a capacity Formula 1 has for talking itself down. ‘Prophets of Doom’ – or ‘Paddock Cassandras’ as they’re occasionally termed – thrive in this sport, perhaps because casual negativity is so much less demanding than active celebration.
‘The sport’s a mess’, the Pod’s will say. Or: ‘Liberty don’t know what they’re doing’. ‘Ferrari will quit’ is another tiresomely familiar trope for those who wish to appear acute, but who know no more than any other on this topic – and certainly far less than the three or four individuals who would effect any such momentous exit.
We’re talking here about the difference between opinion and fact – two oft-mixed, but strictly separate, notions. Opinions are cheap, of course – so cheap and common that, as Martin Brundle once impressed upon me: “they’re like arseholes – everyone’s got one.”
That’s certainly true within F1 – whose paddock is full of, ahem, opinions – so enough about them; let’s look back at a few facts from a season that was almost brilliant.
Fact: Lewis Hamilton became the most successful British driver ever. He finished the year a four-time world champion, after a season during which he emerged as the dominant force. He won nine races, took 11 poles (becoming an ever more numerically impregnable ‘number one’ on the alltime ‘poles’ chart, with 72 and counting) and has only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher ahead of him as multi-champs. One might opine that Schumi’s all-time records are within reach. But let’s stick to some facts.
Fact: Formula 1’s new owners, Liberty Media, spent many millions of dollars promoting Formula 1 in unprecedented ways. At the Spanish GP, they gave us the Fanzone, zipwires ’n’ all; there was the London Live extravaganza in July; while the US GP was granted a pre-race build up, courtesy of Michael Buffer, the like of which had never previously been seen. Recent speculation suggests £10m was spent on that promotion, although the facts of this particular matter are hard to ascertain.
Fact: cornering speeds this year were up significantly and often a whole ‘g’ higher than in 2016. The gains were found through increases in the cars’ dimensions, a revised aerodynamic framework that allowed greater levels of downforce to be generated and wider, grippier, Pirelli tyres. The drivers revelled in the extra speed and the cars looked pretty damn hot, too. That last must be noted as a subjective observation, however.
Fact: F1 remains a hugely attractive draw for sponsors, countries, brands and fans. Let’s take a quick look at brands and sponsors: Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull; Rolex, Tag Heuer, Oris; Puma, Hackett, Le Coq Sportif; Bose, Logitech, Casio… the list is long and largely blue-chip.
Meantime the world championship takes in 20 grands prix in 20 countries and the clamour for inclusion (France, Denmark, Vietnam) remains strong. Millions watch and read about F1, 24/365. All of which, in summary, emboldens me to assert one, conclusive opinion: Formula 1 remains the greatest sporting spectacle on the planet. And that’s a fact.