Retiring F1 champ Button has some final thoughts
Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, is retiring from racing Formula One cars after this season. Before he walks away, though, he’s been sharing some thoughts about some of the challenges the sport — one in which races typically last about an hour and a half — faces in the future as it tries to gain popularity.
“People’s attention span these days is terrible, including myself,” Button said, adding that he took some time to observe human behavior recently while waiting at an airport.
“They can’t sit there for 30 seconds and think. They have to get on their phone. I looked around the other day, and there were 40 people at the baggage carousel, and strangely enough, I was weird enough to count how many people were on their phones. Thirty-nine were on the phone, and the only one who wasn’t was me, because I was too busy counting the people on their phones.”
Button said the short attention span may be why people these days appear to prefer shorter sports and constant action.
Hot ticket? TicketCity, the large Austin-based ticket broker and online marketplace, has had mixed success with the U.S. Grand Prix.
Shannon McKinley, communications manager for TicketCity, said pricing and demand for the F1 race have grown slightly worse each year since the 2012 inaugural event, but this year saw a small rise because of the Taylor Swift concert Saturday.
Still, McKinley said the average sale price for a ticket to Saturday’s qualifying session, which includes the Swift concert, is $150 — similar to what the track is charging. The average race-day price for Sunday, which features a concert by Usher, is $180. Circuit of the America’s Sunday tickets start at $99.
The real bargain was Friday’s practice, which didn’t include a concert or special entertainment. General-admission tickets could have been had for $5 to $10 through TicketCity.
McKinley said her company still had more than 250 tickets remaining for the weekend.
Board games: The paddock area typically has chairs and lounges and hospitality areas for the teams, and this one at Circuit of the Americas also has a couple of games for people to play. One that attracted the attention of some Brits, who had never seen the game before, was a shuffleboard table like you see in bars in Texas.
“That’s a good piece of wood,” one observed.
It’s all Greek: The F1 in Schools world finals were conducted in Austin this week at the Hyatt Regency, and a team from Athens, Greece, won the competition. Thirty-nine teams from 23 countries competed.
F1 in Schools challenges student teams from around the world to design, construct and race miniature Formula One cars of the future, powered by a compressed-air cylinder. The cars race on a 66-foot track.
Infinite Racing from the Moundoulides School is the first Greek team to finish on the world finals podium. The Australian team Infinitude took second place, and Germany’s Endeavour squad was third.
TheAmericanteamHarlem United took the Achievement Award for progress made in the contest.
Teachers bonus: The Austin school district and COTA partnered to give 500 of the district’s teachers or staff members tickets to this weekend’s U.S. Grand Prix.
TV treatment: NBC Sports Network continues its extensive coverage from Austin with Saturday’s final practice and qualifying from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Sunday, the “F1 Countdown” preview show will begin at 1 p.m.