F1 profit put on a pedestal
FAN EVENTS: BOSS CHASE CAREY LOOKS TO MONETISE FOUR MONTHS NOT SPENT RACING
Non-profit months are used to develop new cars, sponsorship negotiations and rest.
Ihad to look twice when I spotted a couple of articles regarding the latest moves by Liberty Media as they take some believing. Having purchased F1 for $8 billion Liberty seems determined to realise returns for shareholders as soon as possible with minimal consideration for the sport itself.
F1 boss Chase Carey believes that as the sport’s 21 race season requires just eight months, there are four more months available for monetising, or as he puts it, “engaging with the fans”.
I have difficulty understanding the situation. Those non-profit making months are utilised to the full for the development of new cars, sponsorship negotiations and well-earned rest for the hard-working team members and their neglected families.
Carey thinks an example of this fan engagement could come from another sport. He elaborated by saying. ”One example would be the NFL, which is not playing right now, but they just had the NFL Draft.
“That is a big event. They have created events that are interesting for fans even when they are not in the season.”
However, he feels the basic F1 calendar is fine and does not need any changes.
He said: “The 21 races that we have will always be the highest profile, but we think we can do other things that enable fans to connect with the sport.”
Some of his colleagues seem to think otherwise.
His commercial director, Sean Bratches, in a recent interview with Associated Press spoke about the expansion of the race calendar.
Talking about Vietnam, he said: “This is a street race where we can go downtown, where we can activate a large fan base.”
He added that they could add a second Chinese event, but the primary role is to get the calendar structured regionally, opening the way for 24 or 25 races per annum.
I hope this makes sense to somebody. It doesn’t to me.
Then there is the news that Liberty has trademarked Ricciardo’s “shoey”.
In fact, this was registered with the World Intellectual Property Organisation by F1’s branding department in August 2017.
It is a rather bizarre move and brings to mind the reputed efforts of Donald Trump to trademark the expression “You’re fired” as used weekly in his television show, The Apprentice.
The response to this news is interesting. Australian Holden Supercar driver Dave Reynolds has called on fellow drivers to abandon the “shoey” and replace it with the “bootee”.
Reynolds was the man that introduced the shoey to motorsport in 2015 following its usage in Australian surfing circles for many years.
He has contacted Ricciardo and Jack Miller of MotoGP to start using the new term “bootee”.
“That will ruin their plans to make money out of a home-grown celebration that Australians came up with,” said Reynolds. Interesting comment. Red Bull certainly have a very busy time ahead.
Apart from attempting to reach a balance between allowing their drivers to race with no restrictions and trusting the combatants’ best judgment, or to instigate some form of team orders, there is far more.
Rumours abound about a possible deal between Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari, although this has been firmly denied by both parties, with the option valid until June.
There is no doubt that the Aussie is one of the hottest properties around currently,
Team principal Christian Horner is aware of this and keen to retain him, but he has a team to run so he needs a decision from Ricciardo as soon as possible, to enable forward planning for the 2019 season.
It is thought that the decision rests on some form of guarantee of engine performance as Ricciardo wants that world title and another year or so with an underperforming power unit will not allow him to reach his goal.
Whatever Ricciardo’s reasons, he has been given an ultimatum to respond by August at the latest.
Another decision with an August deadline is whether Red Bull stays with Renault or makes the move to Honda.
Horner has said that it is the first time in 10 years they have had a choice, although I am not too sure that they are ideal.
Renault has certainly found more power and greater reliability this year, but in an interview with Motor und Sport Horner is quoted as saying: “Renault is working hard, but our relationship is a bit Edited by André de Kock (010) 492 5281 andrédk@citizen.co.za of a rollercoaster of emotions.” One wonders why? This weekend it is off to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix, a home event for both Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso.
Alonso must be on a high following his victory with team mates Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima in the first race of the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship season, the Total six-hour Endurance-Spa Francorchamps.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing entries claimed the first two positions on the podium.
It has been a long time since the Spaniard enjoyed the fruits of victory and sadly, it is unlikely to be repeated this weekend in Barcelona.