15/02/2015
FEATURE BY CHRIS BALFE
Teams and manufacturers are divided as to when the sport's next overhaul of the rules should be introduced.
Not for the first time, self-interest is the name of the game with the teams and manufacturers split as to what changes should be made to the current formula - still in just its second year - and when.
At the heart of the matter is the desire to make the sport more exciting and attract new fans, the sport concerned at the drop-off in TV viewing figures - though this is mainly to do with the move to pay-per-view - and dropping attendances at races, all of which hit the sport in terms of the lack of appeal to new and existing sponsors.
On the other hand, as previously reported, while unhappy at the falling TV figures incurred by the move away from free-to-air, the teams are pocketing increased prize pots courtesy of the income from pay-per-view. It's what some might call wanting your cake and eating it.
At the heart of the call for a change to the regulations is the power unit. While Bernie Ecclestone has made no secret of his detestation of the formula introduced just last year, a loathing based mainly on the sound, or lack of it, certain teams see a change as an opportunity to negate Mercedes current advantage. Naturally, the German manufacturer wishes to maintain the status quo.
There is talk of 1,000 bhp engines, and other than concern as to how this might be achieved, others are wondering why; for more power doesn't necessarily mean better racing.
With an eye on previous eras that thrilled the crowds and had TV viewers on the edge of their seats - or beds in the case of the 1986 Australian Grand Prix - the sport is understood to be considering a return to car widths last seen in 1997, lower rear wings and wider rear tyres.
All of which some might say is rearranging the deckchairs on Titanic.
Indeed, it is precisely this continual tinkering with the rules that is really hurting the sport, this and the attitude - sadly adopted by more and more 'sports' these days - that the fan (customer) is a cash cow.
Retrograde rules and liveries will not make the sport any better, except in the eyes of a few dewy-eyed fans who would like to see F1 go the whole hog and return to the 60s and 70s when it was faster, cheaper and more accessible... which is never going to happen.
In the meantime, the teams and manufacturers continue to bicker over what rule changes they want and whether they should be introduced in 2016 or 2017. This, at a time the sport should be shouting from the rooftops its achievement - if only on a technical basis - in terms of the new engine formula which, contrary to expectations, was powerful and reliable, as well as (sigh) environmentally friendly. Or as environmentally friendly as Formula One can be.
At a time we wait to see if Mercedes might have a challenge on its hands this season, we do not want to return the latter half of 2013 when rivals gave up any hope of challenging the Red Bull behemoth as they switched attention to the new (2014) formula.
The bottom line is that the sport is not run for fans any longer. It is run - at various levels - by people whose only concern is the financial pay back. Every move they make is driven by the desire to increase profit.
'Passion' has become the buzz word, but we see so little of it in F1, certainly at the top level. F1 needs to move away from the CVC/Ecclestone style of thinking and start to listen to those fans within the sport, those driven by the same love for it that first attracted them.
The likes of Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Pat Symonds and Ross Brawn, to name but a few, didn't enter F1 to become millionaires or mix with dodgy billionaires and pop-stars, they entered the sport because it excited them, it sent a shiver down their spines.
Only people who have experienced that shiver of excitement will know how to create a sport that will similarly inspire others.
Chris Balfe