07/11/2018
FEATURE BY MAX NOBLE
Well dear reader here we are. Has F1 just had its "Jumped the Shark" moment, as Liberty go where the ever cunning Bernie would not?
That well known global motoring centre Vietnam is set for a street race in 2020. No doubt the fans there are just as long term as those in Malaysia (Proton did own a slice of Lotus for a time), India (Tata still owns Jaguar Land Rover), and South Korea (Hyundai still build ships).
That long and winding road that is a mix of nostalgia, true history, and the personal connection of screaming down a deserted back road, or indeed around a track on an amateur race or track day, tends to be missing from most Asian countries. Not to say that heritage cannot be built rapidly. Look at the rise, rise, and rise of the Japanese motoring industry over the last fifty years. Ah, yes, it did take fifty years. Indeed longer. Honda was incorporated in September 1948 (70 years ago), and Toyota in August 1937 (81 years ago). So maybe it took as long to grow nostalgia there as Europe.
So why Vietnam we all wonder? Well if you're visiting from a Western country it is a cheap destination. It is warm (some might venture too warm), and the locals tend to be happy helpful folk. The vast majority of whom do not own cars, or belong to motoring racing clubs, or collect 1960's Ferraris.
So why Vietnam, Liberty?
Possibly the local food, which is varied, exciting and tasty for the most part. I must however draw a personal line at Deep Fried Tarantula (seriously, go Google it) and stick with the less edgy (and less leggy - ed) spice-laden dishes.
I'm sure it is not because of the lingering memory of the last large-scale visit from Americans. Nor because of fancy nightclubs or casino gambling."
An emerging destination City? Well yes I guess this is true in so far as tourism is growing significantly across the entire region and Vietnam has a number of cities that remain unique and exotic, while having enough modern global influence to keep all us traveling softies in comfort. So why not?
Why not indeed? A lack of any significant heavy industry, any major motoring heritage, or a nation steeped in the history of Sunday drives to the coast and pub chat waffling about tread shuffle and wet weather braking distances.
Do we look to the past to shape the future, or ignore the past and re-image the future? The Now is a remarkable balance point between nostalgia and past lessons, and future yet to be realised. It should not be squandered on the vanity driven chase of money and power. And yet that appears to be what so many corporations chase these days. The Pyramids, the Colosseum, heck, even the Eiffel Tower, were not built with an obsessive view to budget caps, and fleecing punters as fast as possible as soon as possible.
If Liberty wants to build a resounding future-history where drivers, team owners, and fans all look back with pride on decades well lived, this short term money grab needs to stop.
Pay walls hiding the sport, a lack of major series sponsors (other than Heineken), sour deals with existing circuit owners, McLaren running with minimalist clean paint surfaces due to a lack of a headline big money sponsor. And Liberty's response? Start an argument with the residents of Miami, and plan a new street circuit race in Vietnam.
In other news both Porsche and Lamborghini have now confirmed they will not be entering F1 as manufacturers any time soon. So shovel in hand Jean Todt has been out on the pitch before daylight moving the goal posts, and saying that keeping the current manufacturers involved in the series is a major goal and can be considered a blinding success. Thank the Lord Jean is so handy with the shovel, because I think he will be moving the goal posts a few more times before 2021.
What, dear reader, is a fan to think? Have I been searching in desperation for a new Destination City? I mean, if one checks the dictionary I believe one finds (even in an American English dictionary) that a ‘destination' is anywhere one sets out for. Destination Upstairs. Destination Kitchen, Destination Local Pub... Possibly the idea is so exciting for Liberty because they do not have any idea where they are going.
"Run!" Shouts Chase, "Which way!?" Scream back his staff. "Doesn't matter, just run!" Replies Chase. And so another Monday in the Liberty F1 offices gets underway.
So now these poor lambs have a Destination City! Praise be! For a few months they now know where they are running to. Once they eventually assemble breathless at the Vietnamese start line, Chase can once more extort them to "Run!", and they can beg clear direction of their Master with a fraction more clarity by now replying, "Which Destination City Chase!?", to which he will reply "Well not this one guys, come on, work with me and RUN!"
Even with all this running in circles, or along wobbling lines to Destination Cities, Liberty is still barrelling into the future at the rate of one day every 24 hours just like the rest of us.
And one Sunny afternoon in the not too distant future, Chase will step into the warming Vietnamese Sunlight, and pronounce "Good Afternoon, Vietnam!" Meanwhile one can only hope that Marty and the Doctor head back to 1885, and rework the F1 rules from the ground up. Only by going that far backward might they generate the space for Jean to have the time he needs to move all those goal posts back to where they really need to be to keep the fans happy and give us back the future.
...and that's more than enough mixed-metaphors and film references for one paragraph from me. I think I'm off to find Destination Darkened Room, for a quiet lay down and rest, as I recall some of the sweet overtakes from this past season, and forget all the rest.
Max Noble.
Learn more about Max and check out his previous features, here