Can Formula One Survive Without Ferrari?
The war between Ferrari and Max Mosley of the FIA has reached its peak. Ferrari now looks serious about leaving the sport in 2010. Can Formula One survive without Ferrari?
Ferrari is the iconic team of Formula One. They are beloved by hundreds of millions of fans. They are also hated by just as many. Every successful sport has a team like this. American football has the Dallas Cowboys. Baseball has the New York Yankees. European football has Manchester United, Madrid and AC Milan. Basketball has the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. They are the teams you pay attention to.
The real beauty of iconic teams is they are a draw in good times and bad. The ratings when the iconic team is on the television are always higher when other teams are on. This is true even if the team is not doing well. This is because of the love/hate position fans have with these teams. The issue with the teams from a business stand point is not whether they win or lose, but that they generate interest. Interested fans tune in to see what is happening. Disinterested fans do not.
So, what would Formula One look like without Ferrari? It would be a disaster. Ratings would plummet and so would attendance. Lewis Hamilton and McLaren could win the championship every year, but it wouldn’t mean much without Ferrari there. If you don’t beat the iconic team, it really isn’t the ultimate win.
Fernando Alonso once made an epic statement about Ferrari. His first World Championship was won when Ferrari was having a bad year and uncompetitive. His second was won in the last race against Michael Schumacher and a rebounding Ferrari. He indicated the second was far more important because he had beat the best when they were at the top of their game. He was right. The second championship was much more credible because of who Alonso beat.
Can Formula One survive without Ferrari? Sure. That being said, the sport will be a shadow of itself just as any sport would be if you removed the iconic team from the lineup. Formula One needs Ferrari.
Lemmy