As motorsport fans will know, Formula One has for most of the last 60 years been considered the greatest motor racing series on earth. However, it is currently riddled with problems.
Tyres that aren’t allowing the drivers to push to the limit, lack of variation in race strategy and engines that aren’t as loud or fast as they were in years gone by are all contributing to the grievances of fans, drivers and experts alike.
“I know I am not the only person who did not like what I saw at the Canadian Grand Prix,” said David Coulthard in his BBC column earlier this week. “The sport will lose its wow factor.”
“We need to be a little bit quicker, through the years the cars are getting slower and slower,” said Felipe Massa last month.
The Grand Prix Drivers Association took matters into their own hands in the lead up to the Monaco Grand Prix, conducting a survey of the fans to find out what they most wanted to see brought into, and taken out of, the series.
However, these problems are dwarfed by an issue Formula One can’t control, and one that doesn’t get discussed as often as it should – the competition with IndyCar.
Like Formula One, the IndyCar series in America features open-wheeled, single-seater racing, with a multinational range of drivers competing in cars that very nearly match the speeds of Formula One cars.
Despite several attempts to take their racing beyond America’s borders, IndyCar hasn’t really taken off with an international audience the same way Formula One has. It’s probably the only reason IndyCar is still considered to be in arrears of the European-based series in the motorsport hierarchy.
But if they play their cards right, IndyCar organisers have a real chance to finally spread their wings and grab some market share outside their traditional North American base. They don’t even have to change any rules to do this. IndyCar is simply more intriguing.
What racing fans want to see, in a perfect world, is a race and a championship that anyone can win. It’s hard to say that Formula One has provided the fans with such a spectacle in recent times. Of the 19 races in 2014, 11 were won by Lewis Hamilton, and only two other drivers managed to win a race all year. 2013 was a similar story despite five different winners, with 13 races being taken by Sebastian Vettel.
Despite 2012 managing eight winners throughout the 20 race season, 2011 was not as exciting, with 11 races falling once more into the grasp of Sebastian Vettel. It goes back further. In 2000, Michael Schumacher won eight out of 17 races. Only three other drivers made the top step that year.
Some might say it’s unfair that I’m just using dynasties of Formula One as my examples, so let’s try Jacques Villeneuve’s World Championship season. In 1997 there were 17 races. Villeneuve won seven of them. Ferrari driver Schumacher won five. Only three other drivers won races.
Is this really what motorsport fans want to see? The events reek of predictability. Whether it’s down to money available for the team, or engine capability, or reliability, or whatever, there’s something about Formula One in recent times that has taken the competition out of the sport.
IndyCar, by contrast, leaves Formula One far behind in terms of outright competitiveness. Even though the series is only 20-years-old, the racing is much more fascinating to watch.
In the 18-race 2014 season, no less than 11 different drivers won a race in the championship.
There were 19 races in 2013 and 10 different drivers took the chequered flag. In 2012, 15 races were held and eight different drivers grabbed at least one victory.
Go back further and it’s a similar story. The 17-race 2005 series had nine winners in it. The 2000 season was even better. Despite only nine races, there were eight different winners – A very hotly contested championship indeed.
Formula One struggles to get such sustained competition in its seasons, and this is what IndyCar needs to sell if it wants to be successful further afield than just North America. They’ve got a great opportunity to do so with Formula One stuck in their current non-competitive racing field.
Now IndyCar has a real chance to market their racing product to new audiences, because they have a product worth marketing. It’s a different style of car racing to Formula One, not because of regulations, but because more cars are racing to win.
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