Bernie To Quit?

[Rollo]

Bernie - you let Monza drop and I'm done. No one cared about Magny-Cours and no one cares about the stunted Hockenheimring nor the Nurburgring.
Everyone cares about Monza!

Ferrari cares about Monza.

They might be tempted to walk out the F1 door and into the WEC if Monza were dropped.

[DannyQ]

an update for the VW/Audi saga

http://motorsportcentral.co.uk/vw-ma...-says-not-yet/

[Tazio]

[AAReagles]

I think this is a real issue that many forms of entertainment face today. People have access to so much entertainment and less time to enjoy it. They have to choose what the want to consume.....

In Australia soon F1 will no longer be on free TV. There are many households that simply can't or won't subscribe to pay TV. F1 will become largely invisible to the next generation... how will it force it's way back into the hearts and minds? I doubt it will unless the powers-that-be have an epiphany and realise that the more people who see the sport in as many ways possible the better. Instead they hide it behind pay walls.

I fear for the future of the sport

Exactly. Throw in increasing prices for event tickets, merchandice, etc., and the sport becomes less appealing in a world (well aware) of economic inequality.

[Jag_Warrior]

I've been of the opinion for awhile that either CVC needs to invest in the business (and not just stuff money in their pockets) or they need to sell it to someone who actually cares about the long term health of Formula One. Private equity companies do not care about the long term health of any business that they invest in. That's just not what they do. In private equity time frames, their investment in F1 must be nearing its due date. Is John Malone still waiting in the wings? Would he install someone like Zak Brown to run (rebuild) the series? And I will assume that we're now done with the politically correct fantasy of having Monisha Kaltenborn take Bernie's place? A slickster is one thing (Bernie), but an incompetent slickster is yet another. Zak Brown is who I'd love to see in the big chair. I can't think of anyone who knows the business of global racing any better than he does.

Here's what Brown has to say about F1's recent issues:

http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/0...0NM47320150501

[AAReagles]

"... attendance is down, tv ratings are down, car count (the number on the starting grid) is struggling... key performance indicators are all on a downward trajectory.... "

... add that to old man Potter's mindset of "no need" to attract the younger generation to F1 and you have a toxic recipe for your product.

So far I like this guy:

1) He's got a clear fix on the matter.

2) He's 43. Young enough... (yeah, I'm gonna there...) to relate to and appeal to a wider audience.

3) He's American, so he knows he'll be under the gun to get it right.

Besides that, could he do any worse ?

[CNR]

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/218114/...-f1-entry.html
"Nobody's told me that [I was the reason they weren't entering],” he told team boss-turned-pundit Eddie Jordan, “If that is the case, I'll leave. I would be happy to step down if it brought those people in."