Why This Happened

[BradSpeedMan 6]

in katiland only brazilian gp is at afternoon. im always either waking up at 8 or in middle of night. and im not complaining. but on other hand it's part of the big circus they like. wouldnt have as much publicity if it was a full race

now here's a real f1 fan

[yurp 0]

bernie's playing a dangerous game going all out for publicity/tv audiences/controversy.

if he attracts 1000 short term 'fans' and loses 100 hardcore fans, then it's dangerous for F1 in the long-term.

of those 1000 how many will become fully interested and not just dissappear as soon as something else grabs their attention?

he'd be better off trying to grab the attention of other racing fans (other formulas/bikes/rally etc) - that way he'd get people who are going to stick with F1 if it is allowed to continue to be at the front in technological innovation and speed. those people are racing fans. F1 is appealing less and less to exactly that demographic.

of course - bernie's not in it for the long-term anymore. i think that has a lot to do with what's been going on for the last couple of seasons.

when you have short-term governance, you have short term gains but inevitably long-term decline.

[Jean Todt 4]

in my opinion its a whole load of rubbish --- waited a whole blardy year for the M'sian GP and it lasts only half the distance...

they might as well not have the race down here.... yea fine ill accept they cant predict the rain but at least give the race a chance

of continuing after the rain... i live here and it starts getting dark around 6.30 so 5pm race start is just ridiculous

i believe any true F1 fan will not mind waking up early to watch a race... perhaps they should force the non european hosts to install lighting systems just like singapore.. of cause tht would only make an already expensive sport even more expensive...

i heard there was lesser spectators in sepang and if FIA keep to this sort of timing then rather than increasing their fan base in asia its going to decrease.....

Bernie is just attracting more viewers from Europe and less from Sepang at Sepang's cost.

[Alan333 0]

I can't agree with all this b*ll**ks about true F1 fans getting up in the middle of the night. For me (alone it seems) I have to work most Sundays so getting up at 5am is a non starter. In a series where 90% of the teams are European and 80% of the drivers are European it makes good commercial sense to tweak the races for a European audience. All this talk of Bernie milking F1 for the biggest audience is utter nonsense, of course he is, we live in a commercial world and Marxism doesn't exist in reality anywhere. F1 can't exist without sponsors and sponsors respond to the biggest audiences.

[Alan333 0]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/08042009/13/...tv-figures.html

[AleHop 0]

I can't agree with all this b*ll**ks about true F1 fans getting up in the middle of the night. For me (alone it seems) I have to work most Sundays so getting up at 5am is a non starter. In a series where 90% of the teams are European and 80% of the drivers are European it makes good commercial sense to tweak the races for a European audience. All this talk of Bernie milking F1 for the biggest audience is utter nonsense, of course he is, we live in a commercial world and Marxism doesn't exist in reality anywhere. F1 can't exist without sponsors and sponsors respond to the biggest audiences.

You're right in some way but it's Bernie who wants to spread F1 all over the World.

[Alan333 0]

You're right in some way but it's Bernie who wants to spread F1 all over the World.

Yes but the same people who are complaining say that F1 should spread without alienating it's core audience. Is there any debate about the location of this core audience.

[icemanrules! 0]

For me here in India, most races, European, are at 5:30 in the evening. Perfect time to crack open a Kingfisher lager and watch a Force India crash. It's the Asian, South American and Canadian GP's that are off time. But I don't complain, for me and like most others here we wouldn't mind F1 at anytime as long as it promises to be a great spectacle.

I feel Bernie is trying to vow that select audience in EU who 'might' be interested in watching F1 but the only thing hindering them is the timing. Lucky people

[wapi 4]

Ok this debacle of a race shortining never had to happen. Why did it? Well because Bernie decided that you Europeans whinge so damn much about having to get up before dawn to watch a race that he move the flyaway races to the late day with no chance of finishing a race if there is a delay. Just think folks we could have had a proper race if not for you pussy Europeans crying in your oatmeal about having to get up early.

Wrong! Race was not cut because of late start but because of thunderstorm and expiring time limit of 2 hours.

[maure 1]

I can't agree with all this b*ll**ks about true F1 fans getting up in the middle of the night. For me (alone it seems) I have to work most Sundays so getting up at 5am is a non starter. In a series where 90% of the teams are European and 80% of the drivers are European it makes good commercial sense to tweak the races for a European audience. All this talk of Bernie milking F1 for the biggest audience is utter nonsense, of course he is, we live in a commercial world and Marxism doesn't exist in reality anywhere. F1 can't exist without sponsors and sponsors respond to the biggest audiences.

True. But F1 has made it this far without night races...

[maure 1]

Wrong! Race was not cut because of late start but because of thunderstorm and expiring time limit of 2 hours.

True again. But with more light, the race might have been resumed in time.

[Rainmaster 7]

I can't agree with all this b*ll**ks about true F1 fans getting up in the middle of the night. For me (alone it seems) I have to work most Sundays so getting up at 5am is a non starter. In a series where 90% of the teams are European and 80% of the drivers are European it makes good commercial sense to tweak the races for a European audience. All this talk of Bernie milking F1 for the biggest audience is utter nonsense, of course he is, we live in a commercial world and Marxism doesn't exist in reality anywhere. F1 can't exist without sponsors and sponsors respond to the biggest audiences.

You're right in some way but it's Bernie who wants to spread F1 all over the World.

As usual Bernie is trying to have his cake and eat it. Something has to give.

[maure 1]

As usual Bernie is trying to have his cake and eat it. Something has to give.

Yep. It's pure gluttony for the little fellow. Comfort gourmand, though?

[icemanrules! 0]

Yep. It's pure gluttony for the little fellow. Comfort gourmand, though?

pure gluttony = shortened lifespan?

Something does not seem to fit. Maybe that's why he ended up short.....

[maure 1]

pure gluttony = shortened lifespan?

Something does not seem to fit. Maybe that's why he ended up short.....

Reckon that Ecclestone's swill is not based on anything remotely resembling a regular human diet...

Even the man's wife is spooky looking, ffs.

[icemanrules! 0]

Reckon that Ecclestone's swill is not based on anything remotely resembling a regular human diet...

Even the man's wife is spooky looking, ffs.

exposure to copious amounts of senility must have its side effects

[chunkjunk 0]

they will do what they want to do.

[Alan333 0]

Yep. It's pure gluttony for the little fellow. Comfort gourmand, though?

Your avatar is soooo appropriate. I can actually C Montgomery saying this.

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

Ah the empire is not what it used to be any more. Most of you Johnny Foreigners are ex British Empire subjects anyway so only right that we should get priority. So stop your moaning or we'll send our Prince and his armies over to subjugate you

I mean, I get a personal phone call from Bernie before each race to remind me when its on. Tamara nips around and rubs olive oil gently into my chest and a bevvy of spanky's minions attend to my every need whilst the race is in progress.

You mean you don't get all this outside of the UK?

[pumpdoc 2]

True again. But with more light, the race might have been resumed in time.

If the race had been started at the standard 2pm local time the race would've been well over before the rain even showed up, that is the only point.

[wapi 4]

If the race had been started at the standard 2pm local time the race would've been well over before the rain even showed up, that is the only point.

You can't count on that. Next year rain might come at 14:35h and last for an hour until 15:35h... You would again have 45-50 minutes of racing regardless of early start.

It is probably good enough to move the race just one hour earlier. That would mean lot in terms of light and not so much in terms of European TV audience.

[maure 1]

Your avatar is soooo appropriate. I can actually C Montgomery saying this.

Isn't it? I chuckle to myself everytime I see it.

[maure 1]

If the race had been started at the standard 2pm local time the race would've been well over before the rain even showed up, that is the only point.

Like wapi said, you can't count on that.

Besides, would the late schedule have been "ok" if it had not rained?

You can't count on that. Next year rain might come at 14:35h and last for an hour until 15:35h... You would again have 45-50 minutes of racing regardless of early start.

It is probably good enough to move the race just one hour earlier. That would mean lot in terms of light and not so much in terms of European TV audience.

Yep. But with more light, there are more options... even if it keeps on raining.

The thing is that the 2hr cap is also a TV measure. A GP is "grand" for a reason and, for those that bother to show up, it could last longer if it need be. Heck, even if it needed to be cancelled one day, I would watch it the next. The constrains placed on GPs are artificial.

[icemanrules! 0]

Like wapi said, you can't count on that.

Besides, would the late schedule have been "ok" if it had not rained?

Yep. But with more light, there are more options... even if it keeps on raining.

The thing is that the 2hr cap is also a TV measure. A GP is "grand" for a reason and, for those that bother to show up, it could last longer if it need be. Heck, even if it needed to be cancelled one day, I would watch it the next. The constrains placed on GPs are artificial.

Correct me if i am wrong but was not this 2 hour cap in place long before the commercialization of F1?

[maure 1]

Correct me if i am wrong but was not this 2 hour cap in place long before the commercialization of F1?

When do you think started the commercialization of F1?