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Briatore: F1 has a duty to entertain |
Flavio Briatore has spoken up for the millions of disenchanted Formula 1 supporters around the world tired of dull, processional races in the top flight, arguing the sport's governing body, teams and drivers are all in the entertainment business and as such must make the show fun again.
Droves of erstwhile fans turned away from grand prix racing during the monotony of the Schumacher years, and a good deal more have since fallen by the wayside after the raft of recent regulation changes has failed to cure the problem of a chronic lack of on-track overtaking. Briatore is adamant the sport has a duty to the people who so avidly follow it.
“We are working with the FIA and we have a big responsibility,” the Renault F1 boss asserted. “Formula 1 is the pinnacle of new technology, but we're not talking about cutting costs. We're talking about being more efficient, and after that what we need to improve is the racing. We should be fighting only on Sundays.
“The spectators aren't interested in the budget or how much we are or aren't spending; they want to see a good race and a good fight between the drivers. That's what Formula 1 is all about, and to entertain the people we don't need to spend much money; we just need to be focussed.”
The Italian acknowledged that the arrival of Lewis Hamilton and the Briton's bitter scrap with McLaren-Mercedes team-mate Fernando Alonso last year had done something to re-ignite interest in F1, but he insisted there was still a very long way to go.
“We're talking all the time about the technical side, but we never talk enough about how to make the racing better,” the 57-year-old underlined. “The human part of Formula 1 is important too, and we have the technical capacity to provide more entertainment and more overtaking. Look at GP2 – the second races especially are fun.
“Maybe they [the FIA] are right; maybe people want to see trains of cars with no one overtaking. Maybe it's me who is wrong for wanting more of a spectacle, for wanting two races because just one is too long, but there isn't a culture of considering how the final product appears.
“We need to simplify things. We are in the entertainment business, because sport is entertainment, but Formula 1 is too predictable sometimes. It's only ever fun because it's raining or because something happens; we need to create more unpredictability.”
