Organisers of the Malaysia Grand Prix are considering giving up on hosting a Formula One event after 2018, something that should well shell shock everybody inside of the paddock.
Reports quote Sepang CEO Datuk Ahmad Razlan Ahmad Razali as saying sales for the recent F1 Grand Prix reached only 60 percent. In stark contrast, the MotoGP event is expecting a bumper sell-out crowd for this weekend’s penultimate round of the championship.
With constant price hikes for circuits built into their contracts with Formula One Management, the commercial rights holder, some owners and organisers are constantly struggling every year to make ends meet and keep their place on the Formula One calendar.
Silverstone has been in the news for many a year as they struggle to pay the growing race fee and the Nurburgring had to pull out of the 2015 season as they simply could not afford it. Neither could Hockenheim at such short notice and this meant the German Grand Prix was cancelled!
It’s no secret that circuit attendances have decreased in a lot of places and ticket prices continue to rise because of the growing costs of hosting a race.
But with Sepang bosses highlighting the comparison between the most popular series on two and four wheels, I asked our MotoGP editor Lewis Duncan for his thoughts on the matter.
“The case of Sepang potentially dropping F1 is something quite alarming for the series,” he claimed.
“Sepang bosses stating that the sport isn’t very interesting should be raising alarm bells because it’s proof now more than ever that F1 is no longer the be all and end all of motorsport.”
“That fact is made all the more apparent when you consider that MotoGP has sold out at Sepang for the second year in a row.”
“Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder in MotoGP, charge an estimated €4-8 million to host a race compared to the €20+ million charged by Bernie Ecclestone. Just by this comparison, you begin to see F1’s main problem; it’s not exciting and it’s not cheap either. Sepang bosses clearly realise this, and if they do others almost certainly will as well.”
All of this also comes as F1 is once again in the midst of a single team dominating at the front.
It is not Mercedes’ fault they have won 48 out of the past 56 races so far in the hybrid era of Formula One since the start of the 2014 season.
This is now statistically the most dominant form ever carried out by a team in the sports history, beating that of McLaren’s in the 1980s, Williams in the 1990s, Ferrari in the 2000s and even Red Bull’s earlier in the decade.
When looking at other premier series compared to Formula One, the costs are much more manageable. Race fees are far less, the costs of R&D is nowhere near as high and yet, the action is far more exhilarating and competitive than it is in Formula One.
So many other racing series are open in terms of the competition whereas F1 just doesn’t have that anymore. The Hamilton-Rosberg battle rages on but, aside from this, what else do the circuits have left to promote other than a very likely chance of yet another Mercedes victory?
MotoGP has had eight different winners so far in 2016, the BTCC series had 12 different winners through 30 races in 2016 also. The World Endurance Championship is also wide open with just 17 seconds between the top three LMP1 manufacturers after six hours of racing at the previous round in Japan.
To put it into perspective, Formula One has had only five different winners in the past three years. This speaks volumes with regards to the competition level that Formula One has endured since then.
With closer competition elsewhere in the world, it’s no wonder circuit organisers are starting to lose interest with the state of play within Formula One. If the 2017 regulations cannot induce further competition and give the organisers something to promote the events with, the bigger this problem will become.
Technical regulations must also allow for close racing first and competitive edge afterwards, which still doesn’t seem to be the case.
Should more circuits decide to follow Sepang in reassessing the value in hosting Formula One, then the championship could stand at a huge crossroads.
New owners, Liberty Media, are due to complete their buyout of current F1 owners CVC sometime in 2017 and Chairman Chase Carey has already been seen in the paddock, talking to all of the teams’ senior personnel.
His first job must be to stop the rot that is clearly evident beneath the floorboards of Formula One. Renegotiating race contracts must be on top of the agenda, we cannot afford to lose key races from the calendar. Could you imagine the uproar if did lose the British Grand Prix?!
I don’t like to write about these topics, it’s not what I should be writing about either. I ought to be writing about races that capture the imagination of the fans, something to relate to, something to aspire to.
But, if you put the burdening costs that circuits have to pay, the better competition in other series and the sheer political landscape that revolves around Formula One together, what you’ll find is a very uncertain future for the sport.
A storm is brewing and the new owners must steady the ship as soon as possible, otherwise, it may just start sinking.
