Originally Posted By: Indydriver
Oh brother! What a reach. You do know that year, don't you? Before Clark. Before Hill. Let me suggest that it was the fledgling "world championship" that fell when it lost the already prestigious Indianapolis 500 from its schedule.
Of course, it was a long time ago. After all, with racers and fans, only the past is of value anyhow.
As many problems as there are in F1, I suspect that Indy very much envies F1's peak audience numbers. Some races over the past decade have had over 600 million viewers. While audiences have dropped off dramatically (that's happened to most sports, sitcoms, soap operas, dramas, network news shows, TV movies, and everything else), I doubt that the Indianapolis 500 ever had 600 million viewers. That race, too, like everything else, is also losing viewers.
Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
LOL Man, you really ARE cruel.... They still need to have the sponsors' (who haven't left yet) stickers going round and round on the track. It's easier to beat back demands for discounts if you at least start the race.
I can sit in a motionless car for a lot less money than Jenson Button.
They do have to watch sponsorship issues with their performance. Word on the paddock was that ExxonMobil ditched McLaren because they got sick of seeing the Mobil 1 and Esso logos on a car belching smoke or spitting flames as it coasted to a stop on live TV, or being hoisted up by a crane while disabled, or pushed between a gap in the barrier. They certainly have to be on TV to satisfy sponsors, but they demonstrated, probably to even Bernie's amazement, that there is such a thing as bad publicity.
The vast majority of the world's McLaren fans - and the team has a lot of fans - cannot afford a McLaren road car. But, I bet many of them right now are spitting each time they say the word "Honda."
If McLaren wants to make a bit of extra cash and publicity, they should raffle off a chance for a member of the public to watch a race in the McLaren hospitality lounge with a real F1 driver. After all, either Stoffel or Alonso, or both, winds up there fairly early on Sunday.