Enjoy it while you can

While careful to not read too much into quotations published with little context, this report strikes several tightly wound cords in my F1 psyche.

Immoderate service to TV ratings is an insult to anyone or anything unique in our world.     Ratings crave the most common denominator . . . and in all bio or mechanical machines, the most common of denominators is usually the lowest.

I must ask, however, why does the FIA care about TV ratings?    I thought that was Bernie's gig . . . his impulse to artificially tweak the entertainment factor . . . from medals to shortcuts to faux rain showers . . . are tough enough pills to swallow already.

I'd love to lay all of the blame at NASCAR's feet, but I can't.     F1 as a whole has spent too much effort in recent years hot after NASCAR's tail.    It is becoming increasingly clear that those who manage F1 may be losing sight of their true audience . . . and more importantly the sport itself.  

Every year we get a new round of massive regulation overhauls alleged to improve a show which used to play just fine on it's own.    Although I think we've been very fortunate to enjoy some exciting seasons of late, I fail to see how today's F1 is better than it was in the 90's, the 80's, the 70's . . . I can keep going back.  

If the ratings are falling, it might be because instead of focusing on F1, these powers are trying too hard to remake F1 in the NASCAR mold.    F1 and NASCAR are very different.    They attract different audiences because of those distinct differences, and if I were invited to the next meeting I might remind Mr. Todt that:

The only car number that should matter in F1 is the number 1.  

Overtaking should be difficult . . . and rare.    It means something in F1.     (I'm so tired of this battle.)

F1 remains the best arena for technical innovation; if the FIA intends to use this fertile ground to sway public opinion, it best do so with a looser grip that allows for more creative ingenuity, and unique variations on the theme.

Simple concern over ratings prioritizes the casual . . . those who arrive late, leave early, and might not come back . . . above a historically astute worldwide audience that will not be fooled.    It's hard to fathom building audiences on a watered down iteration of what I hope won't one day be described as a formerly grand pursuit.