donskar wrote:
So just what are you suggesting? Must F1 be "dumbed down" to the lowest denominator? Teams like McL, for example, have earned massive sponsorship through years of effort -- and success. It's ridiculous that they can not enjoy the fruits of their labors. Or should the F1 budget be set at the level of what can be raised by the least successful team? A bit awkward, no?
Umm, where did you get the idea that I want F1 dumbed down? I've just asked the question about how testing will be funded. I agree that additional in-season testing is required and I think that, in light of F1's espoused green ideals at least, that testing should be linked to race weekends. Having additional test dates in between race dates will not help the smaller teams and will increase the carbon footprint of the sport quite markedly(because lots more travel will be required).
It is important that the small teams are assisted by the FIA (or even the bigger teams perhaps?) if we're not to go back to the days of one or two rich teams dominating forever. Sure McLaren and Ferrari have done well in the past and have the cash to prove it, but they built much of that "success fund" in cheaper times. It certainly didn't cost McLaren the equivalent of $200m/year to win the titles for Senna and Prost or Ferrari for Lauda and Scheckter et al, did it? Sure, in later years it did get expensive (we all know that Ferrari's budgets were getting very big in the Schumi years for example).
I think the FIA should implement 2-day in-season testing sessions following three or four races where there is a reasonable gap in the race schedule. The teams should be allowed to use a non-championship driver (test/young driver) per test. This would give the teams the chance to test new bits whilst allowing young talent to get the feel of an F1 car "in the wild". Doing it this way would allow testing without making the whole thing silly-expensive.
If we just go back to the days of "rich takes all" then it's going to be very boring for everyone other than tifosi and McLaren fans (assuming that Red Bull and Mercedes aren't in F1 for the long haul which I don't believe they are). As a McLaren fan I'm not too worried about that, of course, but the sport is I'm sure.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.