Could Formula E ever rival Formula 1? • Hacker News Board

Re: Could Formula E ever rival Formula 1?

#41

Post by robomartin » Sun, Sep 29, 2013, 4:55 PM UTC

Well, the problem with F1 is the FIA. This is the body that owns F1. They are a bunch of dinosaurs who haven't figured out how to embrace the internet yet. Here in the US I can't watch F1 races unless I pay for an expensive cable/satellite package that includes the Speed channel.

I really enjoy F1 and used to watch every race back when I had the Speed channel but we've cut down our satellite package to the bare minimum necessary to have local stations, mostly for local news (now questioning that). With Netflix, Youtube and other Internet-based media sources there's plenty to watch and quality is often better than broadcast television. I wish the FIA would let go and bring the races to the Internet with all the wonderful tools and flexibility this could offer.

I love the idea of Formula E, but if it is going to be guarded behind the same kind of irrational thinking it will not reach as wide of an audience as possible.

Re: Could Formula E ever rival Formula 1?

#42

Post by SeanLuke » Sun, Sep 29, 2013, 9:13 PM UTC

alan_cx wrote: post #18

SeanLuke wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what fervor means here, but in 2009 F1 events had a total attendance of about 2.8 million. Whereas NASCAR had a total attendance of about 3.8 million.

Got any TV numbers to compare? In 2009 F1 breached 600 million. (First figure I found) NASCAR? I couldn't find a number to quote. Also, how many F1 races? How many NASCAR races? Im not sure attendance compares.

I can't find one either: but I'm not sure "I saw it on TV" is as good a measure of "fervor" as "I paid good money to attend it in person."

As to number of races, surely a moment's thought will convince you of the speciousness of that argument. That's like saying "Sure, The Dark Night had a bigger take than Moneyball, but it was on so many more screens."

Not that I am remotely interested in NASCAR...

Re: Could Formula E ever rival Formula 1?

#43

Post by alan_cx » Mon, Sep 30, 2013, 10:44 AM UTC

SeanLuke wrote: post #42

alan_cx wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got any TV numbers to compare? In 2009 F1 breached 600 million. (First figure I found) NASCAR? I couldn't find a number to quote. Also, how many F1 races? How many NASCAR races? Im not sure attendance compares.

I can't find one either: but I'm not sure "I saw it on TV" is as good a measure of "fervor" as "I paid good money to attend it in person." As to number of races, surely a moment's thought will convince you of the speciousness of that argument. That's like saying "Sure, The Dark Night had a bigger take than Moneyball, but it was on so many more screens." Not that I am remotely interested in NASCAR...

Attendance wise, NASCAR is local. Its in one country and sort of moves locally. F1 drops down in countries, then disappears. The whole thing is different. Frankly, I think its pretty hard to properly compare the two in any reasonable way. Its pretty much like comparing hockey with basketball, there are similarities, but they are totally different sports.

BTW, I am one of those rare things, a British NASCAR follower. Not exactly a "fan" as such; I enjoy it, but I'm not knowledgeable beyond the obvious. That said, F1 is my main thing. One of the reasons NASCAR appeals to me is the almost complete contrast with F1 (and Indycar, which I also watch).

Re: Could Formula E ever rival Formula 1?

#44

Post by jetd » Mon, Sep 30, 2013, 10:57 AM UTC

andrewcooke wrote: post #21

And just as its premier race series has helped drive innovation in the engines, brakes, suspension and aerodynamics of everyday cars are there any statistics / studies on this kind of thing? or the similar claim from space exploration? i don't dispute there are useful advances, but i wonder whether they would have been made anyway (perhaps at a lower overall cost, if "cost" can be at all well defined). [edit: i see f…

f1 teams are mainly composed of two or more partners. general structure is "real race guys" and "money guys" ie automotive brands you know. havind said this if you look at those brands you can pretty much see all the related products released. for example, renault has produced f1-inspired megane hatchback body called R27 or something like that. mclaren-mercedes slr 722 is an "everyday car" that is most-closer to an f1 car. latest mclaren is also another example.