Formula One, it appears, it not simply a hotbed of technical brilliance. It scores fairly highly when it comes to innovative ideas to save money and improve the competitiveness of the sport.
Last year, ahead of key decisions over the use of tyres and the structure of practice, there was even a suggestion that the fastest cars should be given a horse-racing style handicap to stop them from sprinting away with every race. This would, in effect, have been the equivalent of dumping a load of cement in Michael Schumacher’s car. The gravest flaw with this plan was, of course, that Ferrari absent-mindedly forgot to design a boot/ trunk into its F1 models which meant nowhere to dump said cement except in Schumacher’s seat, which rather defeats the object of the exercise.
Now Max Mosley, head of the FIA, motorsport’s international governing body, wants F1 teams to consider introducing new measures to cut costs. He suggests a wage cap on drivers and the introduction of an age limit on each team’s second driver.
Wage caps are a nice idea but are riddled with legal difficulty and, even in territories where the legal framework makes them possible, they are difficult to enforce. There always seems to be a way to design a financial package to avoid the cap. In the case of F1, even if the teams agreed on a cap, the clear discrepancies in the commercial value of teams and, therefore, their drivers would mean that certain drivers would continue to earn substantially more than others because of their ability to win and service personal commercial contracts.
So what about the notion of introducing an age limit for second drivers. This is a move which would not only, in theory, cut costs but perhaps create a testing ground and showcase for rising talent.
But why not take the whole thing a step further and insist that the second driver in each team is a woman? It would certainly add glamour and interest and could well create new income streams in terms of the gender equality project grants that it seems possible to wring out of many governments.
This week saw another key development in F1 when Jordan, one of the best branded and most recognisable of the F1 teams, announced it has a new owner.
He is Alex Shnaider, a 30-something, Russian-born Canadian whose Midland Group has been looking for an introduction to F1 for some time.
Jordan has been strapped for cash of late and the deal is reported to be worth some $50million, which is considerably less than it would have cost Shnaider to set up a team from scratch.
The team will race as Jordan during the current season and the good news is that its flamboyant, drum-playing boss Eddie Jordan – one of the most instantly recognisable figures on the circuit and someone who gave the team much of its distinct identity – has been retained to run commercial and sponsorship matters. Eddie Jordan demonstrated his business acumen some years ago when he sold a chunk of the team to venture capitalists Warburg Pincus in a multi-million dollar deal.
One sport where competition is built into the very fabric is football of the NFL variety.
This year’s Super Bowl (New England v Philadelphia), take splace next weekend in Jacksonville, Florida and broadcaster Fox says it has sold more than 95 per cent of its airtime around the game at $2.4million for each 30-second slot.
Brewers Anheuser Busch has taken 10 slots.
Advertising around Super bowl has become something of a big member contest among some American corporates, who have developed an unofficial competition to create the wackiest and most memorable ads.
While the game itself generates column miles rather than inches, so do the ads that are previewed and reviewed in minute detail.
It’s a perfect example of the power of sport to create a single massive audience in days when the general TV audience is increasingly fragmented.
The build up to the announcement in July of the city to host the 2012 Olympic Games continues, with each issuing statements aimed at the IOC members they are unable to talk to face-to-face.
Moscow, a rank outsider, is pointing to the fact that it will stage the Russian Winter Track and Field Championship, the World Yachting Championships and European Cycling championships as evidence of its pedigree. The city is also scheduled to host the world athletics championships in 2007.
London has the unlikely backing of an Australian…. Sandra Nori, New South Wales’ minister for sport and tourism, reckons that the UK’s strong economy and the ingrained British love of sport should do it for London. Nori should know and may have some influence. She played a key role in helping Sydney win the bid for 2000.
Meanwhile the New York bid is upbeat despite a row over its planned Olympic Stadium.
Public support for the $1.4billion riverfront stadium is falling, even though it would become the permanent home of the NFL’s New York Jets. A poll shows only 53 per cent in favour if the stadium makes money…if it costs extra taxes the figure is far lower.
