Whatever your opinion of Bernie, it's hard to point to an era when F1 was truly a sport. It's always been a showcase for engineering excellence, and manufacturer interest/support has always influenced the outcomes. If there was ever a point when the sport became accessible to normal human beings, it was the 1970's, when you could buy a DFV for relatively little money, build a car from some bits of alloy sheet and fibreglass and persuade some local hero to risk his neck in it. You could turn up for one race and give it a go alongside the regulars. It allowed the likes of James Hunt amongst others to find a way in, and the likes of Maki/Lec/Ensign/Amon etc to grace (?) the racetrack. Unfortunately perhaps, the racing became rather good, just as TV started to see the potential, but entertainment was an incidental by-product which was then seized upon by Bernie to turn the "sport" into what we have today.
Despite my fondness for the 1970's, it has to be said that the cars today are the most amazing pieces of engineering we've ever seen, so on that basis, F1 is at its best point ever. Whether it entertains the masses is of no consequence at all, if you follow the original ethos......
If you want entertainment, watch NASCAR!
