Quote:
Originally Posted by Bononi
Somebody somewhere sometime said that Ferrari have a huge fan base in the US. I wonder...
|
Based on my experience attending the race in Montreal 10 times, I would say that Ferrari is overwhelmingly the favorite team of US fans (and probably Canadians too) who attend that race. Ferrari probably sells as many shirts and hats and other team souvenirs in Montreal as all the other teams combined.
I think Ferrari will attract a lot of fans in Austin too, because of its tradition, glamour and long record in F1. Ferrari is the New York Yankees or Dallas Cowboys or ManU of F1. It's the team people root for when they don't have a connection to another team because of a favorite driver or some other connection.
On the other hand, if Red Bull keeps winning, some young fans might gravitate to that team because it wins and because it's a popular brand with young people.
Apart from hardcore fans, most Americans don't get excited about names like Renault, McLaren and Lotus. Mercedes would be popular if they could start winning.
But the best thing that could happen to the Austin F1 race would be for some American to miraculously emerge as a leading F1 driver, which doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon. But if it did, ordinary Americans would take an interest in the sport, just as they took a sudden interest in bicycle racing when Lance Armstrong started winning the Tour de France.