Could there still be an F1 without Ferrari? (merged)

[Mattracer]

Well, could there? Ferrari is an industry in itself and is linked to F1 so closely that they are virtually one and the same. Look at an Enzo and what do you see? Not only a work of art on wheels but an F1 car with a roof and a few concessions to practicality. If one half of the equation goes, what happens to the other and on a larger scale, what happens to F1 itself?

[ASCII Man]

F1 would lose quite a bit of it's glamour and prestige, that's for sure.
But I don't think that the absence of Ferrari would be lethal for F1.
As long as Ferrari doesn't join a similar championship like the GPWC...

[Mekola]

Originally Posted by ASCII Man

F1 would lose quite a bit of it's glamour and prestige, that's for sure.
But I don't think that the absence of Ferrari would be lethal for F1.
As long as Ferrari doesn't join a similar championship like the GPWC...

Why? When a team like Lotus disappeared of F1 many people whinged about its demise but the show of F1 went on... And Lotus was a team which was almost at the level of Ferrari in historic issues, before the consolidation of McLaren and Williams.

[ASCII Man]

Originally Posted by Mekola

Why? When a team like Lotus disappeared of F1 many people whinged about its demise but the show of F1 went on... And Lotus was a team which was almost at the level of Ferrari in historic issues, before the consolidation of McLaren and Williams.

Originally Posted by ASCII Man

Well, F1 carried on just fine after the losses of BRM, Lotus, Brabham, Tyrrell, etc...
So I don't think that the loss of Ferrari, albeit quite sad, would be very detrimental to the sport.

[touringlegend]

Of course there would still be an F1, but whether it'd be as widely known and attractive as it is now is another question.


The majority of the general public would probably name Ferrari & Michael Schumacher if asked to name something in F1.

[MRJUCY]

I think Ferrari would lose more from not being in F1 then F1 would lose from not having Ferrari honestly

[Kicking-back]

Whether there could or not is largely irrelevant.

Ferrari will be in F1 - as will the other nine teams.

[Knowlesy]

It honestly wouldn't bother me that much if they weren't there. Teams come and go, Ferrari are just another team, albeit a very good and old one.

I guess there would be some saddos who'd stop watching altogether purely because Ferrari weren't there, but hey ho.......

People tend to overrate Ferraris presence.

[luke]

Originally Posted by knowlesy

I guess there would be some saddos who'd stop watching altogether purely because Ferrari weren't there, but hey ho.......

Ferrari have been here since F1 was created and are an important part of Grand prix racing, if they were to leave I would be very sad, F1 wouldn't be the same with out them.

[JeremySmith]

Originally Posted by knowlesy

It honestly wouldn't bother me that much if they weren't there. Teams come and go, Ferrari are just another team, albeit a very good and old one.

I guess there would be some saddos who'd stop watching altogether purely because Ferrari weren't there, but hey ho.......

People tend to overrate Ferraris presence.

I beg to differ. Ferrari are just "another" team..I don't think so

[jj2728]

henry n. manney III said it best, "a race without ferrari is like an egg without salt"
f1 without ferrari is no longer f1 and at best would be just another racing series which it damn near is nowadays anyhow..
and i disagree with knowlesy's statement that people overrate ferrari's presence....ferrari is, as they say in hollywood, 'box-office' and THE major draw for the CASUAL fan....

[Knowlesy]

There are lots of series without Ferrari. Le Mans is still a great event and a crowd puller, yet Ferraris presence in it is pretty small and, dare I say, nondescript. Doesn't seem to affect the glamour of that event.

[jj2728]

Originally Posted by knowlesy

There are lots of series without Ferrari. Le Mans is still a great event and a crowd puller, yet Ferraris presence in it is pretty small and, dare I say, nondescript. Doesn't seem to affect the glamour of that event.

true, but lemans has been around for many many years....people associate ferrari with f1...f1 could afford to lose mclaren, williams et al., because another could take their place with much more ease than ferrari...

[enemy-ace]

Originally Posted by jj2728

f1 could afford to lose mclaren, williams et al., because another could take their place with much more ease than ferrari...

Maybe, but they would probably be as competitive as Minardi. If the other teams leave with the manufacturers could F1 survive with just Ferrari and a bunch of minnows?

[Burd]

I still can't believe F1 has carried on without Team Lotus!

[jj2728]

Ferrari are the ONLY team that have been around since the inception of modern day grand prix racing, ie., 1950.....before they went on their current run of total domination many people thought of them as the loveable losers, the team that 'malgrado'( italian for: in spite of) would find a way to lose more often than win. Yet they have always had the 'allure', for lack of a better word, that any of the other teams past or present just plain fail to have. Sure it is always sad to lose a team however prestigious and some people have mentioned the passing of lotus. But when lotus left they were nothing more than a shell of their former self much the same as tyrrell. face it, f1 is ferrari as much as ferrari is f1. they both need each other. irregardless of how you feel about the team, f1 without ferrari would only be a shell of its former self. and that is a fact.

[Dixie Flatline]

Originally Posted by jj2728

Ferrari are the ONLY team that have been around since the inception of modern day grand prix racing, ie., 1950.....before they went on their current run of total domination many people thought of them as the loveable losers, the team that 'malgrado'( italian for: in spite of) would find a way to lose more often than win. Yet they have always had the 'allure', for lack of a better word, that any of the other teams past or present just plain fail to have. Sure it is always sad to lose a team however prestigious and some people have mentioned the passing of lotus. But when lotus left they were nothing more than a shell of their former self much the same as tyrrell. face it, f1 is ferrari as much as ferrari is f1. they both need each other. irregardless of how you feel about the team, f1 without ferrari would only be a shell of its former self. and that is a fact.

I have to say that I agree with jj2728.

Thanks to the dominance of Ferrari and in particular Michael Schumacher over the past four years, many fans around the world have come to associate Ferrari with Formula One.

Take Ferrari out of Formula One, and it becomes much harder to market the sport to the public. The thinking might be, why should I go pay A$100 (for example, to go to the Aussie GP) when I have no idea who is racing, and why they are said to be so good? I used to go because I love Ferrari, but they're not there any more.

So once the gate begins to drop off, and the television rights are worth less, sponsors of other teams might say, well, we're not getting the same value for money for our sponsorship dollar as we used to, so they put in less money or pull out altogether. This causes the remaining teams to be able to afford less and less on their cars, which dilutes the spectacle of Formula One.

It might sound far-fetched to some, but when you look at the marketing effect that Ferrari contributes to the whole spectacle of Formula One around the world, removing Ferrari from the sport would have a tremendous knock-on effect that might conceivably leave us with a sport that might be called Formula One, but not be Formula One in name.

[Marbot]

It'd be just one less race in Italy .And when TGF retires, one less race in Germany too .

Yes i think F1 wil get along just fine without Ferrari, but i also think they'll be around for a while yet,in one guise or another.

[Inigo Montoya]

Originally Posted by martyn bott

It'd be just one less race in Italy .And when TGF retires, one less race in Germany too .

Yes i think F1 wil get along just fine without Ferrari, but i also think they'll be around for a while yet,in one guise or another.

Hmmm.. Just fine without Ferrari, eh? And Michael retiring would be fine too, eh? Have a look at the TV ratings thread . Seems to me that the loss of Ferrari and Michael would take down the TV numbers (huge, compared to British) of both Italy and Germany...

[ASCII Man]

Well, F1 carried on just fine after the losses of BRM, Lotus, Brabham, Tyrrell, etc...
So I don't think that the loss of Ferrari, albeit quite sad, would be very detrimental to the sport.

[Knowlesy]

It would be sad if they left, yes, but F1 would remain F1.

It'd be very sad if McLaren or Williams were to go as well, they've been around ages too. Nobody seems to get so uptight about them though.

[BootsOntheSide]

I think I'm right in saying that Ferrari merchenise has always been teh biggest selling team gear in the UK, even when they were struggling and Williams and Mansell/Hill hugely successful. The very name has a lot of prestige and passion to it (although the current team doesn't inspire these feelings in me), and it would be the biggest loss out of all the teams, but F1 would survive, and probably be just as strong again within a few years, especially if they leave after a couple of comparaitvely lean years.

[Wrex]

Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide

I think I'm right in saying that Ferrari merchenise has always been teh biggest selling team gear in the UK, even when they were struggling and Williams and Mansell/Hill hugely successful. The very name has a lot of prestige and passion to it (although the current team doesn't inspire these feelings in me), and it would be the biggest loss out of all the teams, but F1 would survive, and probably be just as strong again within a few years, especially if they leave after a couple of comparaitvely lean years.

Well put Boots.

Would it hurt? Absolutely.

More than other teams? Absolutley.

Would F1 survive? Of course it would.

[sr230772]

the sport must be bigger than any one team.f1 cant be held to ransom wrong or right by any team it would be a sad day but the sport would go on

[Adam43]

Boots, that it is.

1986 was my favourite F1 year and where were Ferrari then (in terms of performance).