Todt: "...just turn on the tv a little later..."

[Bibendum]

Thus, Jean Todt on the 2-hour qualifying session,which evidently some think "too long" for television viewers. OK, so attention spans must have plummeted in the last few decades, but this hardly seems a good rational for a medium supported by advertising revenues. Todt, of course, has reason to like the new format; but surely even he can see that -- if viewers are indeed alienated by the system -- it's not good for the sport? His comment amounts to, "if you don't like it, don't watch." I'd like to hear Bernie's response to that little bit of commerical savvy!

best to all,
and, phew, I'm so glad to have F1 racing to watch again!

Bibendum

[GTV27]

Well, for what its worth, I enjoyed watching qualifying (all 2 hours of it) more than the race (during which I dozed off).

[Airhead]

Originally posted by Bibendum
... but surely even he can see that -- if viewers are indeed alienated by the system -- it's not good for the sport? His comment amounts to, "if you don't like it, don't watch." I'd like to hear Bernie's response to that little bit of commerical savvy!


Bibendum

Come on Rubber Man...

This was the guy that couldn't care less about the spirit of the sport or the amount of viewers who were alienated by the orchestrated finishes put on by his drivers - at his insistence.

And what did Bernie et. al. say...

"That's OK, they are Ferrari!"

[Gt_R]

Ok..take out all the socks, eggs and banana skin.

In one way or another, somehow people feel itchy not blasting Ferrari for even one day.

I don't see whats wrong with the comment. In fact, i'd rather they put everything in one day then drag it into two.

[Redblurr]

Originally posted by Bibendum
Thus, Jean Todt on the 2-hour qualifying session,which evidently some think "too long" for television viewers. OK, so attention spans must have plummeted in the last few decades, but this hardly seems a good rational for a medium supported by advertising revenues. Todt, of course, has reason to like the new format; but surely even he can see that -- if viewers are indeed alienated by the system -- it's not good for the sport? His comment amounts to, "if you don't like it, don't watch." I'd like to hear Bernie's response to that little bit of commerical savvy!

best to all,
and, phew, I'm so glad to have F1 racing to watch again!

Bibendum

just to balance things out he also said:“Maybe it takes more time on Saturday, but the people who come to the circuit have more to watch,

[Gt_R]

Does it matter to them? It doesnt need to balance out.. anything that Ferrari said can be selected to be criticised - even if unfairly. Not everybody bother to look at Ferrari and co's actions in a positive light.

The point is that if we really think about the new system, it is nothing more than last year's.. they just decide to put it into one session of 2 hours instead of seperating them into 2. And i honestly think that it is less fussy.

And frankly, i don't really give a hoot about qualifying (except the top runners maybe - i'm not a fan of a "queue up boys, take it one at a time" style) and its the race that i seat through.

I think Todt actually put it quite well..if you think it's a drag, then just switch on after 1 hour to catch the second session.. the old system had only an hour anyways.

F1 needs to look at the larger picture than just playing around with qualifying times - if attracting new audience and retaining old viewers is their aim.

[Inigo Montoya]

Originally posted by Bibendum
OK, so attention spans must have plummeted in the last few decades, but this hardly seems a good rational for a medium supported by advertising revenues.

They get twice the advertising time with a 2 hour qualifying format. Stinks of money-grab to me. If I was Jean, I would have said the same thing.

[Liz]

Actually if the racing doesn't get any better, you can just tune in at 11:00 p.m. and get the result on the sports news, if you're not in the USA (where they will ignore it) or look it up on the internet sometime later on.

[Redblurr]

Originally posted by Gt_R
Does it matter to them? It doesnt need to balance out.. anything that Ferrari said can be selected to be criticised - even if unfairly. Not everybody bother to look at Ferrari and co's actions in a positive light.

...

My point was that Bibendum quoted Todt as saying switch TV off etc - he failed mention he also said: :“Maybe it takes more time on Saturday, but the people who come to the circuit have more to watch. This as I see it a Todt bash.

[grumpy1]

It seems anything that Ferrari does is open to critisium.I call it tall poppie syndrome.If the others don't like the way the system is catch up to Ferrari.
Tyre stack(what Bibendum means) was trying to say in a round about way(forgive the pun)was that Mr Todt has a point.The whole thing is to long for TV.I have no great love for Ferrari but to lay into them for everything is a bit harsh.

The Grumpy1

[Gt_R]

Quote Redblurr:"This as I see it a Todt bash"

Count me in, i see it that way too. Yeah..what i was saying is that critics of Ferrari don't really bother if they (the critics) are not fair in their comments about Ferrari. (no, i'm not fingering Bib, it's a general note) So basically, i'm on your side!

If they really try just a moment to look at the WHOLE article, and make an honest judgement, then they'd actually see that usually what Ferrari said is harmless or even true, and the critics are clutching at straws.

I'm honestly sorry if my recent posts targetting at Ferrari-critics are a little on the blunt side (i try not to be rude ) but sometimes things do get a little out of hand here.

But back to the topic, i pretty much agree with what Todt says. F1 could have 2 hours on Sat, or last year's system of 1 hour each on fri and sat, or even go to the extent of 30 mins each starting wednesday.. the thing abt the 2hr-session is actually putting the qualifying show into 1 day session (less hassle of travel) and actually increase the exposure of sponsors (if that's what we care about).

In fact, this solution is actually a compromise of last year's format to the old format.. Now drivers effectively had 1 lap to adjust to track conditions before going all out to set their time.

People tend to over-react and demand changes instantly. Is that the correct method to work? Rule/Regulation changes, if overdone, would actually backfire and ruin the credibility of the sports..