Formula One has become too complex according to Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne.
A question that is periodically asked, is what does Formula One stand for? Not necessarily the meaning of the title, but what it represents.
The most common answer is the pinnacle of world motorsport, this despite mainly being a European formula, whilst the USA remains far more interested in NASCAR and Indy Cars.
That market is changing and Formula One does have a legitimate claim being the only true global motor racing series.
Others claim that F1 represents the best in technology, with innovative designers both in safety, aerodynamics and mechanics. The technology developed on the track should and often does work its way towards the standard road cars.
But whilst all of that is important, Formula One will mostly see itself as a business and for that be right, then the companies involved within it, be it manufacturers, sponsors, promoters all have to see a return on their investment and for that to happen the sport has to be of interest to the spectators.
Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne believes that final aspect has been lost within the Formula One regulations designed by self interest from the dominant teams to continue their success.
?I like to see stands full of people, the highest number of spectators watching the sport and the sport to be a really interesting experience for people who are close to F1,? Marchionne told Sky Sports.
?The important thing is to remove the complexity that surrounds the sport, we have created a myriad of rules which have made everybody?s lives nearly impossible. You can speak to all the team managers and what they have to deal with in terms of the technical repercussions of any decision we make.?
?I think a lot it has been brought on by a defensive mechanism that is trying to protect people in certain positions, including Ferrari at a point in time when it was trying to preserve its period of dominance, It has been my experience running businesses that those kind of dominations always get taken out. We saw Mercedes come back last year with a vengeance; they have asserted themselves on the track which surprised Ferrari tremendously. But it tells you how feeble victory is unless you really manage it intelligently and I think we have gone too far. So I think we need to retrench, we need to go back to the real fundamental drive of the sport which is simplicity. We need to turn this into a spectator sport.?
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