In Formula 1, Scuderia Ferrari is going through the second longest period in which it has failed to achieve a world title. The last title dates back to 2008, when the Prancing Horse won the constructors’ championship. Fourteen years of oblivion interspersed with some promising seasons, but in which the dreams of glory were put away much too soon, just like in the current F1 campaign.
Yet the top category of motorsport, under the management of Liberty Media, is experiencing a phase of great development through a fast extension of its boundaries as a result of an overall interest increase, even in markets that were very “lukewarm” in the past. According to one of the most famous statements made by the former F1 owner Bernie Ecclestone, Ferrari was the very essence of Formula 1 and vice versa. An essential component as an absolute reference point in motorsport on a planetary scale.
The English manager had perceived that the general interest in Formula 1 could not be separated from a competitive Ferrari and in this sense he worked to ensure that Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher arrived in Maranello despite the enormous interest from the English teams who wanted the sign the German champion (McLaren Mercedes in the first place, nda).
If the Formula 1 world championship were a wedding, Ferrari currently could only play the role of a guest. A welcome presence but not essential for the ceremony. Yet the Maranello team was once the very soul of the category. In this regard Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Liberty Media and former manager of the Italian team, recently stated that he is not selling the soul of Formula 1 in the name of change and globalization.
But are we really sure? The historical circuits are constantly threatened by requests for membership from new countries interested in the show-business aspect of the category. The absence of a round like Germany on the calendar is emblematic, despite the presence of two excellent permanent facilities such as Hockenheim and Nurburgring.
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From the “noble” teams, only Ferrari, McLaren and Williams are still in Formula 1. What we are witnessing today is a show with a completely modified DNA compared to a few years ago. However this genetically modified product works great. Many stages of the world championship have had surprising sold out weekends, with up to four hundred thousand fans attending the action during the race weekend in Austin. In a constantly growing financial context, is the presence of Ferrari a must or a simple nice to have?
The answer, at the moment, unfortunately seems simple: Formula 1 can happily give up on Ferrari and the related emotional appeal that the Maranello team has always exercised on fans. In a recent survey commissioned by Liberty Media to the American data analysis and market measurement company Nielsen, it emerged that the fascination of the Ferrari brand is gradually decreasing.
Based on this evidence, the sporting fortunes of the Prancing Horse have a marginal impact on the interest generated by Formula 1, especially in the younger age groups. And the reason lies mainly in the type of product offered which puts entertainment before the technical and historical values that have made the team founded by Enzo Ferrari legendary.
While Formula 1 does not seem to need a winning red team, Ferrari Corporate does not necessarily need to be a winner on the track, at least from a financial point of view. In fact, over the last fifteen years, the revenue of the Italian car company has progressively increased without suffering any reputational damage caused by poor sporting results.
Benedetto Vigna, chief executive officer of Ferrari, during the conference call in which he presented the great financial results of the third quarter, spoke about the growth and improvements of the Maranello team in this Formula 1 season:
“Last time I said we were fighting for the championship. We are competitive again, but we cannot be satisfied with this year’s results. Now we focus on the last races of the season and then prepare as best as we can for next season”.
From a purely sporting point of view, the entry of the historic Italian brand into the WEC world championship could guarantee the highly desired successes, in a category with growing appeal and a very high potential in terms of image gain.
Liberty Media, as a broadcaster, has focused on the spectacularization of the premier class of racing. The metamorphosis from sport to show has been rapid and has not found any opposition in the teams due to revenues that have grown exponentially.
Thanks to the agreement with Netflix for the series “Drive to Survive”, the new generations in every corner of the world have approached the world of Formula 1 as a sort of high concept reality show, able to be appreciated by a very large audience. Within this format, the script is much more important than the interpreter, even if it is a team as legendary as Scuderia Ferrari.
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