The rumors about champion line-ups for each team are probably baseless. But they have their own purpose that relates to the future of F1. Follow us. The premise to understand what we’re stating is to focus on Stefano Domenicali’s communication style.
The history
If we were in politics, we could define him as a perfect Christian Democrat. This may not mean much to the very young. In fact, the Christian Democracy (DC) was dissolved in 1994, during the judicial storm of “clean hands.”
The Christian Democracy was the main Italian political party from the post-war period until its dissolution. It was impossible to govern without it. It was a party that had different factions within it (some more left-wing, some more right-wing). Being in the center of the political landscape, the classic Christian Democratic orator was capable of speaking for an hour without saying anything. Or making the listeners believe that he was agreeing with them and also with those who opposed them. Arnaldo Forlani, recently deceased and one of the last great DC politicians, among other things, often said: “I could talk for hours without saying anything.”
The dress rehearsal
Stefano Domenicali adopts an additional strategy. He does the dress rehearsal to understand how the fans react to the innovations that Liberty Media has in mind to change F1. If the “public” reacts positively, okay, he moves forward. If there is more than a hint of perplexity, he adjusts the aim and then slowly approaches the goal relentlessly.
Stefano Domenicali never talks about faults or mistakes of Formula 1. And in some ways, it’s brilliant. The latest trick is the new fans who cannot be ignored.
It makes us laugh. We think of Vittorio Emanuele II when in front of the Parliament of his kingdom (Sardinia), on January 10, 1859, he stated: “[…] We are not insensitive to the cry of pain that arises from many parts of Italy towards us,” just before the birth of the Kingdom of Italy.
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Domenicali has invented this mythical figure, the new fan. Never has a journalist asked him to account for the statistics and data supporting the desire for novelty that supposedly animates this new fan. It’s a mystery.
It is clear, at least to us, that this mythical figure is deliberately invented to achieve the ultimate goal: a high number of races, and we are already there (24 races next year), and possibly using the sprint qualifying format in all races, after abolishing one hour of free practice, the ones that Domenicali always reminds us are “only for the engineers.”
But what does all this have to do with the premise of this article? It has to do with it because the rumors about Lando Norris possibly joining Red Bull or Ferrari, in our modest opinion, are not just “rumors that escaped” due to the summer heat, but a first survey by F1 to initiate a new model that guarantees more excitement, as explained by F1 expert Mariano Froldi for FUnoanalisitecnica.
The insurance policy
A sort of life insurance to always have robust income for the sport. Since 2014, the regulations, far from ensuring leveling and more excitement, have generated dominance. First, the very long dominance of Mercedes, then the current one of Red Bull.
If there is dominance, the audience gets bored, even those who cheer for the dominator (they won’t tell you, but it’s true). If the audience gets bored, the leverages decrease. What lessons can be learned? That we need to rethink not only the regulations but also the spending cap, the budget cap, which, far from ensuring balance, has generated two dominances.
So, what to do? The FIA could never backtrack on the entire regulatory and philosophical arsenal they have pursued from 2009 until today.
Therefore, here comes the “genius” idea. To make every team, at least among the top ones, have two champions or potential champions. Not the classic formula of a champion and a wingman, but two roosters in the henhouse with the desire to fight each other.
The life insurance policy of F1. If worse comes to worst, if there is a team that is too strong compared to the others, at least they will fight each other fiercely. So, each top team should pay not one mega salary, but two.
And anticipate a greater risk of incidents and contacts in races between the two contenders they have put under one roof. In the era of the budget cap. Genius.
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