iSport | For the Fans, by the Fans

F1 2009 has been boring and we agree so. iSport's Motorsport expert Kunal Shah believes that Michael Schumacher is indeed the missing ingredient in F1 2009. Read on...

So Michael Schumacher is out! After a much awaited come back announcement, he backtracked a week later citing ‘fitness’ as a reason. While few critics quickly brushed it aside as an ‘ego driven’ decision, his fans did know that the decision was purely based on medical terms and that the motorcycle crash that he suffered earlier in the year did do more damage than any of his F1 shunts!

However, reasons aside, the decision did break a million hearts of F1 lovers who were excited with an opportunity to see the German legend in action – again. Michael Schumacher returning would’ve surely added more colour to F1 2009, since he’d be racing on newer circuits, with a new car and with a new set of team members!! However, personal excitement aside, F1 does need a Schumacher to resurrect the lost charm.

Lets face it, the new regulations worked, but not for the fans. It gave the lower rung and lesser financed teams a level playing field and an opportunity to challenge the supremacy of the Big Three – and they did! Brawns and Red Bulls walked over the remaining teams since the opening round of the season and my guess is that they will continue to do so. While the swansong has only been between the two teams with Red Bull now getting stronger, the other teams have a mammoth task to make a comeback this season. Furthermore, most teams have either secretly or publicly shelved their 09 machines in order to develop a ‘better’ car in 2010!!

So while Jenson Button and Ross Brawn’s story seems like a fairy tale, the reality is that fans like to see underdogs make a fight and win – but only sometimes. Brawns’ supremacy at the start of the season coupled by Ferrari and McLarens lack of pace drove the crowds away not only from the stadiums, but also from the television sets.

Worse, the dim witted FIA officials and their ego issues with the FOTA that almost offered us a breakaway F1 championship didn’t go down too well with the viewers. Fans pay hefty entry fees to watch some wheel to wheel action coupled with glamour and guts – not some political drama that unfolds in the paddocks. Though the FIA – FOTA row got resolved, it only did so after much mud slinging in public and after doing enough damage.

While all this went on inside the world of Formula1, almost every manufacturer in their world of automobiles had a serious look at their commitments to their F1 programs. With growing costs to operate a running team and with plunging global markets F1 did become an expensive proposition for everyone so much that almost every board meeting had serious discussions on further committing to F1 till 2012.

Japanese major Honda pulled the plug on their F1 program late last year. Rumours were that Renault and Toyota too were going to follow suit – but surprisingly last week German car major BMW decided to call off their pursuit of an F1 championship after only half a season of below average performances! Just goes to show the much pressure of competition our sport has to offer.

To counter the ever decreasing grid, the FIA decided to open its bid for new teams and they did select 3 new private teams. While their introduction is surely a good sign – they don’t necessarily inject the star power that is required to take Formula1 forward. Campos F1, Manor F1 and USF1 – they don’t even sound as good as the other legendary names that have ruled F1!