Formula One

This Sunday I finally will get to see my first Formula One race of the season. I'm terribly disappointed. The cable company that serves my area has decided, in its infinite wisdom, that I'd have to purchase the Super Platinum Premium package in order to get Speedtv- which shows all the Formula One races live. That means I'd have to upgrade from paying $40 a month to about $900 a month (yes I exaggerate, its more like $80). The problem is that I have no interest in any of the additional channels I receive- 5 movie channels, digital cable, blah blah blah. I hardly watch all the channels I have now, my typical consumption involves ESPN, The Learning Channel, Discovery Channel, Fox News (best news in the business), and the Smallville Channel (no, unfortunately, there isn't a channel dedicated to Smallville- but it's a good idea!- I just don't remember the name of the one that does show Smallville every day). I can't seem to justify paying $500 a year just to watch Formula One racing. I can afford it, however on some level it just seems wrong. This Sunday on Fox, they are going to show the Canadian Grand Prix, so by default I get to watch a Formula One race. Yaay.

In the US, Formula One hasn't really taken hold, over here NASCAR is far more popular. And I don't get it- I mean what is the charm in watching a bunch of rednecks go around in circles? Formula One racing is the pinnacle of motorsport. In recent years, the FIA has forced manufacturers to downgrade their technological innovations for two reasons:

1. To level the playing field between 'rich' manufacturers and the 'not-as-rich' manufacturers
2. They were going too fast

Did you read the second point? The cars were going too fast! How awesome is that? It basically became a matter of driver safety because if the cars lost any of their downforce, they would essentially become airborne. And for drivers sitting in an open cockpit, surrounded by a fragile carbon fiber hull, that's the equivalent of suicide (but what a way to go!).

Formula One racing has a tremendous global following, I, myself, started watching it in Kuwait, where the local programming (when satellite tv was nascent) consisted of a program called 'You and the Law', terrible football games between Kuwaiti club teams, and news in Arabic. They did, however, show Formula One racing and with satellite television, the coverage just improved.

The technical aspects of Formula One racing are far too intricate to detail in this column, however the pre-race show typically sets up the decisions that the teams face:

• Weather conditions- wet or dry tires?
• One or two stop strategy?
• How much fuel to run- lighter cars, obviously, run faster (but require more stops to refuel)

All of this makes for great drama- the best part of the race? The beginning! Turn up the sound on your tv and watch out for the action at the first corner! I also love the commentary- David Hobbs* is the best in the business. Final thoughts- I'm terribly excited about the race and in an ideal life, when I have more money than God, I'll travel to many of these races. I want to enjoy race weekend, and hopefully indulge in some globe trotting along the way. Sounds good to me :)


In a follow up post- I'll rant about the lost art of commentating. The great commentators enhanced the experience, using an economy of words, yet provided maximum impact and value. More on that later