Will F1 kill itself?
I've seen all the arguments etc etc, but with any sport, if you get a runaway success in one person it damages the sport.
People won't tune in to watch a parade, therefore sponsors don't get the coverage and pull out (remember the Orange Arrows Team dying because Orange pulled out) and ultimately, the sport will die.
Agreed, Schumacher was instrumental in pulling Ferrari up to its current level, I'm not sure that I agree that he did that at Benetton. But you have to wonder why the likes of Paul Stoddard continue in the sport when they are lucky if they gain more than a few 'gifted' points in a season.
It is obvious that Schumacher is a very talented driver, but that level of seperation from the rest of the field cannot ba a good thing.
I would like to see what Schumacher could do in a Minardi, if he went there, the sponsorship would follow him and Minardi would probably be able to afford the technology to move up the grid. (money goes to money).
I'm not purporting to know what the answer is, all I can say is that it is recognised there is a potential crisis in F1 and I'm note sure that anyone is prepared to tackle it in a radical way. Maybe like BTCC a reverse grid or success ballast, but I'm sure that like any system, it would be 'worked' and become irrelevent.
Think I'll go back to watching BTCC, NASCAR and the lower formula's until F1 gets its act together and produces races rather than carnival parades.
Terry B G