The world of Formula One could be in for the worst season in a very long time, as Lewis Hamilton is left to dominate the entire season with Mercedes. We should all be grateful that the Liberty Media deal is set to be completed at the start of 2017 instead of the end because 2017 could have been the deal breaker.
Nico Rosberg’s retirement could have a big impact, and a long lasting impact, on the sport of Formula One. For the first time in years, Mercedes has been forced to make a driver lineup change, and with such short notice, they probably won’t find a driver capable on winning the World Championship title.
Names like Pascal Wehrlein and Valtteri Bottas have been floating around as potential Mercedes replacements, but neither of these drivers can take the title in 2017. Wehrlein, although displaying a lot of potential, lacks the experience required to take the title. On the other hand, Bottas has the experience and the potential, but cannot be expected to challenge for the title in his first season with the team. Winning the championship during your first season with a team is nearly impossible because it takes time to adjust to the environment, team personnel and the new car.
So with neither Mercedes replacement able to win the title and no other team close enough to compete with Mercedes, who is left to win the World Drivers’ Championship? Lewis Hamilton.
He was able to take the title in 2014 and 2015, so, with his main rival out of the way, it will be like taking candy from a baby to win a fourth title. But while the Hamilton fans are cheering and the Hamilton haters are crying, we need to look at the big picture and how another Hamilton-dominated season could damage Formula One.
With Mercedes at the top for the third consecutive season, 2016 saw a dramatic drop in television viewership and race attendance. Fans have expressed their boredom with the current results, with some longtime fans ditching the sport. These negatives have had their consequences, with Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil, Germany and Canada all potentially dropping from the calendar in the near future. Even the future of some teams has been placed in doubt once the Concorde Agreement expires at the end of 2020. Ferrari management has already stated how much Formula One costs and has even said that they were not investing more money into the venture.
Despite all of these negatives, Liberty Media must still see some potential in the sport, as they still plan to purchase a controlling stake in the sport. This deal is scheduled to be completed in early 2017, at which point Liberty Media will hold a controlling 19.1%.
Domination is not something new in the sport of Formula One, as fans have witnessed various periods of domination from several teams and drivers throughout the years. There were similar worries when Michael Schumacher dominated with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004, but it’s different this time because it’s more than just domination that’s the problem.
Formula One has become extremely expensive, not only to compete in, but also for the fans. British media giant, Sky, has purchased the exclusive rights to broadcast Formula One live in the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2024, meaning that the sport will be hidden behind an expensive paywall. Although the sport has slowly started to increase their online presence, they still haven’t embraced the full potential that the market has to offer, making it difficult to keep the current fans interested and making it even harder to attract new fans to the sport.
The only real hope for 2017 are the new regulation changes, which could though Mercedes off of the top. In the end, the impact of the 2017 regulation changes on the Mercedes domination will be the deciding factor. If Mercedes is able to build a car even half as good as the one in 2016, and provided there are no big performance boosts from the other leading teams, Mercedes will have another World Constructors’ and World Drivers’ Championship in their hands and it will be horrifying to see what state the sport will be in.
Liberty Media Gains Third-Party Investor Support
Bottas-Mercedes Link May Be In The Works
Rosberg Shocks F1 With Retirement
German GP Dropped From 2017 Schedule
Malaysia Will Not Renew Formula One Contract
Singapore May Also Be Leaving Formula One
Malaysian Grand Prix Future In Doubt
Liberty Media Acquires F1 Stake
Sky Acquires A New F1 Broadcasting Agreement
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company. Assumptions made in any analysis contained within this article are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
