Afterburner wrote:F1 had more audience when Ferrari was dominating than when Redbull and Mercedes were dominating, F1 is losing fans now.
F1 is losing audiences not because Ferrari is losing. F1 had great audiences in 80s and early 90s when Ferrari wasn't winning. There are multiple sporting and commercial reasons for why the viewer ship is falling.
On the Sporting side,
1. The cars in the last decade became slower and slower and drivers moaning that the cars are not challenging to drive, has contributed to build the reality that F1 isn't challenging anymore.
2. Processional racing for great part of last decade, brought the show down.
3. The one greatest and the most attractive element of F1, the SOUND, was taken away in 2014. No one was happy with the vaccum cleaners moving around the track.
4. Complicated rules that makes following a race harder and harder.
On the Commercial side:
1. Bernie's hunger to milk as much money as possible from Race organizers lead to France, Turkey and Germany stopping the show and F1 moving into the Asian markets. Though it is good have Asian Markets, the attendance is only expected mostly on the track and less on TV.
2. Rising costs of attending races, compared to what they were a decade ago, has driven away viewers from circuits.
3. TV broadcast changed from "Free to Air" to "Pay per View". Not everyone is willing to pay to watch slow, processional and lifeless (sound) racing on the track.
It is the characters like Fangio, Clark, Piquet, Mansel, Prost, Senna, Schumacher and Lewis that draw the crowds. Just look at last year's Silverstone (Lewis) and Spa (Verstappen) races and you will know how much a driver can pull the crowds. It's not for nothing that Bernie wanted certain characters to win the championships, because that was good for F1.
Would I continue to watch if Ferrari is gone? I would. There is nothing joyful that Ferrari has given in the last decade, except pain and letdown. Their presence adds a commercial value, but not a sporting anymore. If I have enjoyed watching Red Bull and Mercedes putting together sporting excellence, I can watch anyone else too.
Besides, we have lost many great manufacturers and teams from F1 in so many decades, but the show has gone on. Of course Ferrari would be missed if they choose to leave, but it's a matter of time to get over it. They should stay in the sport for their performances, not because they are the old grandma of racing.