Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve somehow managed to get myself into several conversations about the true DNA of Formula 1. It’s one of those pub debates, a bit like arguing about the greatest driver of all time, that will probably never be resolved, but it’s fun to crystallise your own thoughts.
Fundamentally, I believe the debate breaks down into two different subjects – where we race and what cars are on track.
The former debate began with the news that F1 is in a tough negotiating position with Monaco, with a real possibility that the sport’s owners at Liberty Media are prepared to give up the jewel in F1’s crown. It is a complex situation but essentially, during the Bernie era, Monaco was granted a privileged position where it paid very low rights fees, yet uniquely retained the trackside advertising income, the income from ticket sales as well as premium fees for parking the yachts in the harbour over the Grand Prix weekend.
