Formula One (F1) racing has long faced decreasing interest in the United States, despite being very popular world-wide. You would think that in the face of this situation, every possible effort would be taken to ensure Formula One events go off as well as possible in the U.S., right?
I can imagine that Formula One officials are very red-faced this week. This weekend’s F1 "race" at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was nothing less than a disaster, with 14 of the 20 total participants withdrawing from the race at the last minute, citing safety concerns. According to the Indianapolis Star, virtually everyone involved with Formula One blamed each other for the negative turn of events, which is why no compromise to continue the race was reached. Fans, who paid "an average" of $100 a ticket plus travel expenses, were understandably upset, and a number of attendees threw bottles and other debris onto the track to illustrate their disappointment.
This is inexcusable on F1′s part, and I have no doubt that they will pay the price. A sports league cannot treat its fans in this manner, especially ones in F1′s precarious position. Let’s face it- American race fans don’t need F1. They’ve got NASCAR, which, by all accounts, treats its fans like gold. If Formula One keeps up the antics it showed this weekend, it’ll find itself locked out of the United States, and I doubt many Americans will shed a tear.
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