The Edge of the World: How the Rule of Three Can Save F1

I'm not entirely convinced that mariners of old really believed there was a distinct edge to the world, over which they might plunge, but I find the myth to be a useful metaphor for where we are now.

From the relatively calm waters of the past, the global financial crisis has brought us to the cusp of a new and possibly worrisome era. You don't like the look of that undiscovered country of the future? Sorry, it's too late to turn back. The fierce currents of time are sweeping us on, and over the edge we must go.

And what of the repercussions for F1?

Before the financial blizzard swept down, there was already pressure on F1 teams to cut costs. There was also tension between teams and Formula One Group over the distribution of income generated by the sale of TV rights to the sport.

As has been much reported here on Bleacher F1, some of the sports biggest sponsors find themselves in urgent need of cost-cutting to at least partially offset their falling sales and profits. It would be hard to imagine any of them giving great priority to their F1 commitments, which cannot be proven to deliver any shareholder value.

All then appears to be doom and gloom, and yet I see great hope that misfortune might rescue F1 from the corporate dead-end it has strayed into. Just as the forest fire clears away old wood and allows the green shoots of vigorous young trees to emerge, so might the loss of some knotty old timber bring forward the growth of F1 teams whose names we may not yet know.

My optimism is based on Duncan's rule of three self-evident truths:

1. There will always be competitive young drivers who want to race.
2. There will always be bright engineers who want to build and develop racing cars.
   
3. There will always be people who want to watch racing.

There is a century of motor racing history to prove my rule of three correct.

In the 1960's the TV business had developed enough that it could connect motor racing to a mass audience at home. That was a good thing in that it enabled more people—including me—to watch more races; it was a bad thing in that corporate sponsors were attracted like wasps to a piece of fruit.

The independents, the garagistas who put the buzz into F1 in the sixties, were not corporate men, and most of them were not even good businessmen. Money trickled through their fingers before it could reach their pockets, and they constantly struggled to meet the costs of the next race.

They had hearts and souls though, and they lived and breathed motor racing. Their generation dragged F1 from it pre-war roots into a new era of technological innovation. In that decade the basics of every car on the F1 grid today were designed, mostly by the great Colin Chapman.

Everyone who troubles to read this article will know that innovation is not the name of the F1 game anymore, it is actually considered cheating. Instead of engineers chasing technical rainbows and drivers chasing their dreams, F1 is now a business that generates money so a venture capital firm can pay off its debts.

Biblical reference—Timothy 6:10. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

As the recession drives one sponsor after another out of F1, and similarly makes it difficult for car manufacturers to continue, we should see the nature of the sport change. In a beneficial Darwinism, teams will adapt or die.

If for example Williams F1 vanishes, then who will shed a tear? To paraphrase a song, the glory that was Frank is of another day. The same could be said of McLaren, and Ferrari. Both teams have their origins in men who were passionate about motor racing, who built cars and raced them. Do the corporate entities that bear their names today carry in them the spirit of Bruce or Enzo?

Here are some words Bruce McLaren wrote in 1964. 'To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.'

Life is measured in achievement. I wonder how many finance directors would subscribe to that view.

At it's finest, F1 did not need wind tunnels and plush corporate HQs. Teams managed very well without hundreds of staff, paddock hospitality suites, and the other expensive fripperies that were products of the corporate age. When necessity pushes, F1 can manage without them again.

All F1 needs is what it will always have; drivers, engineers, and supporters. So let the old trees fall, let existing structures crumble, and don't for a moment think there is any danger of F1 vanishing.

It will always be there, Duncan's rule of three says so.