Izumi BradMan what's your take on why viewership is declining and races are less interesting?
Oh and why the average age of the viewer is now 20 years older than it was?
That bit about the average viewership being 20 older than it was is really interesting. If I'm to guess, F1 has'nt lost some of it's charm and sentimentality even during these trying times. It STILL remains the pinnacle of motor racing, even in a haphardous way. A lot of credit should still be attributed to Ecclestone, although he lost the plot the latter years.
Stating the obvious.. I think ppl are sick of domination.
From my experience....
Domination is really a double-edge sword. The reason why I say that is during the Schumacher domination years it was'nt all that bad. I think Schumie just had a certain charisma about him and attracted a lot of following. I was at the other side of this spectrum supporting a flying fin Hakkinen. Ferrari's advantages assisted this domination. Many fans assume that the tyres were designed specifically for Ferrari team but we know that's not really the case. They just had unlimited testing on two tracks (tyres also started to be the cause of their downfall when Michelin shod teams gained advantage in numbers and had more data to analyse which affected Ferrari badly). Couple that with a huge budget and resources and a really great Team Principal that brought departments together magnificently...its just a recipe for success. I've read that Senna's death caused a huge vacuum in competition between 2 of the greatest drivers ever in F1... I don't think so.... I actually think Senna would have retired by then.
Then Renault mass-damper illegal championships. Then Schumie retiring and alot of fans I knew left the sport. It was just ... WEIRD. Fast forward to RBR domination years. Absolutely Classic! But not seen as such. Vettel advantages were never more than .3 secs, and that's when he was winning on consistent bases, if I'm correct. 2 of those domination years had the championship down to the wire at the final races. Their rivals just did a bad job. And don't believe St.Alfonso's claim that he pulled a rabbit out of a hat and drove "beyond the car". That's bullshit. Ferrari had a great car during those 2 competing years. Viewership started declining, because fans incorrectly thought Vettel was'nt a worthy winner. It's all Newey, as if he actually drove the car. The whole sad point was those remarks from Alonso and Hamilton, they would not like to win that way (no, they would rather win in supposedly equal capability cars)... discrediting Vettel at every turn. How ironic dear Hamilton. Comments like those really did not help.
Apparently both Renault and Merc pushed for these new regulation hybrid engines from early on. Apparently they (Merc) were working on those engines 3-4 years in advance. Couple that with the fact that the team have huge resources it was a recipe for absolute disaster... and it proved to be the case. Cars over 1 sec advantage in speed. Party mode settings. Tuning their engines down halfway thru a race. Rival teams flip-flopping about. Secret Pirelli test and the team gets off Scott-free (they had those rear tyre heating problems since the supposedly RBR winning years. Enough to drive fans NUTS!!!
In all this Liberty and FIA are still trying to level out the playing field and proving an incompetent bunch. I hope these new regulations help, and bring back and attract more fans. But we've been down this road before... we've seen and know how it looks. Teams holding FIA and themselves to ransom with agreements. Teams disputing agreements. No agreement over budgets, how long did the FIA try to implement a budget cut, which was successful in a miniscule way. These hybrid engines were suppose to curb costs... It has escalated further! Look how stupid these engine penalties are. Supposedly to cut cost, now teams willingly use it for further improvements/corrections. Uncertainty with Liberty's commitment... Rumours about them trying to sell their stake then in the same breath ways to build their investment in F1 on a longer term. Brexit worries.
Trying times indeed.... Enough to drive fans NUTS!!!