teabagyokel said:Again, a statement of undeniable truth. Why did F1's viewing figures fall in the UK in the early 2000s and rise again in 2007 -. Its partly because the racing was closer, but mainly because Hamilton came along. I loved 2003, but apparently no-one else did!
My ambivalence to business comes as I am a dyed-in-the-wool lefty. Please excuse my pseudo-socialist babble.
The UK figures fell from 1997 onwards actually (after D. Hill won his title).
And therefor the difference between Britain and Italy, and also between Ferrari fans/fanboys and driver fans/fanboys.
In Italy if Ferrari does well the ratings are good regardless of the nationality of Ferrari's drivers, in Britain if Williams, McLaren are fighting Ferrari (like in 2003) but if there's no national british driver/hero in the fight the ratings still go down.