PARIS — I kept an eye on the Olympics, and since it is the summer break in Formula One, I tried to keep my mind off Formula One. But, inevitably, comparisons of the two spectacles kept entering my thoughts — especially since Formula One has for many years hyped itself as the world’s third most popular sporting spectacle, behind the Olympics and World Cup soccer.
Formula One
A view from the paddock with Brad Spurgeon.
Those two events, Formula One supporters like to point out, only take place once every four years, while Formula One races take place pretty much every two weeks during its nine-month season.
Chris Radburn/The Associated PressThe Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton carrying the Olympic flame in Luton, England, in early July.
I waited a few days to let my impressions of the comparisons and similarities between the two spectacles sink in. The first thing came to mind was that Formula One may well be right up there in popularity, but it lies nowhere near the level of the Olympics — and especially not the 2012 London Olympics — which were omnipresent on television and in newspapers and news sites, and, most remarkably, in so many people’s Facebook status updates, news feeds and other social media. People I never considered to be interested in sports or competition chatted about it. So thoroughly did these Olympics occupy the nightly news in France that it made me wonder about what we are usually served up on the news. It seemed that all of the problems of the world — except Syria — had departed.
That certainly never happens with Formula One, except perhaps when there are some particularly juicy scandals, like a $100 million fine for cheating, or a leader of the series’ governing body being caught in compromising positions by a British tabloid.
Some more specific observations:
The Olympics also brought up plenty of discussion and speculation about whether Formula One could be an Olympic sport, whether it will play host to a race in or near the Olympic stadium or even through the streets of London. I cannot see any of these things happening, but I would not place any bets against it, either. Bernie Ecclestone has always had a good sense of when, where and how to talk about his series to get others doing the same — and the Olympics was clearly a good opportunity to do that.
I wasn’t the only F1 writer making comparisons. Gerald Donaldson on his new blog mused about some of the deep moral and sporting principles of both events. Edd Straw’s article for Autosport magazine, “No more faster, higher, stronger, in F1,” pointed out that many of the lap records in F1 date back to a previous period, in and around 2004.
The summary stated the contrast well: “While Olympic records tumble, grand prix cars are slower than they were almost a decade ago. Edd Straw asks whether Formula 1 has lost its raison d’être or whether the pursuit of higher goals is still there in the detail.”