This is the bottom line.

It's all about viewing figures and brand awareness.

Usually almost nobody on the wrath talks about F1. But look at this. This morning its the biggest topic on here. The noise on twitter is huge. Top headline on most sports pages (and some front pages) around the world. First story in the news. Guaranteed huge viewing figures for the next race. More tv money. More sponsor interest. More sweet, sweet money for everyone.

Max as the pantomime villain (although it would appear some think they're as bad as each other - something I'm not qualified to have any view on) is making dollar happen. The bosses of the sport couldn't give a f**k about sporting integrity, right and wrong, better driver. All that matters is brand promotion. If Max drives Lewis into a wall and wins, and they make some bonkers decision that makes us all talk about F1 until next season, and we all start watching next season to see them go at each other again, that will be nothing short of a HUGE success.

Absolutely nothing else matters, it's just about dollar. And this is I believe true for every sporting body in the world, bar none.

If people reacted differently, so would the big cheeses. Suppose people stopped watching F1 in droves because they thought Max was ruining every race and there was no longer a "sport" left that was worth watching. Max would have been disqualified/banned seasons ago.

Posted By: Under soil heating, Dec 6, 09:17:52