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Fans flee F1 events in droves

Germany's Michael Schumacher of the Ferrari team steers into a curve yesterday, during a practice session ahead of Formula One's Belgium Grand Prix, scheduled for today. PHOTO: AP

Where have all the crowds gone?

The Formula One championship is closing in on its most thrilling finish in years, yet the Italian and Belgian races have far too many seats to spare. And the teams know they have to do something about it.

"We have spectators walk away from television. In the meantime, we have less spectators in the grandstands," Renault team leader Flavio Briatore said after his championship leader Fernando Alonso spent exactly one lap on the circuit all day to the disappointment of a rained-out crowd.

Over the past six years, when Ferrari and Michael Schumacher dominated the circuit, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps were hopping, with crowds reaching and exceeding six-figure levels.

In Belgium, talk is already rife for authorities to bridge a huge deficit for a second year running as organizers are struggling to scale the 50,000-mark, far below the break-even point. Next week, once all the data is collected, local authorities will assess how and if to further subsidize the Grand Prix.

"At the end of the day, we need to communicate with the customer."

Norbert Haug, director of McLaren-Mercedes

A local paper had a cartoon Friday showing a government official offering fat checks to any fan wanting to show up for the race today.

"Francorchamps has a future, but only at a reasonable cost," Jean-Claude Marcourt, the regional economics minister, told Friday's edition of Le Soir. Lack of government support could be the death knell for the race at a scenic circuit widely recognized as the best in the world.

The reasons for the lack of interest over the past two weeks include skyrocketing prices, fewer laps by the top racers during the practice and qualifying sessions and a lack of excitement during the races where overtaking, the essence of spectator appeal, becomes increasingly rare.

Briatore misses the rough and tumble of the GP2 races, the feeder circuit for Formula One, where technology is not all-dominant.

"I see people enthusiastic for GP2," he said. "I want to see Formula One more human -- a better show for our public."

Director Norbert Haug of McLaren-Mercedes agrees change is necessary.

"At the end of the day, we need to communicate with the customer. Of course they like to see overtaking and we should investigate how to encourage it," he said.

It indicates the problems of the sport go beyond the debacle of Indianapolis, when a Michelin tire problem reduced the race to a mockery with six drivers, earning the scorn of tens of thousands at the oval.

Price is another issue.

The cheapest day-ticket for Sunday's race without access to an actual stand was 150 euros (US$185) and even some tickets at 365 euros (US$450) did not guarantee a roof in Belgium's notoriously wet climate.

Local organizers complain that the rule changes limit the time the stars are actually seen on the track, since being thrifty on engine use has become a premium and qualifying is limited to just one fast lap. Even on race day, the morning warmup has been canceled.

On Friday, championship leader Fernando Alonso failed to come out during the first practice session to protect his engine and came out for one perfunctory lap in the rain during the afternoon. Most top drivers limited themselves to just a handful of laps.

In the afternoon, thousands of fans stood in muddy banks, unprotected as the rain kept coming down hard. Camping sites stood half empty while they would have been filled with huge German crowds otherwise. Michelin-rated restaurants close to the track still had reservations open.

The drivers do not necessarily share the gloom, and compared to Italy and Belgium's decline, Alonso points to success in Spain.

"In Spain, three years ago, there was no coverage for the races. Now we have 7 million people watching the race and Barcelona is completely full," said Alonso, who could become the youngest champion at 24 this weekend.

Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen went head to head for the first time yesterday during practice sessions for today's Belgian Grand Prix and the Finn showed he was ready to thwart the Spaniard's quest to become Formula One's youngest champion this weekend.

Under a weak sun on a drying track, Raikkonen was more than a second faster on perhaps the toughest of F1 circuits, confirming predictions by Alonso that his Renault was no match for the McLaren when it came to sheer speed.

Even if Raikkonen wins today, Alonso is counting on reliability to close further in on his first world title. Alonso leads Raikkonen 103-76 in the driver standings and needs to earn four points more than the Finn to be crowned champion Sunday. The winner takes ten points.

Raikkonen, on the other hand, needs a big victory over Alonso to keep a realistic chance of winning the championship. Alonso, just 24, can clinch the title with three races to go if he wins and Raikkonen does not make the podium.

Even after Alonso took the early initiative in the 45-minute session early Saturday, Raikkonen hit back with two blistering laps just ahead of the checkered flag.

Raikkonen lapped the 6.976km circuit in 1 minute, 48.125 seconds, beating his McLaren teammate Juan Pablo Montoya by .391 seconds.

Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella was third, .758 behind, while his teammate Alonso trailed by 1.161 seconds. Michael Schumacher, with six victories making him the most successful driver at Spa, finished fifth, trailing by 1.395 and confirming the continued problems for the Ferrari stable.

A final practice session is scheduled ahead of qualifying for the grid yesterday afternoon.

On Friday, torrential rains waterlogged the circuit and had made racing impossible. Alonso only came out for one slow exploration lap while Raikkonen used a brief dry spell to clock the fastest practice time.

Many teams, however, used their engines sparingly to keep them in optimum condition for today's race, when more rain is expected over the hills and valleys of Belgium's eastern Ardennes.

Rain marks the Belgian GP almost by tradition but Friday's downpour was so intense that some drivers feared much of today's race might be spent behind the slow safety car.

In testing, Alonso has already brilliantly proved how to deal with the rain, but in racing itself, he has had little experience in his young career.

Alonso has said he is not counting on clinching the championship at Spa since Raikkonen's McLaren should be faster on Formula One's longest track -- a favorite among drivers. Races in Brazil, Japan and China are still to come. Schumacher is a distant third and already eliminated from title contention.
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