Friday On My Mind.

Williams, F1, AGP. (C)

    Midday is fast approaching. Better make your way to your favourite vantage point before the crowd stake a claim for your preferred real estate. Camera's charged and at the ready. The venue is Albert Park, Melbourne and once again Australia is the first race of a new Formula One campaign. Can't wait to get our first glimpse of the latest spec F1 cars. Anticipation crescendos as you listen for the sound of the cars leaving pit lane. 12 midday passes and then....nothing! 
    The recent edition of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw virtually all of first Friday practice lost after George Russell's Williams dislodged a manhole cover. The cover responded in kind by ripping the Williams floor to pieces only to fall millimetres short of George Russell himself. This prompted officials to red flag the session and ensure circuit safety. F1 being F1 though, the teams were able to adapt to reduced track time, complete their programmes and find a desirable setup for their cars. Later various team principals were quizzed as to how much of a disadvantage it was to miss Free Practice 1. The consensus was that it was no big deal. Maybe they didn't want to alert their rivals of any perceived shortfalls. They also stated that in the interest of reducing the physical demands required of their race teams, even entertained the idea of scraping Friday practice permanently. There's no doubt the F1 schedule is gruelling for the teams, but is compartmentalising a race weekend into two days good for F1? Have they forgotten something? By that we mean, the subjective tone of their answers reeks of a perspective issue. What about the fans?
    Many fans base their holidays around attending a Formula One Grand Prix. They spend their hard earned to travel nationally or even internationally just to be part of the spectacle. The fans want to see "The Pinnacle Of Motorsport" on track. At Melbourne, we've chatted to Germans who've come to see Michael Schumacher race, Colombians to see Juan Pablo Montoya race, Finns to see Kimi Raikkonen race. Would a punter from the Czech Republic be inclined to travel to the Red Bull Ring in Austria, a Californian to Texas for the US GP, or an Australian to the UK for the British GP at iconic Silverstone if the cars are only on track for 2 days? You get the picture? Not to mention television. F1 is heading globally down the Pay TV route. Would F1 still be tempting enough to pay for TV for the average punter?
    Let's hope there's more on track on Friday than just the support categories. Cheers.
    

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