F1 is back—and CART should be at its side - Pace Lap - Formula One - Championship Auto Racing Teams

Auto Racing Digest, June-July, 2003 by Scott Plagenhoef

THE PODIUM AT THE 2003 Australian Grand Prix had an unfamiliar look. For the first time since 1999, neither Michael Schumacher nor any other Ferrari driver grabbed one of the race's top three spots. A series of rule changes by the FIA intended to create a more level playing field and curb Ferrari's dominance seems to have worked. Even if Ferrari winds up with the Constructors Championship--and most likely it still will--F1 fans were treated to an actual race, one in which driver error and skill determined the outcome more than technology.

So it appears that after a couple of years of sterile Ferrari dominance, the world's biggest series is back. Competitive racing should rekindle dwindling interest. Undoubtedly this is a good thing for the majority of its teams, its sponsors, and its fans. It could also be beneficial for CART.

Many of F1's most basic 2003 rule changes will also be made by CART. Each series is trying to make its engines last longer, move to common templates, and eliminate the influence of technology in order to return more control of its cars to the drivers. Outlawing traction control and other electronic driver aides should result in more passing and jockeying for position and, therefore, more excitement for the fans. The coincidence is a result of like-minded individuals finding similar solutions to economic woes rather than any sort of stealth move toward a uniform set of racing rules. Yet there is talk of the two series forming some sort of bond--something that would be a great benefit to the American open-wheelers.

If F1 is returned to its former glory, it would make CART forming a relationship with the series that much more attractive. CART--despite its U.S. base and the newly formed American Spirit team (see page 42)--is struggling to find a spot on network television, to recruit U.S. drivers, and to prevent fan interest from being monopolized by stock car racing and the IRL. Plus, the series already has an international feel: It has a Brit as a CEO, a roster of drivers from around the world, and--like F1--it runs on a variety of tracks.

CART needs a financial boost and long-term stability, and it could gain both from creating a working relationship directly with F1 or with its teams and sponsors. Even if it becomes a feeder series, CART would gain financially if F1 had a stake in its well-being--and it would gain some of the world's most popular series' fans as well. Despite geographical limitations, creating an international presence is now easier than ever thanks to satellite television and the Internet. Not only could CART entrench itself in overseas markets--in some of which it already competes--but a better crop of drivers and more exciting racing would only improve its American profile.

As Formula One--eyeing moves into the Middle East, Russia, and the Far East--plants its flag in all corners of the globe, CART could do at lot worse than attach its banner to that same post.