I agree with the writer…no comparison to football…the passion doesn’t even come close.

And you have to wonder what all these Formula 1 lovers are doing on this site? Yes, I’ve followed the sport too and many of us are just sports addicts but I’m very disillusined by Formula 1 in recent years.

And anyway, it’s a light hearted topic..so take it as such!

1) Safety – I think you should consider flipping that argument on its head – the work that Formula One has done to stop crashes at 150mph+ being fatal is nothing short of incredible. The improvements in design can often find their way into road cars, which are in turn safer. As well as this, I find the fact that the drivers are putting their lives on the line incredibly courageous.

2) Politics – It’s been said – football is FULL of this, and the resulting media coverage far more intense.

3) The future – Yes, there was the threat of breakaway, but it’s been averted. Frankly, it all seemed to posturing anyway, much like Perez’s talk of a European Superleague this summer. And as you say, potential financial meltdown threatens both sports. I would argue that F1 has begun to take steps to address this, but a league such as the Premiership has not.

4) Meritocracy is a big call. The examples of Maradona belong in a previous generation, and the gifted drivers prove their worth by outscoring their teammates and getting seats in better cars. As has been pointed out, Alonso began at Minardi, Schumacher at Jordan, Massa at Sauber. The cream rises to the top, even if some have to spend time scoring small victories at the back.

5) Nobody likes team orders (race fixing is too strong a term to sit side by side match fixing – there is a legitimate team reason to secure a driver’s individual success, it’s just poor form).

I think the main reason for football being more exciting is the two you missed:

6) It’s a procession – Limited overtaking, TV does not capture the speed of the cars very well. And after that, there’s the procession of the season – if one car is far and away better (Ferrari in the early part of the decade) the title race can be over in August.

7) Support – do you support a driver or a team? Can you be as partisan as you would for a football team? Can you follow your driver/team live all over the world? Can you hear the screaming fans over the racecars? Football is all about these inexplicable personal attachments, and F1 doesn’t tend to create that.

You need to look at Formula 1 in a whole different light, people watch F1 for the cars not just the stars. It would be like watching football to see how well the latest football boot was doing and whether the new upgrades on the studs helped the player. (Though I think no amount of upgrades to the studs on a football boot could keep C.Ronaldo on his feet.)

Anyway here’s my response to each point:

1. Safety – Huh?!

2. Politics – Every day is filled with the “politics” of Football and not just the obvious stuff David Beckham leaving Galaxy, Newcastle United’s financial woes, signing players younger than 18 by Man U. All this is politics!

3. The Future – Anyone who knows anything about F1 would know that this is all for show and that it will most likely be here for many years to come. Talking about the future, does anyone remember the whole formation of the Premier League? I seem to remember that was a similar event.

4. Meritocracy – Buh? Really? Lewis Hamilton won the last race in a car that is definitely not one of the best in the field.

5. Team Orders – Yeah that’s true I won’t defend this one. Though no one is going to be doing this again. You can’t really compare this one, you’d need two Man Utds, two Arsenals in the league to compare this one.

Also anyone talking about money in F1 and money in Football should take a big step back and laugh at the state of both sports. That or break down into tears.

In the words of Charlton Heston from Planet of the Apes, ” YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT UP! OH, DAMN YOU! GODDAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!”

Thanks for listening.

That is a fair point, but also one that- to me at least- veers well away from the sporting aspect of the sport, which is the most interesting part for me.