Full Throttle

I’m SHOCKED… on second thought… I’m shocked ratings only dropped by 45%. Television viewing analyst ‘Initiative Futures’ has recorded a decline in formula one figures over the last year.

A report showed that 800 million people, combined, tuned in to the nineteen grands prix in 2005 - that’s a tad over 42 million per race. But a year ago, in 2004, the same report showed that 43 million watched each grand prix.

There were 18 races in ‘04, so the overall count is up this year.

There are probably several reasons for the decline; Michael Schumacher and Ferrari’s lack of speed, for one, accounted for dips in television viewing in the huge German and Italian markets.

Taking a chunk out of the figures, however, was the ill-fated and disastrous United States Grand Prix (derisively called The FIAsco around the Full Throttle office.), at which only six cars started the race following Michelin’s order for its teams to pull out.

‘Initiative Futures’ found that as much as 45 per cent of the pre-Indy TV audience in America did not watch any of the subsequent ten grands prix.

Formula One, Auto Racing, Sports