It’s the collaboration that no one on earth asked for or wanted. But despite this talks are underway between F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta to potentially run an F1 and MotoGP race in Madrid on the same weekend and same circuit.
Thankfully this idea is still in it’s infancy and probably would not be possible for several years yet. But is it a good idea? Let’s find out:
Yes it is!
Wider audience
Many, if not all, F1 fans have no real concept of what an exciting race is. To these poor souls a race where a driver overtakes another for fifth place through a well-timed pitstop would be instantly categorised as ‘a classic’ and talked about for years to come.
Seeing a MotoGP race, or better yet a Moto3 race, would utterly astonish them. And those that didn’t die through adrenaline-based heart failure may leave the grey and dreary world of F1 and start watching MotoGP instead.
And with Dorna largely hiding their TV rights behind a paywall it would give a welcome ratings boost.
Lewis Hamilton crashing
Although the chances are very slim given F1’s low-risk ‘keep within the budget cap’ strategies almost every MotoGP fan around the world would love to see Hamilton crash in real life.
Other stuff
There’s probably some other reasons but we’re struggling to think of them.
No it isn’t!
Extortionate ticket prices
Let’s face it the only reason to create such an absurd event is for money. F1 would want their cut. MotoGP would want their cut. And the broadcaster of the 17-hour race day would definitely want theirs.
Obviously sponsorship would cough up a lot of cash as various companies, many of whom claim they’re woke whilst still using Chinese sweatshops, would be keen to spread their vile brand to a wider audience.
But the poor race-day consumer would be the one most out of pocket. Tickets for such a farcical event would probably cost the same as a small French hamlet – albeit with a far worse selection of tasty cheeses.
Jos Verstappen
There’s every chance that Jos, who is the father of F1 world champion Max ‘face for radio’ Verstappen, is possibly the worst human currently on the planet. He’s the kind of guy that makes Josef Fritzl seem like a ‘loveable rogue’ with a ‘cheeky hide and seek sense of humour’.
Unless you’re a fan of having your skull broken it’s best to make sure you’re positioned at all times somewhere where Jos isn’t. However this wouldn’t be possible for the MotoGP clan should F1 also be at the same event and thus, if actual history has taught us anything, it would put MotoGP crew members and riders in serious danger of facial fractures should Senior Verstappen deem they’re on the track when he thinks his son should be.
Dutch fans
Until 2018 no one in Holland had ever heard of F1. That all changed once they came down from their high and discovered Max Verstappen was winning races. Overnight the nation turned into seasoned Formula One fans – and by ‘seasoned’ we mean ‘no knowledge of or liking for the sport and a mass hatred to all the other drivers especially if they beat Max’.
The ‘fans’ that turn up to F1 races only want to see their driver and have no interest in any other sports so would essentially be taking up space of fans who are far less obnoxious.
Worst still the hoards of Verstappen fans, most of whom were home-schooled by pigeons, have been reported on numerous occasions to have been sexist and aggressive towards nearby females – which is hard to believe given their collective IQ isn’t greater than their average shoe size.
Race scheduling
How would this work? Would Moto3 and Moto2 be dropped? Often those races are the highlight of the weekend given the non-stop excitement along with wondering what lap Sam Lowes will fall off on.
If they did keep the minor classes would they put the F1 event in between? If so who in their right mind would want to sit through a three hour carbon-fibre parade waiting for the MotoGP event?
Worse still would anyone be interested in the other event? Would F1 fans risk staying behind to watch something entertaining when they could ‘beat the rush’ and set off home to tell their wives about the modestly exciting thing that nearly happened on lap 87?
And would MotoGP fans really want to turn up hours early to witness an F1 race driven by drivers who are mostly terrible people?