I have been following the Formula 1 shenanigans for the last few months (years) and it really reminds me of some businesses I’ve worked in. For those not close to the sport, Formula 1 is basically the pinnacle of motorsport. The world’s major car manufacturers compete to build the fastest cars in the world using the very latest technology. The world’s best drivers then race each other to produce an incredible spectacle (if you like that type of thing). However, there is another side to Formula 1, which is the business side; it is one of the world’s richest sports, generating billions of dollars of revenues each year with each team spending hundreds of millions pounds per year on building the ultimate racing car.
Over the last few years the owners of the commercial rights have been trying to take the sport in a slightly different direction by capping the team budgets and making it easier for new (less technically sophisticated) teams to join the series. The major motor manufacturers like Toyota, Renault, Ferrari etc are opposed to this and so they have now announced they are setting up a rival series. The commercial rights holders want more revenues and a bigger starting grid, the car manufacturers want to build and race the ultimate racing cars as part of a huge branding and marketing exercise.
I can’t help but side with the current Formula 1 teams. As a spectator I want to see the ultimate cars being pushed to their limits by the world’s best drivers. For me, it’s not about the size of the grid or the number of teams in the league, it’s about the quality. The current commercial rights holders don’t seem to get this and seem intent on doing everything they can to maximise revenues from TV rights regardless of how the customer (me) feels about it.
I’ve worked in companies like that. They have done the things that they thought were good for their business, or that they wanted to do, such as adding new features that were interesting to develop or withdrawing a mature product from sale in favour of a newer version, but they didn’t ask the customer what THEY wanted. I am a firm believer that with only a few exceptions, doing what the customer wants is the best thing a business can do, regardless of what anyone else inside or outside the company may think. In an era when running an online survey or a forum is cheap and easy, there really is no excuse for not talking to every customer and getting their feedback. In fact, I’d say it is now essential for business survival, as the Formula 1 commercial rights holders may be about to find out!
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