Hamilton: ‘If Ferrari wanted me, they’d approach me’

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari hasn’t shown any interest in luring him away from Mercedes.

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Comment of the day

Is Ferrari’s potential still being underestimated?

I just don’t understand how some are still shocked when Vettel gets close to pole. He’ll probably have the pace to win tomorrow too (as we’ve seen several times this year the Ferrari in race trim is quick).

Looking at Bottas and Raikkonen they both put in 1:33.5s so Vettel being 0.2 from Hamilton isn’t really shocking. The times show the cars are close,as they have done all season. It must be the previous Mercedes domination that’s warped people’s minds.
Ben

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Keith Collantine
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42 comments on “Hamilton: ‘If Ferrari wanted me, they’d approach me’”

  1. Live stream offerings will only be made available in markets where it does not clash with pre-exiting television deals that have guaranteed exclusivity.

    I thought that might come up in the article somewhere, dang.

    The new owners surely must be well aware that this lengthy deal with sky will result in UK F1 viewing figures dropping like a rock from a cliff.

    I’d never pay for sky even if I could afford to. I like F1 because it’s available and easy for me to watch. If that changes I will stop watching, and so will a majority of viewers. They can also kiss goodbye to the prospect of getting new fans. I missed a number of races this year and I expect that will increase in the future.

    I’m very disappointed that the new owners aren’t making any attempt at getting out of the deal. I can’t imagine that Ecclestone, supposedly one of the greatest negotiators of this age, wouldn’t have had a get out clause / price in there.

    Given the UK has always had one of the biggest F1 audiences, it’s also an insult to the fans who have made it what it is. I don’t want to sound like they owe us, but when a sport brands itself as entertainment, consideration is needed

    1. If that changes I will stop watching, and so will a majority of viewers.

      The consequence of shifting F1 behind the paywall isn’t just the loss of many viewers, there is one less topic for
      talkback radio, the loss of F1 race results from the sports news on the radio by lunch time, people talking during a race if you happen to be in a bar, the lack of recognition of F1 drivers when they come to your country for a holiday, the confused excitement when a person from your country gets to drive an F1 car for the first time in 40 years (because most people thought F1 doesn’t exist any more), the lack of interest in genuine (and fake) branded items, less interest in F1 driving games for entertainment systems like Xbox and Playstation, and the frequent confusion with other open wheel racing series’ like Indy car and F3.
      However, all those are small compared to the biggest consequence: the nagging feeling in the heart of a true F1 fan that somehow they are alone, the only one left who has any interest in watching a dying form of motor racing.

    2. @strontium The UK absolutely needs a free-to-air offering for F1, viewing figures will drop as F1 does not have the popularity of football.

      Personally, I find the Sky package and Sky F1 offering excellent and only use streaming services on handheld devices that mask the poor fidelity. I am also happy paying the BBC tax for the excellent website, radio and podcast offerings.

      No reason why a multi-tier offering for F1 cannot exist under Liberty’s ownership to ensure maximum penetration. The key driver for future growth is getting attractive and compelling content into the relevant channels and also FOTM channels to cover the full spectrum of modern viewing preferences.

      I am concerned about the impact on F1 viewing figures in the UK for the seasons when it becomes exclusive to Sky.

    3. I don’t know why, but has it suddenly just dawned on some commentors here that liberty bought F1 for what, $8 billion to run it as a charity, or better still, just our benefit. They paid for the sport we like, to make even more money, than Bernie and CVC did. They maybe less greedy than the last owners, but I doubt it. Change is coming, the only question is whether we will be wiling to pay to watch it, and how much. I liked F1 and still do, but could not afford the sky prices, so made alternative arrangements. F1 is not going to fall apart, but the viewing numbers will continue to fall. Putting anything behind a paywall will reduce your audience, unless the product has a compelling story to tell. The issue is how many more paying viewers will watch whatever package they come up with, for any streaming service, and will that make up financially what they loose with the contracts they have now. Free to air is dying, that boat sail a long time ago. It’s never coming back.

    4. @strontium I think you need to look from perspective from the rest of the world outside UK. My country doesn’t have F1 aired anymore, and even back then when they still aired, the director butchered the race with commercials without even considering what happened on the track. There’s a close battle? Commercials. Crucial pit times from the leaders? Commercials. And when it resumed (which could take almost 5 mins replaying the TV sponsor partners commercial multiple times to make your mind numb) they don’t even bother to give replays or put summary of what happened during the break. The commentators and “expert” they invited is laughably bad. Also here, on air TV still use 4:3 SD format. You can get Fox Sports on cable, which not many cable providers has HD yet and even if they have it’s behind optional package which means you need to pay extra. In summary, in other countries you also need to pay for something like Sky but getting a much lower quality product.

      I have to resorting to using illegal streams to watch F1 which frankly is not a good experience but still the best F1 watching experience that I had compared to watch it on TV. If Liberty finally have official streaming service and my connection is adequate enough, I would gladly pay for it. Also personally I prefer if they just using Sky broadcast anyway, since from my experience, no matter how bad you think Sky broadcasting team is, they still better than others.

      I think the streaming service is not and never intended to replace Sky or existing TV deals, but to cover every other countries that can’t (legally) get F1 which is a win-win solution for us and Liberty. I understand you might feel “cheated” but remember the streaming itself most likely won’t be free, could be expensive, and if they building their own infrastructure it’ll gonna have some issues too. In the end what you have is still most likely better than what we gonna get in foreseeable future.

      1. @strontium, @sonicslv, I think you both have some good points. I do think we shouldn’t forget that while the UK has better coverage than most, currently, it also has built one of the largest and most involved fanbases, something which it seems to be quickly losing already since the sky deal.

        That last sentence, @drycrust:

        However, all those are small compared to the biggest consequence: the nagging feeling in the heart of a true F1 fan that somehow they are alone, the only one left who has any interest in watching a dying form of motor racing.

        that’s indeed a killer. People in other countries can easily get that feeling concerning F1, and that’s part of why it doesn’t have a critical mass to get bigger, that community feeling that Germany got from Schumacher, and the UK built in the 60ties and 70ties.

        Living in the Netherlands we had good BBC coverage for years, and RTL NL with an enthusiastic Olav Mol that kept it alive. Earlier years (before my time) had Zandvoort of course, and later a relatively big interest in the south, where I studied, with memories of Jos Verstappen, who built a big following, kept lukewarm by Aalbers and Doornbos until Max Verstappen brought new success and interest, and the ‘orange’ football-fan spirit to keep it alive. Ziggo (part of the Liberty Media empire) regularly makes it available free for its cable customers (about half of NL, I think), to lure people in, so I was quite happy with the coverage there.

        But now I live in Germany – country of Schumacher, the current world champion’s motherland, country of the four times champion fighting to loose it this year in Vettel, of Le Mans winner Hulkenberg in a works Renault, and young Wehrlein.

        And yet, yesterday I found RTL Germany happy to delay qualifying by 15 minutes to finish a dating show ‘take me out’ first. I don’t know if that’s a live show, but it a) seems not, and b) is also available for online viewing. I switched off (well, no, I switched to my computer for a Channel 4 stream to be honest), because I don’t need to see qualifying delayed in this world.

        It says something about how little priority F1 has here, doesn’t it? And it really made me feel neglected and alone with F1. Fans largely came and went with Schumacher, not having built a broader following (partly due to RTL Germany focusing so much exclusively on him perhaps? Maybe a lesson for Sky). And that’s where the UK might be headed.

      2. Ecclestones primary objective was to make money for the shareholders, even with that disgraceful deal that puts F1 behind a Murdoch paywall, the shareholders profits rose. The many, many negative consequences for the sport and the fans aside, if Liberty want to see a return in their investment, they will continue with the paywall in the UK.

        It is a travesty yes but it is also pure capitalism which is deemed acceptable by most people so there is little that can be done about it, hence Liberty saying nothing about the issue.

        Perhaps they will introduce some sort of future policy to open it up again but these are Americans remember, they are not used to good quality TV for free.

        Liberty have stated that they wish to expand and exploit current low interest countries which is where the growth potential is. Europe is already considered a low growth area. Expect to see the focus on the US and other areas with current low interest before anything positive happens in europe.

        1. @strontium, I completely agree with this. From a UK perspective it seems very damaging that nothing can be done to ensure there is some method of accessing F1 on free to air tv after it goes behind the Sky pay wall. The U.K. must be one of F1s largest markets, if not the largest in terms of regular fans but these numbers will surely dwindle if there is no free to air tv access. How many people over the years have discovered F1 by accessing it on tv without necessarily seeking it out deliberately. I mean because it just happened to be on tv or before/after another programme? Of course to attract younger audiences access to F1 via non-tv formats is now equally as important.

          I am surprised that Liberty are not at least in some form, tackling this issue in the UK as it is one which has been raised quite regularly. However, quite possibly their main concern is to grow audiences in the U.S. and in developing F1 markets e.g. the far east, so they are not too worried about losing numbers in the U.K. Really disappointing if this is the case.

          Does anyone know at this stage if there will even be a highlights package available on one of the free to air channels?

  2. To be honest, F1 is the only reason I have Foxtel in my bedroom. Anything else I can get on Netflix.

    1. @stigsemperfi Amen.

      Although I did reactivate my drama pack for GoT season!

  3. It will be interesting to see what kind of direct streaming package might be offered in the US for F1 in 2018. If the cost reasonable, I will consider it.

    The two main reasons for cable tv still being in my home is for F1 coverage (such as it is here) and Turner Classic Movies. Bundled with my internet service, it is not exactly cheap.

    Plus, even being an authorized cable customer the NBCSN app on my phone only works for F1 about 10% of the time. NBC blames ATT/U-verse and vice-versa. Fortunately I’m able to watch on my TV most of the time or DVR when needed, but that’s not the point. I’m a paying customer, it should just work.

    A quality in-house direct solution would be welcome, again depending on cost. It needs to be affordable if Liberty truly wish to expand their audience. If it is priced for elites, then that’s all who will have it meaning expansion will be nearly impossible.

    Should also be interesting to see what kind of broadcast team they will use for ESPN and their streaming service in the US which would likely be the same either way. I would have no objection to the SKY broadcast team, one rumor, but there is talk of wanting to cater to individual countries/regions with their feeds. Articles mention Bratches has an issue with kilometers being referenced in the US and that was part of the reason for the plan of having catered content depending on region. KPH, MPH, either or doesn’t bother me, but can understand some in the states might find it unfamiliar, especially when trying to grow an audience.

    So, if reasonable direct I may completely cut my cable. If not, it will be ESPN. At least they will show all F1 weekend practices, qualifying and races. That’s a start.

    1. @bullmello in my country I got both free to air tv and free live streaming. That’s really nice and I often watch the qualifications on the live stream but I still prefer the tv for the race as there is no internet glitches. What worse than a glitch at a crucial moment? And the problem will be bigger with a global streaming service. The amount of simultaneous connections just before a race will be a headache. Hope they’ll nail it! Fortunately Tata communications is a solid partner.

      As for the packages options for example I’d be willing to pay for onboards on a second screen while keeping local commentary as the main source. I hope they will develop various interesting offers. They also talked about legacy archive access, something Bernie never considered. Potentially quite exciting!

  4. I knew we needed Ecclestone out of the picture for official online streaming to finally happen. Welcome to 2017 guys!

    I’ll be extremely happy to pay a fair amount (in the $130-$180/year range) for a good high quality streaming service, which will spare me the hassle of finding illegal streaming every race weekend (sorry for the honesty but I’m a huge F1 fan and can’t afford $50/month for pathetic foxtel).

    1. YouTube TV works pretty well.

  5. It’s a huge missed opportunity not getting in bed with one of the major streaming players.

    F1 NEEDS exposure. Sure an in-house streaming service like WRC will make some bank off the die-hard fans… But how big exactly is that fan base? A few million? At any reasonable price that will be a drop in the ocean in terms of revenue.

    I understand that F1 will probably want to push their own services like multiple camera angles and on boards, integrated telemetry probably as well. But if they don’t get the basic product out to the masses in a way that anyone can watch, be it free to air or a streaming service, the numbers will just continue to dwindle and the product will fail… Without a doubt.

    1. If they do not do something to make Sky in the UK open it up more to non subscribing customers then they are handing the revenue money to pirate streaming sites.

      There is no option where i live to pay for a huge cable installation and a prohibitively expensive TV package in a language that I do not understand or want to understand and sign a contract for a minimum of 2 years.

      This, in order to watch F1 live is not acceptable so like many others, I watch live streams over the internet. I would much prefer to pay a reasonable fee and get a high quality stream with high quality commentary in english. Sky could make a fortune if they worked with Liberty to provide their channel on youtube for a fee, worldwide but they are hellbent on pure and total domination by exclusivity.

  6. If they do streaming in house im afraid it will be lower quality than if they just did a contract with youtube… their website has always had buffering issues in my region and would be unwatchable for a race.

  7. The COTD is missing one very crucial piece of information. Bottas did not improve on his final lap (like Hamilton). Seb found 5 tenths. So, let’s put 2.5 of those down to Seb’s lack of rhythm in his first Q3 lap. The rest 2.5 then go to track evolution.

    If Bottas and Lewis had found these 2.5 tenths, Vettel may have been third and Lewis waaaay ahead of everyone. They didn’t (may be because of driver errors).

    Mercedes is certainly a phenomenal car on 1-lap pace, easily the fastest car on the 2017 grid with that respect.

    1. That much track evolution after 10 cars doing a single lap? More likely Vettel made a small error on his first lap and Hamilton and Bottas did on their second laps… or else a slight change in temperature affected tyres differently for each car. The Ferrari is fast.

      1. Exactly. It was somewhere in sector 2.

        Why do people continue with these ‘if’ arguments? They sound like my aunt with balls.

        1. Indeed @Egonovi, @john-h, in his first attempt, Vettel lost .6s in sector 2 to compared to Hamilton, I doubt he had that much more df/drag, so i guess he had an unseen error (maybe lost a lot in t12 like Kimi said he did?).

      2. Seb didn’t say he made any errors, so that theory can be thrown out the window.

        1. Seb didn’t say he made any errors,

          therefore Seb could not possibly make any errors

          Say that again?

  8. F1 viewing is frustrating especially in North America. Watch it on TSN in Canada the person controlling the the feed has no sense of timing, they always see to go to a break during the most tense periods. A quick example replays of the race starts and race restarts. Even though they do picture in picture it is worst. Then look at the NBC in US one the commentary can be nauseating, and they break for commercials every minute. Yes i know the stations need the income, but I would be first in line to pay for a live stream subscription for F1.com. Also it was probably lessen the burden on the pocket for cable tv.

    1. Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
      22nd October 2017, 7:10

      @yulocke – I don’t think the commentary in the US is that bad. Yea, it seems they get lost pretty often, but the three still have some chemistry. I think if ESPN does end up with their own broadcast and announcers, it’s going to be bad. I don’t watch NASCAR, but the little I did see of ESPN’s NASCAR broadcasts, when they did carry it, were outright atrocious. Granted it’s a little different since ESPN had to do all the production for NASCAR from cameras all the way down to commentary and announcing. With F1, it’s strictly pulled from the world feed, so at least the camera angles, cuts, etc won’t be horrible. However, any pre-race or post-race show is likely going to suck. ESPN has a knack for sensationalizing nonsensical stuff.

      Ultimately, at the end of the day, what I’m most upset with is the potential to lose Will Buxton. Sure he asks some tabloidesque questions every now and then, but he’s been the gem for Speed and NBC for a while now. His grid-walks are the only real reason I tune in prior to the formation lap. Since Buxton has been leverage a fair bit by Liberty/F1 and done a number of post-qually interviews, I am almost hoping that if F1 does do an in-house live stream broadcast, they nab Buxton to fill a role in some way, assuming ESPN doesn’t want him.

    2. @yulocke While I do agree that sometimes the commercial break on TSN is badly timed, I wonder if that is just done by a computer that is simply spacing out the ads and perhaps nobody is actually physically placing them when appropriate. Not sure, but either way that is about the only negative as far as I’m concerned because otherwise, with the Sky feed, we have the best and most complete coverage that Canada has ever enjoyed.

      1. Michael Brown (@)
        22nd October 2017, 15:14

        @robbie I agree on it being the best coverage Canada has ever had, even if I don’t like Sky’s commentators. On the picture in picture ads, I think there is still a person operating those because during safety car periods TSN chooses to show ads once or twice, which saves an ad period later on in the race. It’s a good thing to do since safety car periods are the time of the race where you can take a break, but you do miss team radio and commentary on the incident that occurred that caused the safety car in the first place.

    3. I agree that TSN is the best coverage we’ve ever had in Canada and now they’re even adding the practices, everything live on the Sky feed. The timing of their adverts is horrendous, but if you can watch TSN with a different low-res computer feed on the side to avoid advertizing gaps, it gives pretty good coverage.

      However, please remember that ESPN own 20% of TSN and I’m afraid that we’ll start getting whatever ESPN offer in the U.S. Maybe I’m paranoid, but you heard it here first ;={

      As to cost, I had to have satellite TV installed at home, but this gives me traveling coverage on my laptop which has a very good 17.3″ screen. OK, it’s $80 a month, just for F1 — and I will kick up a rumpus if they put TSN/ESPN on a pay-to-view basis. The pirate feeds are getting better, and will continue to do so. Liberty should bear this in mind. And lastly, I miss “live timing” (no app available on the web, and I don’t have a cell/smart phone.)

  9. F1 used to be free to air and they (F1) made money. Greed set in and they decided that they could squeeze the gullible into paying. When this happens you always get idiots raving how good the new paid service is and it is a pleasure to pay for the thing that was once free. Its the same muppets that buy bottled water at 1000% mark up, or buy ‘branded’ petrol. It tastes better, performs better even though it comes from the same tap. This is the way of the world. It will be fixed when the brand dies or something else comes along and takes the market share. Rinse and repeat. There is a lot of money to be made from fools.

    1. I think you kinda misunderstood how broadcasting license works. FOM or other similar body in other sports either have a price or auctioning the rights to broadcast their sport. The broadcasters in each country or region then will buy or bid for it. FOM involvement stops there. Whether the broadcasters will broadcast for free or behind pay wall, its all up to them. So if you don’t get free to air version, then it just not feasible to compete with the behind pay wall option. Asking them to pick the lower profit model is just asking them to die sooner.

      That being said, I agree F1 need more exposure but making it free to air isn’t the only and viable solution. Right now they finally embraced YouTube and put many interesting videos which I think a very good move. The F1 eSports program I think more relevant to kids today instead of free-to-air TV. I think a good analogy is if you have a declining restaurant, you’d want to give some sample bites or putting ads instead of giving your food for free.

  10. Tommy Scragend
    22nd October 2017, 9:07

    Loved one of the comments on Derek Daly’s tweet.

    “Today, Derek Daly learns the concept of time zones.”

    1. Norman the Doorman
      22nd October 2017, 17:22

      Didn’t know he was an ex-flat-earther.

  11. “The genesis of that was my frustration at watching grands prix in the USA where I had to watch in kilometres per hour,” he said. “That is not how we live here.

    It is unfortunate that the US has not caught up to the rest of the world, in terms of being a team player, with respect to measurements of Metric persuasion.

  12. Nobody picked up on the headline, but it’s quite an interesting interview with Hamilton, though being from the Sun, maybe it shouldn’t be read without some scepticism. (I mean, the paper doesn’t really qualify as ‘journalism,’ more like some half-true comic magazine status). Anyhow the comments about Ferrari add some confirmation to the idea that Hamilton was somewhat put out by Vettel’s big contract renewal. Soon after he won at Monza and made a point of emphasizing the superiority of Mercedes power. So too in this interview. ‘Don’t want to even ask me about signing? I look forward to making you’re life difficult over the next few years!’ I’m not sure quite what to make of it in either direction. A sense that Ferrari should have approached Hamilton, undoubtedly one of the best F1 drivers, if not the best currently around. Why not? (It’s interesting the interview also touches into Vettel’s disrespect for him at Baku and the racism he suffered at school. Is there an undercurrent to Ferrari’s lack of interest that goes beyond racing?) And also, of course, the clear indication that Hamilton would have considered a move. Pointing to the idea he’s like to win a championship at a third team – which, I think, would definitely cement his status in F1 history. And being a Ferrari winner, all the more so.

    1. “undoubtedly one of the best F1 drivers, if not the best currently around. Why not?”

      They were after Verstappen who I’m sure would be 0.5 seconds faster than Lewis if roles were reversed.
      Lewis has had an easy season. There’s nothing to suggest he would be quicker in the Ferrari than Vettel.

      As for your suggestion there could be a racist element. This comes purely from your online experiences doesn’t it. Lewis’ skin colour was always a positive for him in the media. Apart from the stupid Spanish fans when his father upset Alonso supporters there isn’t any racism from the fans. This is a multicultural sport.

      1. This is a multicultural sport.

        Points for humour anyhow.

        Verstappen who I’m sure would be 0.5 seconds faster than Lewis

        Ditto.

        1. @david-br
          +2 Clearly a baby boy Max-fan from the netherlands.

  13. Michael Brown (@)
    22nd October 2017, 15:19

    Sport now finds itself on the front line in the battle for America’s soul.

    The booing from NFL fans should be an indicator that fans don’t want politics in sports.

    I do find it funny that Donald Trump is causing people to kneel for him.

  14. @bullmello in my country I got both free to air tv and free live streaming. I often watch the qualifications on the live stream but I still prefer the tv for the race as there is no internet glitches. What worse than a glitch at a crucial moment? And the problem will be bigger with a global streaming service. The amount of simultaneous connections just before a race will be a headache. Hope they’ll nail it, and Tata communications is a solid partner.

    As for the packages options for example I’d be willing to pay for onboards on a second screen while keeping local commentary as the main source. I hope they will develop various interesting offers. They also talked about legacy archive access, something Bernie never considered. Potentially quite exciting!

  15. Norman the Doorman
    22nd October 2017, 17:25

    UK users: Sky isn’t the only vendor which sells access to Sky F1. Shop around, you might get it a lot cheaper than you expect.

    The coverage is so much better than it ever was on any of the terrestrial channels too. Right now I’m watching Ted interviewing reporters from German TV and the catering staff in the pre-race show. You get what you pay for.

  16. I watch F1 on C4 and have Now TV for the races they don’t cover.

    This costs me £6.99 a day to watch Sky F1, so over the season approx £70 which I consider good value.

    Of course, Now TV IS Sky!

    The box is around £25 for the basic one.

    I had Sky for a few years but it was costing me £80 a month so time to get rid.

  17. I use an app on my Android phone it’s called mobdro, you can watch all the sports channels for free including f1 and all sky sports channels but
    You can’t get that app from App Store you have to go to google website and follow the link I hoe that helps who don’t want to pay £36 a month for sky.

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