The eternal dilemma of Formula 1 was splashed across the letters page of Autosport on 2 April 1998 – is it a sport, or is it entertainment?
Sean Hannam was in the former camp: “I am bored of hearing about F1’s ‘shortcomings’ as a mass-media show. It is criticised for the lack of close racing and overtaking at the front, and for the effect of team orders on the entertainment value…It does not need to popularise itself, to become a low-grade tabloid media-led soap sensation.” What Mr. Hannam would have to say about ‘Drive To Survive’ in that case, I shudder to think.
From the less purist wing was James Truman. “What a sorry affair. Even the excitable Murray Walker could not inject any passion into last Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix. My feelings went from boredom to frustration to despair as I watched the so-called race grind through to its predictable conclusion of a McLaren one-two…It’s getting very tedious.”
You can find more of their arguments here – as well as Autosport’s race report, so that you can judge for yourselves.
