Button and Lauda fear that unpredictability will bore the fans

After the hegemonic records of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull in 2011, the 2012 season is characterized by evident unpredictability, with Formula One even breaking the record for the most consecutive different winners at the start of a season, thanks to Mark Webber’s recent victory at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The audiences of TF1 are doing well indeed. After gathering 3.4 million viewers during the Spanish Grand Prix (an increase of 400,000 viewers compared to 2011), Formula One attracted 3.2 million French viewers in front of their television screens for the Monaco event.

However, voices have been rising for a few weeks, concerned that the pinnacle of motorsports is becoming too unpredictable. It’s clear that the 2012 season defies all predictions so far, as Pastor Maldonado won the first Grand Prix of his career, giving the Williams team its first victory since 2004, while Lewis Hamilton still hasn’t secured a win. The World Championship lead is currently held by Fernando Alonso, whom no one expected to be in such a position before Melbourne, given how poorly the F2012 seemed to perform. And yet, the Spaniard holds a three-point lead over the Red Bull driver duo and a thirteen-point lead over Lewis Hamilton: « Fernando leads because he has been more consistent than anyone else. Whether he’s in the best car or not, no one will ever know, but the consistency is there. He’s obviously doing a great job, the car is working well, while there aren’t many more drivers who have been as consistent, » observes Jenson Button looking at the standings.

But the McLaren driver fears that the public may eventually grow weary if unpredictability becomes a constant in the discipline: “Clearly, everyone is excited to see so many different winners, which was great for the fans and for the sport at the beginning. But there will come a time when the fans will say, ‘So, anyone can win a Grand Prix! Anyone can lose a Grand Prix just like that!'” the Briton declares, snapping his fingers, in an interview with Sportinglife.com. And the 2009 world champion adds: “I think they find it a bit strange now.”

Niki Lauda shares the same concerns as the McLaren driver: “It was very interesting at the beginning, we were all surprised, but if it continues… then we will lose spectators and also interest because most of the audience wants to see the world champions win,” confides the triple world champion to the agency Reuters, undoubtedly having in mind Pastor Maldonado’s recent victory at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Austrian believes that Formula One needs a bit of order in the chaos: “We need two victories with known winners and then the crazy stuff can resume.”

However, for Martin Whitmarsh, Formula One should not complain: « It is an exciting sport at the moment. A few years ago, people talked about processions and the fact was that the races were so predictable. Well, we certainly do not have a predictable season. I think an unpredictable race and season is what the fans are asking for. […] If some say today that this randomness is off-putting, then it is 180° from what people felt a few years ago. I think people prefer it to be less predictable. We want to go into each event without knowing who will win. We want to go through the weekend without being sure of what will happen in each session. So far, each of the races this season has been exciting, » judges the director of the McLaren team.

In any case, within the English team, Jenson Button hopes that some logic will emerge after the next races and that the men from Woking will be able to understand which teams and drivers will need to be beaten by the end of the season.