Mosley: Drivers are key, not electronics

In his response to the two team bosses today (Tuesday), Mosley suggested that Formula 1's high level of technical advancement was not the reason for its position as the pinnacle of motorsport. He says the drivers are what makes F1 so popular, not its engineering supremacy.

Mosley wrote: "If you truly believe that the public want to see computer-controlled cars guided from the pits by anonymous engineers, please think again. If you don't believe me, hire two halls in any city anywhere in the world and put, for example, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya in one, with both of you plus your electronic experts and your technical chiefs in the other. Invite the public to both halls and see what happens.

"The FIA Formula 1 World Championship is primarily a drivers' championship and always has been. If you want an example of a championship which put technology ahead of drivers, look at the history of Group C. Despite the presence of very high-tech Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz racing cars, it drew smaller crowds than local touring car championships even in the UK and Germany. TV coverage was negligible for the same reason. The public are interested in drivers and sport, not electronics."