It is logical that the public of Formula 1 protests for not being able to go to the stands of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the pre-season tests scheduled between February 23 and 25. Here we explain why the queen category has made that decision.

The first pre-season tests of this 2022 will be held behind closed doors, at least for the public. This decision by the FOM constitutes terrible news for the fans, especially for the Spanish, who will not be able to observe first-hand the technical transformation of the premier category or enjoy their idols on their return to the slopes after the memorable 2021 campaign.

The main reason for making this decision is economic. Bahrain will star in the second week of testing and wants this and only this week to have international television coverage and at the same time be open to fans. To achieve this, they conveniently pay Formula 1, which needs this income to maintain a growth strategy and, paradoxically, to be more open to the public.

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic does not justify the decision that the stands are closed in Barcelona and not in Sakhir, although it is worth remembering that in the Persian Gulf kingdom there have been 16 deaths from the virus since July 27 from 2021 until January 24 of this year, against the 9,704 registered in Spain in the same period.

But let's not divert our attention from the economic factor, the real key to understanding the recent decisions of Formula 1.

Formula 1 was acquired by Liberty Media for around 6.3 billion euros –7 billion dollars– in 2016. Since then, revenues have remained stable at around 2 billion dollars in 2017 and 2018, to increase slightly in 2019 to almost 2,200. Operating profit, however, was 'only' $17 million. Spectacular figures for an SME, but not for a global show. But if the situation was unstable until then, in 2020 it became much worse, with a drop in revenue of 817 million dollars compared to the previous year and, attention, an operating loss of 386 million dollars. In fact, the teams suffered a cut of no less than 30% in their income from television rights –remember that they share them with the FOM thanks to the Agreement of Concord–, and these are crucial for their survival.

It cannot be said that the 2020 data was a surprise for F1, given that a pandemic had hit the entire world, but it is more worrying than the revenue figures, at least in the third quarter of 2021 – it is the latest data from the that we have – have risen only 12% compared to the year of the 'disaster'. Only through another reduction in the distribution of rights with the teams has Formula 1 returned to the black numbers. But it is still not a pool of oil: in its headquarters there have been many changes in recent months. One of the most notorious, the departure of Ellie Norman, director of marketing and communication, called in 2017 to lead an authentic conversion plan for the Formula 1 business, one of the visible heads of the Liberty era.

Even with all of the above, it would be too hasty to say that Formula 1 is on the verge of bankruptcy, but it does imply that it is in a time of change – that the cost ceiling has been instituted now and not before, for example, is not casual – and in which you must take advantage of new sources of financing. False steps cannot be taken, and it must go beyond television rights contracts as the main source of livelihood for the business; among other reasons, because these are also in the middle of a transition phase, as is the consumption of audiovisual content throughout the world. Of course, they have sought and found new global sponsors, such as Aramco, and to enjoy circuits such as Portimao, Imola or Istanbul, they have also had to welcome Saudi Arabia or Qatar – both good races, by the way. Marketing campaigns with a praiseworthy ethical background have also been developed, such as that of We Race as One and, above all, they have achieved the approval of revolutionary technical regulations for their cost containment, such as that of 2022.

No one can say that Formula 1 is not moving fast to adapt to a rapidly changing world, remain an attractive place to invest and at the same time improve the spectacle. Others, like the Spanish professional soccer league, turn to investment from venture capital funds like... CVC Capital Partners, does it remind you of anything?

In this constant balance game, public attendance at the pre-season tests in Barcelona has not been saved. Stefano Domenicali, at least, has asked the company he captains not to call those three days of testing a 'shakedown' – a formula that began to be used yesterday to general anger. Thank you, Stefan.

For its part, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya cannot be blamed for this situation either. They limit themselves to occupying their facilities with the best clients they can find in the world, if not in profit, at least in prestige and seriousness. Refusing to host the tests due to the opprobrium of remaining in the shadow of Bahrain would be totally irresponsible for a public company that gathers great financial efforts, mainly from the Catalan government, to keep Formula 1 on the calendar. They do it because of the importance of having a first-class circuit, because of the claim it has on image and because of the business stimulus it generates around it. If the client asks for the closed circuit to the public, it is granted as it happens to so many other clients during the year. And meanwhile, they sign a long-term contract to host the Spanish Grand Prix for five more years, something much more important for the fan and for the installation.

It is true that not being able to attend the tests devalues ​​the tickets for the 2022 Spanish GP [although this has only been the case for a few years, the ticket to the GP included access to the tests, ndr], but it is also true that the prices They haven't grown in recent seasons.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

@river_drowning I'm sorry I can only teach you how to do the dance of virtual aerobics by wallows

— sam Tue Jun 01 01:12:02 +0000 2021

That a Formula 1 test is carried out behind closed doors is not something new. For example, last year we all would have liked to see how the teams adapted to Pirelli tires on 18-inch rims and how the Italians worked to get the best possible product to fit the 2022 World Cup, but we couldn't. Even those who worked there had to keep silent and all the audiovisual material that they could collect there, by order of the test organizer, in this case Pirelli.

In fact, the fans, and many times the journalists, do not know much of what happens in the national and foreign circuits during much of the year. Many times we ask about the agenda for the month, and in most cases we receive a very respectful silence with the client, be it a competition team, a car manufacturer, a television producer or whoever rents the track for its use. And if the undersigned rents circuits frequently, he would also like the circuits to behave like this.

There have been tests of Formula 1 teams that have gone completely under the radar, and others for which photos have had to be taken from hotels, promontories or trees located outside the facilities. Does anyone remember what the 2016 Abu Dhabi young driver tests were like? Our chief editor Martí Muñoz did: several days in a room at the Yas Viceroy hotel and with a stopwatch in hand all day. In addition, in that case it was learned that the tests would be carried out behind closed doors also for the press just a few hours before their dispute. These are not lines of support for that policy, but a mere description of a relatively common episode in an already modern Formula 1 although pre-Liberty Media.

Nor is the figure of the 'official' pre-season tests something that has accompanied Formula 1 since the beginning of time. This is, in fact, a recent construct. Relatively few years ago, each team trained more or less where they wanted – or their budget allowed – and if many got together on a single track it was to save money. If the circuit was Spanish and not British, it was mainly because of the weather – although they could also be given a good price and the best services. The fact that the preseason has been 'institutionalized' has come from the expectation generated among the fans, that created by the media, and that sprinkled by the teams to cause more impact to offer their sponsors. In fact, if it were up to the teams, the Barcelona tests would certainly be broadcast, even though the cars are so radically new. It is not the fear of public failure in the face of possible youth problems in the single-seaters that pushes Formula 1 to make this decision.

From the point of view of the strict competition – the Formula 1 World Championship – the preseason does not contribute anything, since it is not part of the contest. Moreover, the results of the tests are not usually decisive regarding the order between competitors that the new championship will have. Of course, these are very useful days for those of us who have been able to work there, since there is a lot of walking, more talking and details of the physiognomy of the cars, their behavior on the track, the work of the teams... they allow journalists to extract news of various kinds. In the technical or competitive field, most of the time indications are collected and the least evidence of facts that can become newsworthy. With few exceptions, it is.

As for the availability or not of television coverage or live times for the public in preseason, they have not been available until a couple of years ago, with the previous ones being less exciting or revealing than the most recent ones. It is always desirable to have as much information as possible, but perhaps the fact of having lived without this coverage for so many years can put perspective on the magnitude of the affront we are experiencing today. A stir of these characteristics would have been more understandable when Formula 1 stopped broadcasting openly in practically the whole world, a much more painful fact for the fans. Perhaps the generalization of the payment model in other major sports made the fan understand more quickly that it was not Formula 1's 'fault', but an inevitable toll to keep it big and pompous in its bubble.

Of course, we would always cry out for a sport only for purists, and made by 'garajistas'. Goodbye to millionaire contracts in exchange for running in certain countries, cheap rights to be seen on free television, and no paid pilot! The problem is that with this many of the attractions of a Formula 1 to which we have become accustomed would die, with spectacular television production, fireworks, involvement of the most powerful brands on the planet... and we would approach categories that today we call inferior and that not even many of the aforementioned purists follow.

AND WHAT ABOUT THE PRESS?

In the absence of official confirmation, the press will be able to access the Circuit between February 23 and 25. Hardly in the usual amount, which has touched the 400 accredited on some occasions. Nor will it be for lack of commitment from the FIA, whose will has been from the beginning that, in the face of the press, these tests have a pre-COVID-19 treatment. But the capacity of the Circuit's press room, which is not exactly small and is very well located - in my years of work there, they have only been able to blame themselves for a few years for managing the Internet connection, and even in this they are ahead of other renowned European routes – admits no more than 100 journalists safely under current COVID-19 protocols.

It is possible that access is restricted to journalists with permanent accreditation – who undersigned lost that consideration years ago, linked to the number of Grand Prix they traveled to in the previous season – or that they are accompanied by only a small selection from the rest of the media. In any case, it will be great news for the public as well if the eyes of the independent press are kept on track. Its mission, in short, is to transfer to the public as much information as possible.

Apart from this, and in no case as a substitute for the press, the capacity of Formula 1 itself to generate content parallel to the competition and distribute it free of charge on a large scale has increased exponentially in recent years. Podcasts, videos, social networks, memes and other resources that have proven essential in today's world to attract new audiences and keep the World Cup big, alive and active.

Finally, some figures to put the problem of public access to the circuit in the tests into context. In 2010, the year of Fernando Alonso's arrival at the Ferrari team, attendance ranged between 14,900 and 21,200 people, depending on the day. The test with the largest public in the history of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was 2011, after a crazy finish in the 2010 World Championship; then they achieved a cumulative 51,000 viewers in the first week and 16,000 in the second. Each one of these spectators has a great value for the sport, there is no doubt about it, but in the last 12 years, and despite the reduced price of tickets, it has not been possible for the claim to attend the test of pre-season can even come close to witnessing a Grand Prix. Not even on weekend days, something that has also been tried in some preseasons in Montmeló.

In short, the relief of the fans is legitimate, and expressing their preferences is essential for sport, but Formula 1 does not make decisions like this to despise its audiences, on whom it and most sports depend. The same ones who in 2016 applauded that Formula 1 got rid of its tyrant, today claim that its new owners prostitute it against the fans. However, then and now, Formula 1 only survives and tries – not without difficulties – to meet the objectives of its owners. These know that they need a global and huge audience, and – although today it may seem otherwise – they work tirelessly to increase it.

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