By Mark Gero
In the past, Formula One racing had no idea of putting itself into the political world. The focus from when racing began on this most popular formula following the Second World War was safety, which was very much ignored until Jean-Marie Balestra took over the FIA in the 1980’s.
From that moment on, the politics of the sport began to take place, especially in 1982, when the FIA and FOM (Formula One Management) had the threat of a breakaway series, which resulted in a couple of races being boycotted. But once the Frenchman was replaced by both Max Mosley in the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone for the FOM, the world of politics remained, but the commercialization of the sport began to take shape, and still there were troubles for the side of Ecclestone, who only wanted journalists to come from only magazines and newspapers to get accreditation to grand prix events, even though the FIA was the source for that.
But Ecclestone’s ideas were beginning to have difficulties in the modern era, and when Mosley was replaced, it was only obvious that Ecclestone would be next, and when the FOM president finally sold his finances to Liberty Media, the sport began to change dramatically. More of the internet opportunities that Ecclestone did not approve of, suddenly was, and modern technology began to change the way the sport was heading to.
As we now approach the 2026 season, it can be said that politics will play as they always have, will continue as the type of this formula will run another round of political wrangling, which is now showing with the new rules of the current Concorde agreement, which might not change until the next option in 2031.
But even before the first race in one week, the political escape has already started with the protest that formula one is beginning to look like formula E, which uses electrics to power their cars. Formula One already is half of this for this season, and many feel that this must change back to a simpler type of engine, like the proposed V-10’s or even V-8’s. But this could be a problem on the technical side, because the four engine companies supplying the teams would have the option of retooling their powerplants, which could take months and a lot of money to produce. If they wanted this, then production would have to start by mid-summer to be ready for next year.
More different and unlimited items have been used for this year, but one other thing is very political, which has ties to this sport, and that is how the political landscape around the world is shaping up, and it is not doing very good, as we approach past the midway point of this decade.
Threatening situations not only in the Ukraine is evident, but there is a huge presence of possible war in Iran, Isreal and Lebanon, and since the Arab nations have a huge stake in the sport. races such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Abu Dhabi could be cancelled, with the last two being run at the end of the season. Already, Saudi Arabia was nearly cancelled a couple of years ago, when bombing occurred near the site. But the race continued, probably because the FIA and FOM figured that major money would be wasted to host these sites. But in the past, races have been cancelled, like the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, because of flooding in the area. But this was not political, and if the possibility of war is in the Middle East region, the chance of cancellation could happen, no matter what the cost, simply for the safety of the fans, drivers and crew.
So, it seems that no matter what happens in this sport of formula one, the political landscape will always continue, and with this sport as popular as the football or Soccer World Cup or the winter and Summer Olympic Games, an event with much exposure might and will always have some sort of political situation.
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