Formula 1: team or individual sport?

Today we address an aspect of Formula 1 that goes beyond technical/regulatory details and race results.

We will talk about Formula 1 as a sport, placing ourselves on the side of the fans, and trying to answer a specific question:

Is Formula 1 a team or individual sport?

Already. Because there are two great currents of thought on the cheering front. To explain and compare them we will "exploit" two special personalities: Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher.

In addition to this we will briefly analyze the teams' point of view.

Individual Sports

The first fan "party" maintains that F1 is a purely individual sport, where it is the Drivers' Ranking that prevails over the Constructors' Ranking.
the “typical” fan supports a driver regardless of the team he races for. If he is fanatical about merchandising and the supported driver continually jumps from one car to another throughout his career, he owns multi-coloured and multi-brand gadgets.

As an example for this group we will use the German when returning to the Mercedes.
His 11-year history with Ferrari has won fans around the world. His move to the three-pointed star team sparked disparate reactions. Those who have always followed him since his time in the Benetton World Championship continue today, even if he is no longer in Red and even if the 2010 season is anything but exciting. Those who idolized him as a Ferrari icon were disappointed by his choice and now repudiate him. The more moderate ones still sympathize with him without forgetting the past, but they prefer to see him behind rather than in front.

This seems to be the prevailing current of thought since, objectively and as we are experiencing with the 2010 Championship, the attention of the media and probably of the professionals is focused more on what happens in the Drivers' Ranking.
The end of the season with five drivers still mathematically in the running with just three races to go, in fact, appears to have much more prominence than what happens in the team classification.

Team sports

The second current of thought concerns all those fans for whom the only belief is that of the Team.
It doesn't matter who is sitting in the cockpit. The important thing is that the Team wins, whoever takes it to the top. In this case merchandising is a much simpler thought to manage. Unless there are upheavals in the team's structure, in fact, a Cavallino flag is "eternal" just like one from Mclaren or Williams.

Team support "erases" or at least "forgives" the past. It doesn't matter what a driver has accomplished in previous years towards the team. Once he is part of the group, he enjoys unconditional support, at least at the beginning of the season.

As an example for this group we refer to Fernando Alonso.
In 2006 the Spaniard was the undisputed enemy of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher. Between battles on the track and on the microphones, in the end the Asturian took home the World Championship.
Some of his outings against Ferrari and the alleged consideration of the Federation towards him, or against the German's incorrect career, are historic.

Already in mid-2008, rumors about his arrival at Ferrari began to spread in the paddock and among professionals, and in 2009 the agreement with the Maranello company was made official.
And the Cavallino fans? There are those who welcomed the Spaniard with open arms, those who turned up their noses thinking about the past, and those who remained "neutral" waiting to see his performance on the track.

However, those most attached to the team are in the majority, and they prefer the path of "forgiveness" for the skirmishes of the past. A victory is usually enough to make everyone reconcile.

Comparison with football
To give a starting point to the comparison between the two parties we could think about football and its two rankings, the team one and the scorers one. Although individuality is very important for a team, what matters in the end is the team ranking rather than that of who scores the most goals.
In F1, however, although individualities are important, in most cases we talk about the gap in the standings between first and second, and subsequently reference is made to the teams.

And, thinking back to the past, it is easier to remember which driver won the 19 World Championship than which team took home the title.

For teams, which aspect is most important?
As we were saying, the "Drivers" aspect seems to prevail over the "Manufacturers" one. Both for the "media" issue that we have already talked about, and because the Constructors' one seems to become an important objective only when it is no longer possible to aspire to the Drivers' one.

As fans will remember, in 2009 Ferrari quickly realized that they had no chance in the Drivers' Championship. Yet, in the second half of the championship, third place in the Constructors' Championship was continually talked about as the minimum objective to be achieved. Even if it faded away despite Kimi Raikkonen's excellent last part of the year.

For teams, especially those with less potential, the Constructors' classification is important especially for the economic value that a good position can achieve. In fact, let's remember that a better position, in fact, corresponds to more income from the Federation and therefore for those who "manage" a team the Manufacturers have more reason to be important than the fan who enjoys the show (do we still call it that?) sitting on the sofa.

Conclusions
There is no thought that is better than the other. Objectively, the importance of the Drivers' title compared to the Constructors' title could justify those who think of Formula 1 as an individual sport, in which the driver is the most important aspect. But it's nice to think that there are fans who, drivers or not, disappointing or exceptional performances, fantastic or disastrous years, are always ready to support the team.

Alessandro Secchi