While teams scratch around for sponsorship cash, the Nürburgring's financial struggle continues. The world is a very small place these days, and there is now very little point in attending F1 car launches, except perhaps to be seen to be there.
There was a time when new Formula 1 cars looked different and there were exciting new concepts to be explained to the fans, but the restrictive regulations (and the laws of physics) mean these days all the cars look very much the same, and the differences in performance come only from the invisible flows of air that are so complex that only a few aerodynamicists – and seriously pretentious members of the media – can claim to understand them.
On top of this, the talking heads of the teams can no longer be chatted to quietly in a corner, as they are being scurried from one TV camera to the next by
PR armies. YouTube, Twitter and Instagram beam the story around the world so quickly that the old style keyboard-beaters are not even rolling up their sleeves when race fans in Guam, El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan and Namibia know all the details.
About the only thing one can see at a launch is whether or not the team in question has any new sponsorship deals. This year these have been rather thin on the ground.
Ferrari has managed to sign a four-year deal with Weichai, a Chinese company that specialises in the research, development, manufacturing and sales of diesel engines. One presumes that either there will be some technology transfer going on as Ferrari embarks on hybrid vehicles, or that the Weichai brand is deemed suitable to help impress wealthy Chinese folk they should buy themselves a Ferrari.
The new McLaren looked decidedly too silvery, while the Lotus had big red spaces which were obviously designed for Honeywell, but are currently filled with in-house names Genii and Kimi, at least until the negotiations are completed with the US technology corporation.
It is not altogether surprising that some of the F1 teams are struggling to find money given the global recession, and the increase in the number of drivers supported by sponsors (a nice way of saying 'pay-drivers') is another reflection of the current situation. Yet F1 continues to refuse to come up with sensible budget-capping regulations.
Although the number of German drivers in F1 has dropped significantly this year, from five to three, the German Grand Prix seems to be going ahead as planned at the Nürburgring, despite the fact that the legendary circuit in the Eifel hills is in deep financial trouble because of a hare-brained scheme five years ago to create a theme park to exploit its brand.
There is no doubt that the track has great pulling power thanks to its history and heritage, but the problem is that it is too remote to attract sufficient visitors on a day-to-day basis. The crowds still turn up for the big events, but the money raised is not enough to pay off the huge debts.
The German Grand Prix still has a considerable economic impact in the region, reckoned to be around 47 million, but the regional government is now a coalition involving the Green Party and that means that they don't want to put money into a motor race, whether it is good for the economy or not.
There is another scheme that has been discussed that would help to keep the Nürburgring brand alive. Last summer it was suggested that the original 14-mile Nordschleife should be reproduced exactly in the mountains of Nevada, just outside Las Vegas.
The idea was put forward by Bruton Smith, the man who runs Speedway Motorsports Inc, one of the US's largest track-owning companies – and he was being serious. He argued that a Nürburgring located ten miles from Las Vegas would have a good chance of attracting some of the 39 million people who visit the city each year, and that could make him a lot of money.
And the Germans could cash in as well, with fees to allow Smith to licence the name!
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