21/08/2018
NEWS STORY
F1 commercial boss Sean Bratches is hoping that Fernando Alonso will be an ambassador for the sport even though he is leaving it.
"I hope we can engage him to be an ambassador for this great sport of ours going forward," Bratches told the Black Book Motorsport Forum, according to Reuters.
The American admitted that he was disappointed "from a business standpoint" that the two-time world champion has decided not to contest the 2019 season, but left the door in in terms of a return in 2020 or 2021.
Just two days after last Tuesday's announcement that he would not drive in F1 next season, Alonso gave his reasons, citing the on track action as being "very poor".
"It is because the on-track action was very poor, and that is what I feel in F1 now, and I think there are other series that maybe offer better action, more joy and more happiness, so that is what I try to find," the Spaniard told journalists at Silverstone at the weekend.
"In 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2011, I was not winning many races in those years," he added. "But it was difficult to predict what could happen in Spa and Monza. Now, we can write down what is going to happen at Spa and at Monza. We can put the first fifteen positions with maybe one or two mistakes. How predictable everything became is tough.
"We go to Barcelona and we test the first day of winter testing and you know what you will do until November in Abu Dhabi and it is tough. For me, it is not too much of a problem because after eighteen years, as I said before, I achieved more than what I dreamed of.
"But for young drivers or different drivers, it is tough because they just hope that next year the team does an unbelievable step or they receive a call from one or two teams. It has become difficult for ambitious drivers. For a driver with some kind of ambition, it will be tough for the future if things don't change."
Asked about the Spaniard's comments, Bratches said: "There is an opportunity for Formula One to be less predictable and I think it's important that we get there.
"Since 2015, only three teams have won a grand prix. So it is pretty predictable," he admitted. "So I think he's right and we have a plan to fix it.
"If you look at the Premier League, since the 2014-15 season the bottom three teams have either beaten or tied the top six 29% of the time," added the American. "So if you're a, let's say, a Cardiff fan, unless you're a crazy optimist – Leicester City aside – you might not think you're going to win the Premier League, but when you play Chelsea or Manchester City you know that you can actually win the game, and it actually happens.
"It doesn't happen in F1. I think he's right, and we have a plan to fix it. I wish he was around for another ten years to be part of that. He's been such a phenomenal ambassador for the sport, such a hero, a legend, I hope that his brand stays around for many years to come."