F1 should use ‘societal norm’ to cut costs; #F1Percenter

Since we’re talking about doing away with grid girls over “societal norms”, perhaps it is time to simply announce that new fiscal societal norms are now at play and folks need to embrace austerity and financial responsibility, right? No more gross One-Percenter type spending from these teams. No more flouting wealth and the trappings and resources that only “rich” teams can afford. It’s time to impose a societal norm that brings an end to overspending and simply force cost-cutting in F1 through announced new societal norms. Bing! Problem of cost-caps is solved! Yay F1!

If you don’t want a spec series and you can’t simply divide the prize money equally and no team will stand for some sort of accounting audit to determine how much they spend per season, then how do you get a cost and spending reduction in F1? Simple, you impose a new societal norm and then publicly shame those who spend more than you think they should. #F1Percenter

To help that cause, Renault have already set the stage and narrative in their latest pronouncement:

“Basically, the challenge I’m giving to our team, to everyone, including myself, is to be able in the medium-term future to compete with the top teams with 85% of their capability and resources,” Abiteboul told Autosport.

“That goes in terms of budget, but also in terms of headcount.

“I’m not trying to match what Mercedes has or what Red Bull has, just for the sake of matching.

“I’m trying also to do what they are doing in a more efficient way, which has always been the way Renault has been doing Formula 1. It can’t be an arms race.”

Ok, my intro paragraphs were just being cheeky but, in all seriousness, I think there is a noble charter here and I applaud Renault for their challenge. It reminds me of what Force India has done ever since entering the sport and I respect that. The thought is to flip the variable and see how much you can win with how little you have. It’s what made me choose Force India as my team of the season last year. Like Force India, if Renault can cast Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull as the Goliath, their role as David will be great fun to watch if they can challenge and perhaps even fall the big teams.

Now, back to my nonsense…Let’s face it, teams aren’t going to do more with less through spec series, team cost-caps and other things but as F1 has shown us, the quickest way to make a change is to use the mobocracy as your pummeling tool to beat wrong-doers into submission through vile comments and creative hashtags.

Think modestly dressed grid girls are sexist, objectified and betraying F1’s new societal norm? Get the mobocracy to publicly shame the models who do those jobs. Think F1 teams spend too much and they are harming F1’s new fiscal societal norm? Get the mobocracy to publicly shame teams for their gross, inappropriate spending and threaten to stop buying merchandise or supporting their team. Problem solved for F1. See how easy it is to fix entire societies instead of trying to focus on the individual or impetus of issues we care about?

Instead of approaching an issue with a creative and transformative view on inclusion and how we can nuance the various permutations involved to a win-win scenario, just throw a thin veneer of shame over the entire issue and energize the mobocracy to begin their social media truncheon activities. Seems legit.

I just hope one of these “societal norms” don’t suddenly change in two weeks and tragically find the HALO as contrary to the new norm and therefore we have to weigh safety versus societal norm pressure, that would be a damn shame.

Here’s a “societal norm” that I hope F1 has taken note of. F1 fans in the US know the societal norm of a pre-race and post-race show and a commercial-free broadcast on ESPN so I hope F1 has anticipated that and will be offering that in 2018. If not, I shudder to think of what might happen on social media if they don’t change to address this societal norm.

Sorry for the silly diatribe, I am in a mood this morning. Fact is, I get frustrated by such ham-fisted moves in a sport with so many stakeholders. It seems junior league at times. You know, why couldn’t F1 look at expanding the grid girl role? If they are trying to expand their social media outreach and content creation, why not engage these models to be harvesters of their content during the day/weekend? Give them some tools, let the take pics, ask drivers a few questions, be part of the team for that weekend and create and harvest pictures and content that F1 can then put on the website to bring fans as close to the team as the grid girls are?

Let’s say the grid girl for McLaren this weekend is Rachel. She is now embedded in that team and during the weekend she hangs out with the team, interviews a few folks, takes behind-the-scene pics in the garage, grid, paddock and more. She is embraced by the team as an F1 ambassador and they have a fun time with her generating fun and unique content.

Then, post-event, F1 has a page for each race with a picture of the grid girl for each team and all the content she harvested is on those pages per race weekend. You like Rachel and McLaren, you can go look at all the things Rachel did, who she spoke with and the pictures/video she took for that weekend with McLaren. You instantly have 20 people generating more content than you ever had before.

On second thought, probably best to just never hire them and shame them for representing decay on the new societal norm and oppress their voices through marginalizing them as talentless hacks and props. I mean why would we want to expand their role and help them develop as spokesmodels and brand ambassadors when we can have fun on social media belittling them, right?

#F1Percenter

Hat Tip: Autosport