

The Economics of The Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco - mcarvin
http://smartasset.com/blog/news/the-economics-of-the-formula-one-grand-prix-of-monaco/

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chaz
This article is a weird non-graphic infographic that turns a data table into
prose. I suppose it's mildly interesting if you haven't seen these numbers
before. From the title, I was hoping for an analysis behind the business
economics.

If you're new to F1, the Monaco GP is this weekend and is considered by many
to be the one to watch of the entire season (though I tend to like other
circuits). Aside from the raw speed, fame, and fortune, the technology itself
is a big draw for a lot of F1 fans. This site does a great job of analyzing
the nonstop flow of new F1 tech: <http://scarbsf1.com/>

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josh2600
Normally I'm very patient with new people posting on HackerNews, but this is
almost ridiculous.

1) Your "PLEASE SIGN UP" full page flashover is so annoying. I don't know what
to say other than I hate this :(.

2) The Infographic at the bottom is like a list of numbers with no real rhyme
or reason (relative to the kinds of content we've come to expect from
companies like priceonomics).

3) This is just a kind of lavish puff piece about how great Monaco is; there's
not a lot of meat.

In short, I was actually hoping to learn a lot more about Monaco, but your
harassing signup page and the content didn't work for me. Better luck next
time, but please do try again because it seems like you want to produce good
content. This kind of long-form stuff is exactly what you should be doing,
just try to produce new insight instead of regurgitation and turn off the spam
signup thingy when you post to HN.

~~~
PhantomGremlin
Flashover, what's that? :)

By default I browse the Interwebs using Firefox and NoScript. HN is quite
readable w/o Javascript. And I didn't see any flashover when I read the
article, because I invariably view unknown random websites with Javascript
disabled by default. NoScript is my sine qua non for browsing.

I'm _not_ saying you should use Firefox. I'm _not_ saying you should browse
with Javascript off. To each his own. HOWEVER, if you have an easy way to rid
yourself of some of the worst excesses of the web, then I think you've ceded
at least some of the moral "high ground" by complaining rather than by simply
using tools easily available to you.

~~~
josh2600
I suppose that's true. That's really only one of my complaints though. I care
much more about the content (or lack thereof) than I do about the annoying
popup.

Point taken though :).

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JonnieCache
Wow, someone found a way to make the modal begging cup even more annoying!
Congrats! Enjoy your bounce rate!

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fsar7
I found this interesting but annoying to read, so I pasted it into jottit
here: <http://www.jottit.com/fsar7>

~~~
stblack
Thank you!

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waterside81
As one of the FB commenters on the article mentions, the ironic thing is
Monaco is one of the worst races to watch, from a pure driving point of view.
Lots of narrow turns, very little passing, next to no straightaways (unlike
Hockenheim where you can really let loose).

~~~
k-mcgrady
It depends on why you watch F1. If you want to see the drivers constantly on
the edge, kissing barriers, and interesting strategies Monaco is unbeatable.
If the rain hits it's usually spectacular. If you want to see cars go fast and
overtake quite easily then thanks to DRS and KERS every other race is better.
I like both aspects of racing but I find Monaco even more special now that
overtaking is so common in other races (due to DRS).

~~~
exDM69
> If the rain hits it's usually spectacular.

Every spring I wish it rains in Monaco. There are few things more spectacular
than an formula car racing the streets of Monte Carlo in full wet conditions.

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fijal
This is the first time I see someone using Fahrenheit degrees outside of 0-150
range. Do Americans usually use F for stuff like material limits etc?

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jetti
I haven't come across temperatures that hot very often, but my assumption is
that the average non-scientific US resident would use Fahrenheit for all
temperatures, no matter what range, just because it is what they were most
likely raised on.

Just out of curiosity, what would you suggest they use instead? Celsius?
Kelvin?

~~~
paganel
Not the OP, but I'd say that for high temperatures it doesn't really matter if
one uses Celsius or Kevin, and that's because 1 degree Celsius = 1 degree
Kelvin. So, let's say that you have a reading of 800 Celsius, you just need to
add ~ 270 to it if you want Kelvin. If I then get a second reading of 1200
Celsius I know for sure that it's 400 degrees higher compared to the first
reading, no matter if I'm thinking Celsius or Kelvin.

For Fahrenheit things are not that straightforward

~~~
sp332
1200-800=400 in Fahrenheit too, you know :p

~~~
paganel
Really? Ok, I learned something new today :) Of course, if it wasn't obvious
enough enough I'm from Europe where Fahrenheit has always confused us.

~~~
sp332
Yeah :) They're both linear. What confuses people is that degrees F are both
smaller than degrees C _and_ the 0-point is lower. They meet at -40 (so -40C
== -40F) and from there, the F number changes faster than C, that's all.

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NatW
There are some interesting prices here, but to get to the economics of the
situation, I'd want to hear an economic rationale for car companies to
participate, not just prices. It seems really expensive for them. I assume
they're in it for the marketing? But would that money be better invested in
Research & Development for their products on the road or for car commercials?

~~~
chaz
At a high level, the teams are largely their own companies that get money
through sponsorships, and spend their money on developing cars. For companies
like Mercedes-Benz and Red Bull Racing, it's a big advertising opportunity
(and obviously a selling point for Mercedes-Benz sports cars). For teams like
Williams and Force India, they're independent ventures.

Every car needs an engine, which may be developed internally or purchased from
a supplier. Ferrari supplies engines for its own team (the "factory team"),
but also sells engines to other teams like Toro Rosso and Sauber ("customer
teams"). Engine development is extremely expensive, so amortizing the cost
across several buyers makes sense. Smaller teams cannot afford to develop
their own teams.

The best teams can afford to pay their own drivers lots of money, upwards of
€20m/year. Some teams can only afford to pay €150k/year, and the drivers hope
to prove themselves and move to a faster team after their contract is up (many
top drivers came up this way). Some teams can't even afford that, and are
willing to take "pay drivers," who pay the team to drive. They're not bad
drivers, but they're not necessarily the best ones, either. Cutting loose a
good paid driver for a worse pay driver is bad for the sport.

Participating in F1 has a unique marketing value to the right customer, and
can't be replaced with just R&D or more commercials. I think it's fair to say
that Ferrari wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they quit F1, as it's
so much of their brand identity.

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mavroprovato
The amusing thing is that the trophy given to the winning driver is the
cheapest in the Formula 1 calendar. I remember hearing that it costs something
like 700 euros, but I cannot find a citation now.

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tgodard
Seriously?

~~~
mavroprovato
Yes, I'm not joking, I remember the commentator telling this on TV during the
GP some years ago.

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neilmiddleton
Sir Lewis? Eh?

~~~
waterside81
He was awarded an MBE by the Queen after winning the F1 title a few years back

~~~
mpclark
He'll have to wait a while longer for the knighthood.

