Future tense

With environmental pressure building and the danger of a dwindling pool of race fans just how will Formula 1 survive in the future? Prompted by two very different Swedes our technical consultant has formulated his own ideas

- PETER WRIGHT

It looked like some sort of dark, Scandi April Fool joke. First there was Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl who refuses to attend school while politicians refuse to do something about a future that holds few prospects for her, and in April toured Europe by train to berate politicians and the Pontiff for their inertia in doing anything about climate change. Then, shortly afterwards, Swedish racing driver Stefan Johansson wrote a three-part article about the future of F1, advocating, among quite a few other things, 1400bhp Formula 1 engines.

In fact, Johansson’s article was a fine, courageous and timely piece, reviewing very broadly the whole of F1’s potential future in respect of economics, technologies, relevance, regulated competition, sporting issues, entertainment and, of course, its effect on the rest of motorsport. Inevitably it was from the viewpoint of a driver, but Johansson is also a commentator and has had a broad experience in motorsport, so should be listened to. That said, it doesn’t mean I agree with him. I’m not qualified to write about the economics, so will try and stick to the technical and sporting matters, and, with over 55 years as a fan, the question of whether motorsport, and Formula 1 in particular, is entertaining.