Formula One is a sport that is under serious pressure. It is ironic that the only elements of consistency and predictability in the sport are the actual results on the track. Although Formula One Management does not release official viewing figures, it is generally held that the sport is on the wane. Considering the ban on tobacco advertising, the relative ease with which Ferrari dominates, and the struggle between speed and safety, it is possible that Formula One will struggle in the short term at least.

Perhaps the main criticism of Formula One from a viewer's perspective is that it is boring, and a quick look at the stats shows that it's not exactly poised on a knife-edge. This year, Michael Schumacher won his seventh World Championship (his fifth with Ferrari) by finishing second in Belgium. With races in Italy, China, Japan and Brazil still on the calendar, the only issue was how much he would win by. Ferrari had already wrapped up the Constructors Championship in the previous race (Hungary), with Rubens Barrichello finishing second to Schumacher. This was the seventh time this season that the team of the prancing horse had taken first and second positions. The last time Michael Schumacher failed to win the championship was in 1999, and in that year he only competed in ten races due to injury.

So there is no doubt that Schumacher and Ferrari make an excellent combination. But why are we disappointed? As followers of Formula One, should we not be delighted, if not honoured, to know that we are watching the greatest talent the sport has ever seen? When Pelé played for Santos, did football fans complain that he was too good and wasn't giving the rest of them a chance? Did FIFA try and change the rules so that other teams could get closer to Brazil? (“Sorry Pelé, you're only allowed kick with your right foot”). Nope. Everyone stood back in admiration and rightly so. Let's not hear any more complaints that Schumacher and Ferrari are too good. True fans of the sport should recognise greatness when they see it, and should be able to appreciate it for what it is. It's boring if you don't know what's going on, but couldn't the same argument be applied to cricket, or American football, or come to think of it, most sports? Formula One has its problems, but that's not one of them.

Formula One is the scene of a continual struggle between the safety regulators who are trying to reduce the number of accidents, and the team engineers who are trying to push their cars to the limit. Thankfully, the number of serious incidents is minimal, and there have been no fatalities since the tragic deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger in Imola in 1994. Serious injuries are also minimal, although this year Ralf Schumacher has missed most of the season due to an injury he picked up in June. Considering the speeds at which they travel, it might be argued that the occasional broken leg is an ‘acceptable risk’. Certainly it's a risk the drivers are prepared to take. To be fair to the organisers, safety improvements are constantly being made to tracks and cars. Tyre grooves have been changed to reduce cornering speeds. Head and neck supports have been added, and impact-resistance has been strengthened at front, side, and rear of the cars. On the tracks, pit-lane speed limits have been introduced. Tyre barriers have been upgraded and new chicanes have been added to slow down the cars. The trouble with these modifications is that it reduces overtaking opportunities to a minimum.

But the engineers are constantly working to counteract this chicanery (!) and it seems they are succeeding. The Circuit de Catalunya, home of the Spanish Grand Prix since 1991, has seen the lap record drop every year since 2000, by a massive total of seven seconds. The Imola record also fell every year since 2000, by a total of 4.5 seconds. Most tracks can boast similar statistics, and this season, at every track except Hungary, there was a new lap record set.

In 1996, the Times estimated the cost of running a Formula One team at €75M, and it’s reasonable to assume it hasn't gotten any cheaper since then. As very few of us have that sort of money, sponsorship plays a massive part in running a team. In the past, one of the main sources of this sponsorship was tobacco companies, with Benson & Hedges, Rothmans and British American Tobacco all playing a major part. This is being phased out, although some countries are more hesitant than others. France has long had a ban on any form of tobacco advertising, which prompted some creative thinking on the likes of Jordan, who branded their cars “Bitten & Hisses” among other things, although everyone must surely have guessed who they were saluting. Another company simply renamed their team “British American Racing” – no prizes for guessing who that was. The British approach has been somewhat less stringent than that of other governments, thanks in part to Bernie Ecclestone visiting Tony Blair. The British had allowed Formula One an extension until October 2006, however an EU directive agreed on December 2nd 2002 took this matter out of their hands, and now a full ban has been brought forward to July 2005. Given the current question marks over the British Grand Prix (see below), this may all be academic in a Formula One context.

The high costs have lead to Ford leaving the game. They are selling the Jaguar team they bought in 1995, and are also leaving the Jordan and Minardi teams without engines for the 2005 season. For a few years there has been speculation that Eddie Jordan is thinking of selling his team, and while he has not definitely committed one way or the other, he has admitted the possibility that Jordan may not be able to continue in its current incarnation. A new team, Toyota, joined Formula One in 2002, and currently sits eighth out of the ten teams, a distinctly under-whelming achievement. It takes a while to build up the skill base, but if results don't appear soon, they may take their Yen elsewhere. In their favour, they have (in common with Ferrari) an unlimited budget by virtue of the fact that they are running their own engines and do not need to chase sponsors. It took Ferrari many years to get to its current dominant position. I suspect the Italian commitment to fast cars is probably higher than the Japanese, so don't be surprised if Toyota takes a step backwards if next season doesn't produce a marked improvement.