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From GMM

F1's television ratings in key markets are strikingly down in 2014.

Writing in the Spanish sports daily Marca, correspondent Miguel Sanz said the most worrying figures are coming out of Latin America, where the ratings decline has been a staggering 50 per cent.

"In Italy," he added, "depending on the successes of Ferrari, the drop is 20 per cent based on data from the first five races of 2014."

A closer look at Italy is even more worrying. Considering only the Canadian grand prix, the combined losses by broadcasters Rai and Sky in just a single year was almost 3.5 million viewers.

"Spain, always with an eye on Fernando Alonso, is at a 15 per cent decline", said Sanz.

The analysis said the ratings decline began with Sebastian Vettel's utter dominance a few years ago, when the global audience fell from 515 million in 2011, to 500m in 2012.

And Bernie Ecclestone's FOM company revealed a further drop of 50 million viewers last year, ending with a nine-race winning streak by the Red Bull driver.

Arrival of the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2)

Miguel Sanz said major markets in China and France have not helped the situation, when the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV's coverage ended, while France moved to pay TV.

Germany's ratings decline was reportedly 10 per cent last year, but it has continued to drop a further 3 per cent in 2014, despite the prominence not only of Mercedes, but also the top form of championship leader Nico Rosberg.

If you ask former F1 team boss Flavio Briatore, the big problem in 2014 is the regulations.

"What we have now is not formula one. Formula one is something else," he told Italy's Radio24 after the Canadian grand prix.

"The audience is clearly enjoying it a lot less, because there are cars that do not make much noise.

"There are drivers who save fuel, drivers who only do 'fake' overtaking when their wing flap is open. Drivers who are doing their accounting in the car rather than being gladiators," Briatore charged.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone has also been highly critical of F1's new era, and particularly the quieter V6 engines.

But he is not overly worried about the TV numbers.

"I was talking to the people from RTL television in Germany," Ecclestone told Forbes last month.

"They said it is surprising that across everything they do, television ratings are down," he is quoted by F1 business journalist Christian Sylt.

"Why? Because people have only got so much time. They are using Facebook, Twitter ... there are so many things people can watch.

"You see the ratings have gone down but in the end they will go back to watching television," Bernie Ecclestone added.

From GMM

Ferrari is paying a dear price for its geographical location, according to Flavio Briatore.

Last month, former Benetton and Renault chief Briatore said the fabled Maranello team should consider relocating to the UK.

"In my opinion, Ferrari must have a base in the UK, where all of the technology of formula one is concentrated. At Maranello it is difficult to create an effective team and to recruit these British engineers," he said.

Ferrari entrance at Maranello, Italy. (Photo: René Fagnan)

Since then, Ferrari is believed to have made a staggering offer of up to $30 million per year - much higher than most F1 drivers - to lure Adrian Newey from Red Bull.

He turned it down.

And Italy's Autosprint is now reporting that another top Briton also said 'no' to moving to Maranello -- the engine boss of F1's dominant team in 2014, Andy Cowell.

Flavio Briatore said after the Canadian grand prix: "Ferrari this year is in deep crisis and has lost the chance to recover.

"Ferrari is paying for its location -- Maranello is definitely not the centre of the (F1) world, it's England," he told Italian radio Mix24.

"I think that for Ferrari, it will take a major restructuring of the team. Wrong men? No, it's a matter of organisation," Briatore explained. "We know exactly who are the best ones, and it is difficult to get them to Italy."

From GMM

Famous British sailor Sir Ben Ainslie has admitted Adrian Newey could play a key role in his America's Cup yachting project.

Newey, the highest paid and most highly regarded engineer in formula one, is already making headlines after it emerged he is stepping back at Red Bull in order to get involved in other technology projects.

Increasingly frustrated with F1's ever-tightening regulations, he has admitted his interest in top yacht design in the past, and has often been linked with Ainslie.

On Tuesday, Ainslie's $130 million British challenge for the 2017 America's Cup was launched.

He was quoted by the Guardian: "I've had a couple of really good chats with Adrian. He's keen on racing in the America's Cup, it's great for us.

"He clearly has a lot of commitments still with formula one and it really depends how he can fit something in and being involved in the team," said Ben Ainslie.

Ben Ainslie in action. (Photo: BenAinslie.com)

Ainslie's Newey link could tie in with the newly-revealed Red Bull 'Advanced Technologies Centre', reportedly devised to keep Newey out of the clutches of rival F1 teams.

"It (yacht design) is all about aerodynamics and hydraulics so we've already started discussions with the motor sport teams in the formula one world," Ainslie said.

He confirmed that Newey is "keen to help" a British team win the America's Cup.

"There has been a lot of talk about Adrian joining the team and I have met with Adrian a number of times," Ainslie told BBC radio.

Meanwhile, with Newey sailing into other areas of design, Red Bull boss Christian Horner played down suggestions Sebastian Vettel's commitment to the F1 team may also be waning.

After four title successes, the German has struggled with a less competitive Red Bull in 2014, and Newey's plans may be yet another blow.

Indeed, when asked about Newey's plans away from F1, Sebastian Vettel said last weekend: "I'm looking short-term, if you ask me about the future right now."

But Christian Horner insisted to the Mirror newspaper that he has "no doubt" Vettel, 26, will be driving a Red Bull "for many years to come".

From GMM

Flavio Briatore admits he is worried about the health of his former champion, Michael Schumacher.

In the mid 90s, as the boss and number 1 driver of the Benetton team, the pair won their first world championships hand-in-hand.

Almost twenty years later, the now 45-year-old Schumacher has been lying comatose in a French hospital bed for more than 160 consecutive days.

Last week, former F1 doctor Gary Hartstein revealed he is gravely concerned that the Schumacher family has been entirely silent about the great German's condition for several weeks now.

"I'm quite afraid, and virtually certain, we will never have any good news about Michael," he said.

Italian Briatore, speaking to Italian Radio24, admitted he shares Hartstein's fears.

"There is no news because the family is very closed," he said. "They are not communicating. But surely no news in this case is not good news," added Briatore.

Michael Schumacher et Flavio Briatore, Benetton 1994. (Photo: WRi2)

In the past few days, German television RTL aired a special programme about Schumacher and his new battle to recover from his horror skiing fall.

German tennis legend Boris Becker said during the programme: "We cannot imagine what Corinna and the children have been going through since the accident.

"They have built a protective wall around him. It's been very quiet but this is the only way to cure him," he added.

German medical journalist Christoph Specht also said it is premature to say Schumacher is now fighting a losing battle.

"Comas are not all the same," he said. "There are always pleasant surprises in which patients wake up after many years."

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