In FIA should punished te stewards for their very poor deciscion in the race and Vettel and Ferrari then only should be warned for a lack of self consciousness. But once a penalty is given it should be done. Even if the punishment was not sufficiënt.
But compared to ASO and UCI, there isn't that much wrong with FIA.
The FIA should sit their lazy, rich asses in Paris and STFU. Then, Liberty should promptly fire half of them and tell the other half to stop the nonsense or NASCAR is going to be the new sanctioning body. That should get their attention.
I don't think the Viewership will drop due to this "incident" In fact it might even increase the popularity as it has been overly publicised. Since 2014 onwards there has been a surprising influx in British formula 1 fans and Mercedes Fans. This is probably due to the wide coverage of Lewis and Nico's battle during this time. Rivalry usually breeds publicity for the drivers involved and in their home countries.
There also seems to be this weird thing about British people getting all patriotic when the opposition is German... Football is another example other than F1. I have also experienced this at first hand in many instances of gaming, British player is getting beat or is beating a player who is from Germany, Almost 9 times out of 10 that poor German person will get called a "Nazi" in game chat. Whilst I understand it does seem to be the latest generation (Past 10 years) that are guilty. Once again this is not every British person on a video game, But there are sadly people out there that do this.
You can also see examples of this on social media, Posts over the past couple of years for example at Spa 2014 there were numerous posts on social media saying "Ban the cheating German pr!ck" Instead of addressing Nico by his name, they rather his nationality. I think because F1 is such a worldwide sport you will get the countries of the drivers rooting for them, And with the increased coverage from Liberty Media who are doing an outstanding job I see the sport only getting more popular.
Regarding safety, I think the only thing currently risking a driver is the absence of head protection. Whilst serious injury will be inevitable with how fast they are going regarding how quickly they slow down, there is not much else to be done.
BTW The second paragraph was just an example of the point I was trying to make, If you would like me to remove it due to the use of the term "Nazi" Please let me know and I will do so. I'm not here to offend anyone, and I hope it does not offend anyone... but if you think I should I will remove it. Other than that have a nice day
What a breath of fresh air. Nobody should be afraid of saying anything, as long as it's not a personal threat or a threat of violence. That includes racism, sexism, and gay hating. Also includes men hating, Trump hating, and German hating. There is no such thing as "hate speech"...only threats. In fact, if you ban the use of "Nazi" then you might be a Nazi. lol.
As an American, I see this British bias too. It's, quite frankly, all over F1. It doesn't bother me, because it's all fan driven and their country is so rich in open wheel racing. They are all based there, sorta. The problem is, the Italians (nobody rivals their passion) and the Germans (nobody rivals their attention to detail) don't get press coverage due to the language barrier and the British media (Sky is as bad as it gets) dominating the sport. Personally, I love to watch DTM, because of Varina
and their promo peices are very creative. Plus, it's great racing. I think Mattias Ekstrom is the best driver in the world right now. To me, the Germans have a wonderful sense of humor and aren't as repressed as the British (stiff upper lip and all). But the British are funny as hell at times, even though it's much more dry...Germans are so direct and a bit cruel, but it works for me.
All this is generalization I realize, but I'm trying to address your point in a decent way. Where I fault Germans is not being open enough. For instance, running as a "Nazi" in Germany or saying you are one...is illegal. lol. WTF? Do they not realize that's what the Nazi's did? Gotta love Merkel. lol. These days, they are self-flagellating, but they don't need to. When I was there in the late 80's, nobody in Germany would talk about it. I was just curious, but they were appalled I would ask. Dumb American...but German guilt, I guess. I took that as a good thing...unless you take it to censorship.
People don't realize how funny Vettel is...and he does it all the time. He's clever and smart in his humor too. He tells stories about human nature (when Rosberg said in the press conference "I really wish Ferrari were closer" Vettel chimed in "well, it's settled then...I'll see you in your garage in an hour and you will give me your blueprints" or similar). Two Germans (actually one German and one German from Monte Carlo), but Rosberg wasn't real. He was stunned actually. Vettel is not just quick on the track...I think he's the *real* spokesman for F1 right now. As for nations and what they like...this little spat and the FIA reaction? 90% of Americans think it's quaint, I'm sure. This is piker stuff. Try 230mph wheel banging and get back to me.
But I do disagree about head protection. It's over if they close the cockpit. Once again, Welcome to IndyCar Mr.Vettel.