Winning is nothing without the ability to show the true value and meaning of success through the celebration of the moment and the open display of real, raw, emotion.
And, by the same token, this is true of losing. The beauty of winning is validated by the tragedy of failure and the emotions that go with that.
This is a massive part of why we like to not only watch sports, but also to participate.
At the weekend, these emotions were superbly displayed in Formula 1, in MotoGP and also in NASCAR.
On the historic track of Monza, after the Italian Grand Prix, the full emotional experience was evident for all to see. There are only two race circuits, to my knowledge, that have such wonderful podiums upon which to celebrate a win – Monza and Le Mans.
The way they allow the fan base to engage with the drivers and enjoy the moment is terrific. Some others get close, but those two diases are the ultimate platforms to perform the rituals of winning in front of huge throngs of fans. Not for them the bullshit of banning track invasions.
Of course, throw in a Ferrari win in Italy, as on Sunday, and Monza really does come into its own. The emotion demonstrated by Charles Leclerc permeated through the television and commentary alike.
But, then so did the emotion displayed by Oscar Piastri post race. He was gutted, and that’s the hallmark of a true winner. Second is first of the losers and he clearly felt that this was a race win that got away from him.
Even more distraught was his teammate, Lando Norris, who’d been outfoxed, on Lap 1, and outdriven thereafter by Oscar. The emotion was clear to all watching, despite the careful language that both drivers employed.
All in all, the aftermath of an excellent race became a great sporting moment of 2024 in its own right, full of passion and soul.
Monza was all about the unexpected win, and that only makes those moments bigger and more emotional for winners and losers. Superb theatre, whoever you’re barracking for.
Meanwhile, over in northern Spain, on the wonderful Circuit of Aragon, MotoGP put on its own show of emotion last weekend. The Grand Prix wasn’t actually that special a race, as here it was clear, after qualifying, that only a mistake would prevent Marc Marquez from winning.
What made this so special was that this win came over 1000 days after his last GP victory, as well as after walking away from far and away the largest salary in the sport (at Honda) purely to prove to himself, and the paddock, that he could still win on a competitive bike.
That bike, the Ducati GP23, is a great motorcycle but it isn’t the latest machine and hence the victory was even more memorable.
As always, the MotoGP cameras captured the moment beautifully and showed the viewers just how important this win was to Marquez and his entourage. The outpouring of emotion in the Gresini garage was special to witness. And the cool down lap celebrations that are a part of the show these days, and are without parallel in motorsport, allow riders to engage with fans like in no other category.
You get the feeling that these sort of activities would lead to fines in F1…
Later on Sunday, or early Monday morning in Australia, the difference between winning and losing in the Cup race at Darlington was clear to anyone watching the NASCAR post-race broadcast.
If you haven’t seen the interviews with Chase Briscoe and Chris Buescher, go and find them on YouTube. The relief of Briscoe, having cleared the hurdle of qualifying for the Playoffs at the last possible moment was made even more emotional because of the closure of the Stewart-Hass Racing team at the end of this season.
Chris Buescher was bumped from a Playoff position by Briscoe courtesy of the ‘win-and-you’re-in’ NASCAR rule whereby race winners automatically qualify at the expense of higher placed points scorers through the season. Whether you agree with that approach or not, the raw, and very real, emotion displayed by Buescher in the face of failure was palpable for all to see and only served to underline the value of winning.\
Back here at home, Supercars doesn’t do a bad job of endeavouring to capture the moments of emotion straight after races and, certainly compared with a decade ago, have a much better attitude towards post race on-track celebrations these days.
But often there’s no discernible crowd around the interview pen and that negates some of the value of the moment.
At the Supercars equivalent of the Grand Final, the Bathurst 1000, I’d like to see all three driving crews interviewed under the podium as soon as possible after the drivers get out of the cars. Do it again, by all means, on the podium itself, but capture the raw emotion immediately after parking the cars.
Winners and losers, that’s what fans want to see, and hear from, in the heat of that post race moment.
For sure, keep the victory circle spot at Mount Panorama for the winning car alone, but park the second and third place cars in the garage behind and bring those drivers forward to join the melee in pit lane to speak to all.
One of the initiatives that, in my opinion, has worked well over the last couple of years or so as a tool to engage with fans whilst also allowing post race emotions to fully flow, are the World Superbike podium presentations which are always carried out in the paddock rather than pit lane.
They use a structure erected for the purpose and placed in an area accessible to all. This is an idea that the SpeedSeries here has also successfully adopted.
Supercars should be looking to do this at the permanent circuits where podiums are often less than ideally placed and offer little chance of fan engagement. Plenty of time to get this on foot for 2025.
Finally, one big gripe that is starting to take the edge off my enjoyment of Formula 1 and is making me pretty emotional, in a negative way!
I’m completely over the Norris love fest, that often comes at the expense of Oscar Piastri, displayed by the presenting team in the F1 Fox Sport broadcasts.
The actual Sky race commentators seem more aware that their audience is much broader than just the United Kingdom. However, pre and post race, the pro-Brit bias is far too great given that the reach of the broadcast is so international. Only Nico Rosberg doesn’t display this trait in his contributions, for obvious reasons.
In 2025, there will again be at least two Australian drivers on the grid. Surely it’s time for Fox Sports to give us our own pre and post-race content? Either that, or take the other English language feed that F1 themselves provide to side step this overtly partisan approach from the Sky team.
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