Formula 1 can hardly believe its luck.

It sells on its own this year.

The duel between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, Mercedes against Red Bull, made headlines in Grand Prix rhythm.

That keeps the interest high, the audience high and fills the box office.

The new Formula 1 management has now also conquered the digital world and is opening up new markets with the Netflix documentary "Drive to Survive".

The corona crisis only briefly put the fastest cars in the world off track.

At the end of 2020, Formula 1 reported a loss of $ 386 million.

Revenues had slumped 43 percent to $ 1.145 billion.

And yet the racing circus that drives this Sunday (2 p.m. CEST in the FAZ live ticker for Formula 1 and on RTL) in Istanbul got away with a black eye.

No team had to give up.

At least 17 races were still held.

And the austerity program that was overdue was finally implemented.

This season, with 22 races, the American owners of the series will almost return to old revenues, which were just over two billion dollars in 2019.

No competition

Formula 1 is a crisis-proof share that seven years of Mercedes domination and, prior to that, four years of Red Bull as subscription world champion could not harm it.

She has coped with the departure of big stars like Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher, and she can afford to remove the Autonation Germany from her program.

If one manufacturer says goodbye, a new one comes along.

It has always been like this in its 72-year history.

Grand Prix racing is still a story of triumph and tragedy, even if death is almost irrelevant today.

Its charisma, its global presence, its exclusivity attracts car companies, billionaires and dictatorships.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are paying over $ 40 million just to be part of the roadshow.

There is no competition.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is just one race, the 500 miles from Indianapolis is too far away.

The World Rally Championship is not a television sport.

Formula 1 has become a synonym for the best, the most extreme, the most expensive, the unattainable.

Formula E tried to scratch the old lady's glamor, but the revolution has long been eating its children.

The apparently promising concept of speeding through the cities in electric cars is not popular with customers.

The cars all look the same.

The racetracks too.

Technical competition only takes place in secret.

The set of rules is convulsively trimmed for young and hip.

Those who collect enough sympathy points among the fans get more electric power.

For traditionalists, this is not motorsport.

Nine manufacturers created a brave new world as a parallel universe to Formula 1. Meanwhile, many are already on the run again.

Audi and BMW have already left, Mercedes will follow at the end of 2022. What use is a supposedly politically correct platform if nobody knows that Mercedes and its driver Nyck de Vries have become Formula E world champions?