China apathy typical of Formula One’s global strategy to maximize profits

The closest any local got to being involved in this year's Chinese Grand Prix arguably came during Friday's free practice session when a local fan ran onto the track demanding to drive a Ferrari.

Despite that lack of domestic involvement, Bernie Ecclestone, the notoriously financially driven supremo of Formula One, is probably very happy with how things have worked out in China. 

The race, which debuted in Shanghai in 2004, is set to run until at least 2017. Chinese sponsors hardly dominate the grid, but things are moving in the right direction: Ferrari is half way through a four-year deal with Weichai Power, while electronics manufacturer Hisense recently announced a deal with Red Bull, after previous links with Lotus.

The fact that the race - and motorsport in general - fails to register with the vast majority of the Chinese population is seemingly of little importance to ­Ecclestone. His remit is to maximize revenues for the teams, and with races in venues such as Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, there is little room for sentiment. 

The German Grand Prix, for example, has been removed from the calendar for the first time since 1960 because organizers felt F1's hosting fee was too steep.

Ecclestone, you feel, would go and race on Mars if the Martians paid him enough. It is a short-sighted strategy that will, ultimately, backfire. F1 is not responsible for the global growth of ­motorsport, but, if the sport as a whole suffers, F1 will surely feel the squeeze.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in China, which sees more cars sold than any other country, but is still no closer to producing a driver of F1 caliber than when Ma Qinghua was charitably given a run-out in a free practice session at the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix.

If a Chinese driver was on the grid on merit, the sport could take off in the world's most populous nation. Fans would start flocking back to the race, a proper TV deal would replace the ­current piecemeal offering and, ­crucially, thousands of youngsters around the country would pester their fathers to let them go racing.

As it is, most of the attention ­centers around other activities. Downtown Shanghai played host to events such as Hamilton hawking Hugo Boss and ­actor Benedict Cumberbatch promoting MG cars - not a F1 brand but timed to ­coincide with the race nonetheless. 

It's great for the brands in the short term, but won't do anything for the sport in the long run.