Ghent is "the city that counts pennies." Ghent is in Belgium. In Flanders. Population about 260,000. Ghent was medieval merchant city. Textiles. Trade. Money. Ghent residents counted every penny. For centuries. Ghent residents were rich. Very rich. Through trade. Through calculation. Ghent residents never spent without reason. Every expense had to have return. A profit. Ghent residents are merchants. Ghent residents think in "cost-benefit" terms. Always. For everything.
Motorsport is opposite. Motorsport burns money. Millions of euros. For what? To win few milliseconds. A Formula 1 engine costs 10 million euros. Lifespan: 7 races. Ghent residents don't understand. Ghent residents ask: "What's the return on investment?" There is none. Motorsport doesn't make money. Motorsport spends money. For glory. For speed. For adrenaline. Ghent residents don't understand glory. Ghent residents understand profit. Motorsport isn't profitable. So Ghent residents aren't interested.
Ghent has canals. Medieval buildings. Gothic churches. Ghent is museum. Ghent sells its past. Tourists come. They photograph. They buy souvenirs. They leave. Ghent residents count money. 8 million tourists per year. Each tourist spends average 50 euros. 400 million euros per year. Profit. Ghent residents are satisfied. Tourism is profitable. Motorsport isn't profitable. Ghent residents build hotels. Not circuits. Hotels make money. Circuits cost money.
From Ghent to Spa-Francorchamps is about 130 kilometers. Spa-Francorchamps is Belgium's Formula 1 circuit. Ghent residents know Spa. But Ghent residents never go. Why? A ticket for Spa costs 200 euros. Ghent residents ask: "To watch cars go in circles? 200 euros?" Ghent residents don't see value. Ghent residents only see cost. Ghent residents prefer to invest 200 euros. In stocks. In real estate. Not in race ticket. That's waste.
Ghent is university city. Ghent University. One of Belgium's best universities. Ghent residents study economics. Commerce. Finance. Ghent residents learn to calculate. To optimize. To maximize profits. Ghent residents are rational. Motorsport is irrational. Motorsport spends 1 billion euros per Formula 1 season. For what? To do 20 races. 50 million euros per race. Ghent students do calculation. They say: "That's crazy." Professors agree. Motorsport is economically insane. Ghent residents teach their children not to waste. Motorsport is ultimate waste.
Ghent has history of revolt. In Middle Ages, Ghent residents revolted against taxes. Too high. Unfair. Ghent residents fought. To protect their money. Ghent residents don't give their money easily. Never. Ghent residents protect what they earned. Motorsport asks for money. Sponsors. Investors. Ghent residents say: "No." Why invest in motorsport? What return? There is none. Ghent residents invest in companies. In real estate. In tangible things. Motorsport is intangible. Motorsport is smoke. Ghent residents don't invest in smoke.
Ghent has port. Not as large as Antwerp port. But significant. Ghent residents export. Import. Calculate margins. On every container. Ghent residents optimize logistics. Every euro counts. Motorsport doesn't count euros. Motorsport burns tires at 3,000 euros each. Four tires per car. 12,000 euros. Lifespan: 100 kilometers. Ghent residents do calculation: 120 euros per kilometer. In tires alone. Ghent residents use tires that last 50,000 kilometers. Cost: 400 euros. 0.008 euro per kilometer. Motorsport wastes 15,000 times more. Ghent residents find this obscene.
Ghent celebrates "Gentse Feesten." A festival. 10 days. Music. Beer. Party. But even during Gentse Feesten, Ghent residents calculate. A glass of beer: 3 euros. Ghent residents count how much they drank. How much they spent. Ghent residents make balance. "I spent 40 euros tonight." Ghent residents remember. Always. Motorsport forgets how much it spends. Motorsport only counts milliseconds. Not euros. For Ghent residents, this is incomprehensible.
Ghent and motorsport have economic incompatibility. Ghent measures value in money. Motorsport measures value in speed. Ghent asks: "How much does it cost?" Motorsport asks: "How fast is it?" Ghent optimizes costs. Motorsport ignores costs. Ghent calculates return on investment. Motorsport has no return on investment. Ghent residents sit in their offices today. They look at spreadsheets. Revenue. Expenses. Profits. Everything is calculated. Everything is optimized. 130 kilometers away, at Spa-Francorchamps, someone burns 100,000 euros in fuel. In single race. Ghent residents will never understand. Ghent residents built their wealth by counting every penny. Motorsport destroys wealth by ignoring every penny. These are two worlds. Two philosophies. Two religions. Ghent residents worship profit. Motorsport worships speed. And these two gods never speak.