Formula 1, a pyramid scheme? Okay, maybe that's a little too harsh. But in the last few years, it seems that the main concern of F1 has been to create ever-higher revenue for its main investors, rather than advance the sport. To prop up what has become a gargantuan and bloated system, new venues have been added in unlikely places, as have teams of questionable pedigree.

The 2014 Russian Grand Prix, I'd argue, exemplified everything that's currently wrong with F1: It was a propaganda exercise for a dubious government set on a dull, pointless track in a place (i.e. Sochi) that has as little to do with auto racing as it did with the Olympics (coincidentally, another grand event that fewer people seem to care about these days).

There we watched one team, Caterham, stop a car mid-race and another team, Marussia, only run one car. In fact, Marussia really couldn't afford to run any cars, but in front of a home crowd, it had to do something.

Caterham might have lied about why it pulled Kobayashi's healthy car into the pits. And in an attempt to mask its financial troubles, Marussia justified its one-car run by claiming it was out of "respect" for Jules Bianchi, who was gravely injured in the previous race at Suzuka. In reality, Marussia couldn't even scrape enough money together to allow its American reserve driver to race at this weekend's US Grand Prix. Now Caterham and Marussia have announced that they will not compete in the remaining races for this year.

As lousy as this seems, teams are doing what they can to survive in a system that treats the underdogs as the filler they undoubtedly are. F1 has always had backmarkers, but those small outfits once stood a chance: McLaren, Williams, Brabham—they all broke through because of their ingenuity and technical innovation. That is unlikely to happen any more because the rules are becoming more restrictive.

In my view, F1 is now designed to please the big auto manufacturers, who are essential to the sport's survival. Mercedes-AMG, for example, spent a rumored $500 million in its quest for domination. Next thing you know, Bernie Ecclestone intervenes, and Lewis Hamilton moves from McLaren to Mercedes and receives "secret tests." Now, the Silver Arrows are all but unbeatable. I imagine the same will happen again soon with Ferrari. Fans want to see Hamilton, Alonso, and Vettel fight it out, not a battle between two Mercedes drivers with cars that anyone on the grid could drive to a podium finish.

As it stands, F1 has to act this way. The sport needs these major manufacturers to spend so that investors' revenue expectations can be met. At the same time, it squeezes race promoters in ways that make it a huge financial burden for fans to actually attend.

That said, the cars are amazing technical achievements—almost as fast as a V8 but using 30 percent less fuel—but I guarantee you that true fans couldn't care less about that. I keep going back to that interview Alonso gave ahead of the Canadian GP, in which he said the new cars are heavier and slower and and that you simply cannot push for more than two laps before you have to start saving fuel or tires or battery life. Granted, we all know Alonso, like any racing driver, wouldn't complain nearly as much if the Ferrari F14T was a rocket, but still, is it right for F1 be so focused on conservation?

Okay, okay, I know racing has always been about managing resources, but in the past, that choice was seemingly in the driver's hands and a heroic push was always possible. That's not the case now.

I have followed F1 longer than I care to admit at this point. I am a huge fan. Yet, I'm losing interest. And if F1 is losing the likes of me, it's in much bigger trouble than it thinks.

My rant's over. Now it's your turn.