F1 creates a promotional working group to get closer to fans
In order to make Formula 1 more popular, the authorities have decided to create a working group to focus on promoting the discipline during Grand Prix weekends as well as outside, notably through better use of social media.
Formula 1 has just announced the creation of a Promotional Working Group tasked with improving fan experience and fostering the growth of its audience.
This group met for the first time on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with team representatives looking to assess the possibilities of making the discipline more popular.
It is Claire Williams, the deputy team principal of the Williams team, who is leading the body that has already begun exploring several possible approaches to renew the fan experience during Grand Prix weekends. She explained to Autosport that it will involve looking at promotional opportunities around F1 to ensure its viability in the future.
Among the ideas mentioned are a greater opening of the paddock on GP Thursdays, a better experience for fans in the pit lane, and also a greater interaction with the drivers. Furthermore, the idea is to improve the use of social media to better connect with the public and to promote the emergence of an F1 community.
All proposals that receive the support of the teams will be submitted to the F1 Strategy Group, a tripartite body composed equally of representatives from the FIA, the commercial rights holders, and six teams (Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams, Ferrari, McLaren, and currently Lotus) to be approved before being presented to the F1 Commission. The aim would be to implement these changes from the first race of the 2015 season.
Bernie Ecclestone, the president of the Formula One Group, who has often indicated that he is not interested in social media or in targeting the young audience, has nonetheless supported the initiative. He even agreed that this GTP be created outside the Strategic Group, where promotional considerations are often sidelined. “We want to attract a teenage audience,” he said in Abu Dhabi. “We want to see people who grow up [following F1], like the guy who is 30 today and who followed it 15 years ago. If he watched [F1] today, what kinds of things led him to become an F1 fan?”
