A rare chink in the Mercedes armour in Canada surprised everyone in Formula 1 last month. What surprised me even more was that Nico Rosberg managed to hold on and finish second, enabling me to pen this equation: (Mercedes – 160bhp) >= All other cars on the grid
Well, almost (damn you Daniel Ricciardo for confounding this calculation)!
For those of you complaining about the dominance of Mercedes, take a quick look at the other categories of motorsport and you’ll be surprised to know that MotoGP is currently experiencing the Marquez era and Le Mans just saw Audi clinch another 1-2. But, last month saw Luca di Montezemolo issued yet another threat to quit Formula 1 – only to backtrack later. I haven’t compiled the data, but each season when Ferrari hasn’t led, such a threat has been issued every couple of months.
But, this time, disagreements over the regulations aren’t the only reason for Ferrari’s supposed threat. Montezemolo is purportedly also raising issue with certain marketing and commercial decisions in F1, and in that respect I certainly think he’s making the right noises.
The wise Ferrari Chairman has requested ‘collective brainstorming’ to rescue Formula 1 and improve the ‘product’ of Formula 1 for the end user. It’s heartening to know that, after Tony Fernandes, there’s at least one another senior member in the paddock who’s concerned with the product of Formula 1 as a whole and not just the formula that makes the wheels turn on track. Sadly, it’s quite apparent that the other functions in F1 aren’t given as much importance as the engineering.
The first point of concern should be that of FOM’s TV broadcast. Barring an upgrade in graphics and a silly fuel consumption chart, I can’t recollect a major change in the production quality of the global TV feed. I cringe when I see the ‘throttle, brake and rpm’ graphic when I know that the 2014 cars don’t rev beyond the 15,000 mark. Yes, the thermal camera (or the ‘Predator Camera’) is there, but it doesn’t change how I watch the race much. The only use of that camera is telling you who’s cooked their Pirellis, and who’s overcooked them!
The TV feed is predominantly old school. In an era when hybrid technology powers the cars, I would expect far better from the FOM. Le Mans, for example, has a supplementary camera feed on their website allowing fans to get more than one perspective of the race. Can Formula 1 follow the same model? Well, the willingness to explore new avenues maybe lacking in the FOM but, at least, the production set-up is there (each car has mandatory cameras). And the Tata Communications deal should sort out the network connectivity fairly straightforwardly.
The Sky Sports F1 channel offers interactive Formula 1 programming, but there are two issues with this. First, it’s funded by Sky Sports themselves, which means that, like the BBC, they could decide to pull out – taking us back to square one. Second, the Sky Sports F1 feed is restricted to European markets. And I live in India!
As far as live timing is concerned, the 2014 live timing system is actually a downgrade from last year. The sector times have been replaced by ‘sector dots,’ which offer almost no data to the purist who is keenly following the time difference between two cars battling on track, or for a jump via smart tyre strategy.
Yes, the live timing data has been reduced to encourage users to purchase the F1 Live Timing app on their smart devices, but, then again, the quality of the app is best compared with Sauber’s performance this year. A team worth following, but with almost no hope of scoring points!
The second aspect is of social media. I read somewhere that Mr. E is against social media as it offers fans ‘free’ access to the sport, and if he could find a way to charge for the content made available on social media, he would jump on the bandwagon. While this attitude does worry me, on one level I don’t blame this mindset. My dad has only recently taken to social media, and there’s no way my grandfather would even be able to figure out what a ‘tweet’ is, let alone give us clues as to the twit managing the sports social media strategy.
This is where MotoGP does a fantastic job. I follow them everywhere, but, funnily, I haven’t watched a single race this season yet. Their pictures, videos, and comments from behind the scenes are far more interesting than the unidirectional strategy applied by Formula 1. The benefits of social media are well known, and I won’t let this column become a case study on ‘Digital Marketing and how Formula 1 can benefit from it.’ There may not be a method to make strong revenues from it, especially for a sporting event or championship, but the medium can certainly be used to keep fans engaged between races. Would social media help catch the dwindling TV numbers for Formula 1? I would certainly think so.
Now, if you were to isolate Montezemolo’s comments from Ferrari’s dismal performances this year (and the last year, and the year before that), you’ll agree that there is some sense to what he’s saying. If Formula 1 does choose to go down this path to pursue sustained fan engagement and growth numbers, rather than taking them for granted, sports marketing professionals like me will certainly get a career boost in F1. Till then, I am best scribbling my ideas for autoX!
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