Formula 1 commercial chief Sean Bratches has revealed a five-point plan to help revive interest in the sport put together following research conducted with a number of keen fans from across the world.
Recently, Liberty Media completed their first year as owners of F1, having agreed a multi-billion dollar takeover from CVC in September 2016, and as that year has progressed the new leadership including Bratches, CEO Chase Carey and motorsport director Ross Brawn have been addressing a number of areas where the product had lagged behind under Bernie Ecclestone.
Much of their attention is on shaping the sport from 2021, with radical changes unlikely before the end of the current Concorde Agreement which expires in three years time. However, this new guideline is perhaps the clearest path they have set out going forward.
“We went to four continents, we talked to 10 avid fans, in each continent, for seven hours over two days,” Bratches revealed, claiming this approach has “never been done in F1”.
“Our mission statement as a company came out of this – to ‘unleash the greatest racing spectacle on the planet’,” he added. “I think I’ve credited an excellent edit of senior executives with a wealth of experience to take this commercial side of the business and allow F1 to punch where its weight class is.
“I think it’s been under punching to date.”
The five “north stars”, as he put it, have all been given names with Bratches offering insight into what each one means.
“‘Revel in the Racing’ is all about creating a better competition on the grid, right now there are no Leicester City’s in F1,” he said, referring to the team which surprisingly won the Premier League in 2016. “The back of the grid is way too far behind the front of the grid. It’s not a meritocracy.
“Through costs caps, reapportionment of revenue, or governance, we’re actually going to create a better spectacle, a better racing environment, a competitive one, for fans.”
The second ‘star’ is named ‘Breaking Borders’ which Bratches hopes will lift the “cloak of exclusivity” that has existed in the sport for quite some time and allow fans to get closer to the racing or as he put it “touch and play at certain levels”.
‘Putting the Spectacular Back into the Spectacle’ refers to the improvement of the show for the fans whether it be on track through better racing, better attractions and opportunities at the track or the ‘F1 Live’ street demonstrations which first started in London prior to the British Grand Prix and, from next year, will see the new 2017 cars included following an easing of the limit on show cars by the FIA.
‘Taste the Oil’ will be about improving fans knowledge of the “extraordinary” technology in F1, something which they hope to make simpler with the new engines coming in 2021, and finally “Feel the Blood Boil’ is set to focus on emphasising the incredible abilities of the “gladiators” that step behind the wheel at every race.
While the idea may appear a little weird to some, the five categories do cover many of the main issues many have had with F1 for quite some time plus they will also go a long way towards introducing new fans and casual fans into the nuances which only avid fans will understand.
If done correctly, this could be a major boost for F1 and is another interesting insight into how Liberty want to use the modern tools available that were so discarded under the old regime.
