Formula 1’s first attempt at providing a pay streaming service for fans failed comprehensively when it was rolled out during the course of the Spanish Grand Prix, the failings and subsequent refund promises are well documented and now motorsport chief Ross Brawn has apologised to fans.
In his Barcelona debrief, Brawn said, “I confess [social media] is not a big part of my world, but I do appreciate its importance in reaching new audiences, especially among our younger fans,” said Brawn in a post-race F1 debrief.
“Three initiatives made their debut in Barcelona: F1 TV, the Twitter Live Show, and F1 Vision, the most advanced handheld device on which to follow the race.
“The launch of the former did not go very smoothly, and apologies to our fans, but we are dragging our sport from a place where none of these initiatives previously existed and we will get there.
“In some ways that’s what Formula 1 is about, a sport where things are developed on the move and on the track with technology that is always cutting edge.
“We’re in the front line with the aim of unleashing the greatest spectacle on the planet and we want to take you with us.”
“We have new camera angles, an all-new graphic design that we are constantly evolving and the new halo graphics which has managed to make the halo less intrusive on television to our viewers and fans,” he said.
“There’s a specially-made microphone placed to enhance the sound of the power units, and we are interviewing the drivers immediately after qualifying, following the heat of the battle. We are doing that after the race too, capturing the emotions of the drivers on screens around the world.”
The race epitomised what is wrong with Formula 1 today, namely overtaking and real racing was at a minimum and the gap between the three front running teams and the rest is far too big.
Brawn agreed, “This, under the current Formula 1, is not a surprise, and Barcelona is one of the extreme circuits. However, we must have an ambition to reduce the gap and make the championship more balanced.”
“We continue to work on this, along with the FIA and the teams, because we firmly believe that more closely matched cars are vital to the long-term success of our sport,” concluded Brawn.