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Arrivabene: F1 must fight for attention in 'PlayStation' era

Published on 20 Oct 2018 11:13
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By: Fergal Walsh

Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene has said that he believes Formula 1 should focus on getting the attention of the generation of people who play video games. He believes that this should be a focus, rather than just having the one goal of improving the show.

This comes at a time where Formula 1bosses are discussing what should be changed in 2021, where a regulation overhaul is expected to bring new technical and sporting rules into the sport.

These changes are set to include new aerodynamic and engine rules, both of which with the aim to reduce the cost of entering the sport. This approach is to entice new entries and engine suppliers into the sport, with a number of companies, such as Aston Martin, attending meetings.

Asked whether financial caps were the key to improving the sport, Arrivabene said: “I think from the financial point of view, of course reducing the cost is always more than welcome. It’s not related to the what, it’s related to the how. If reducing costs means equalisation it’s not for us.

“Standardisation is one thing, equalisation is another so equalisation is not in the DNA of car manufacturers. The problem is a bit more than the simple question related to the budget cap, that as I said, is very important. The question is related to the overall F1.

"What we want to do, to increase the interest in the sport, we need to analyse the mistakes of the past, to look forward for solutions in the future and this is also very important and to be honest, with ourselves: how is the level of interest to Formula 1 versus yesterday?

“What do we need to do? It’s not the budget cap, it’s one of the solutions but it’s the solution. We need to go back and to re-launch the sport. If at a certain point you have an audience that is becoming older, older, older and you work to retain what you have.

"Your attention is less focused on acquiring the young generation, this means that you have a problem. We never focused our attention on the audience and the audience, little by little, became older. This is the exercise that we need to look at.”

F1 News Ferrari

Replies (6)

calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
Would probably help making the sport a bit more accessible too. The F1TV thing looks really sweet, but *take a shot* Viasat locks it out of Sweden. Really hope Liberty give the airing rights to some other company soon.
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- Oct 20 2018 - 11:30
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  There is just no real reason for most Swedes to actively chase F1, when there are other, and generally more popular sports and stuff more easily available. And longterm, such extra hoops can be fatal to a sport's viewer base. I know like 5 people at most IRL that watches F1 aside from me.
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  Oct 20 2018 - 11:33
blade

Posts: 341
It is strange so few, why do you think this has not caught on in Sweden Calle?
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- Oct 20 2018 - 11:45
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Interest used to be much higher, and many Swedes still love car stuff and motorsports. Its hard to say how interest decreased really, and Im not really sure if its the same everywhere ( I think the interest is greater up north), but I think accessibility and visibility are vital reasons. F1 isnt all that visible in Sweden, there are no TV ads for it, and news only mention F1 in passing. And F1 is currently only aired on two channels AFAIK: TV10, a channel not everyone has access to and only feature quali and highlights, and Viasat Motor, a channel you can only get (again, AFAIK) by getting the full Viasat channel package (about 70-80 Euro per month), meaning F1 is pretty hidden and gated off. And in an era where entertainment is so easy to get, and its easy to get high quality cheap or free entertainment, there is just no reason for people to get interested in F1, sadly. I think something as simple as having a greater presence in general, and having more accessible channel airing the races would probably benefit the sport here, but as for other suggestions, its kinda hard to say.
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  Oct 20 2018 - 13:16
f1dave

Posts: 782
They already have a series for that generation, it"s called Formula E.
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- Oct 20 2018 - 15:45
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  FE is even less visible though.
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  Oct 20 2018 - 15:45