Engagement in F1
- Interest in F1 among fans remains strong, with 9 in 10 fans (94%) claiming that they are either extremely or very interested in the sport.
F1 fans also have a strong preference for the sport with 56% of fans claiming that their preference for watching F1 in comparison to other sports is extremely strong.
As in 2005, fans have had a long relationship with the sport, with just under two-thirds of fans (64%) claiming that they have actively followed the sport for more than 10 years.
Over a third of fans will attend at least 1 race this season, 23% of these fans will attend more than 1 race during the season.
For those not attending a race this season, TV consumption of the sport remains strong. More than three quarters of fans (77%) claim that they will watch all 18 races of season on TV and a further 14% will watch 15-17 races.
Michael Schumacher was fans? favourite GP driver (28%) followed by Kimi R?ikk?nen (17%) and Jenson Button (8%). As expected, there is some parochial support among fans with fans from Oceania, Asia and South America claiming drivers from their regions as favourite. One in ten fans did not have a preferred driver.
Ferrari was fans? favourite team (30%) followed by McLaren Mercedes (21%) and the Renault and Williams F1 teams (8% respectively).
- Among more than 8 in 10 fans (85%), Formula One was still seen to be the pinnacle of motorsport. Significantly, it was also important to fans that F1maintained this positioning in motorsport ?62% claiming that F1 is the sports pinnacle, was extremely important to them.
The perception that F1 showcases the most advanced technology inthe sport strengthened, with 91% agreeing with the statement ?up from 86% in 2005.
There was a positive shift in the perception that F1 has the right balance between technology and skill ?56% of fans agreeing with the statement, up from 43% in 2005.
Overtaking and driver skill are those aspects the sport that are extremely important to fans.
Overtaking in races ?86% extremely important
Emphasis on driver skill and less on other aids ?64%
Importantly, given the role TV plays in fans? engagement with the sport it was also extremely important to fans that TV coverage made them feel as though they were at the race ?67%
- Outside of TV, the internet, particularly dedicated F1 websites,play an important role for fans in helping them to stay informed about what is happening in F1. Eighty seven percent of fans claim that they stay informed through this channel.
Fans were open to new media channels and content, particularly internet based platforms:- 68% would be likely to subscribe to watch ?behind the scenes? features via the internet.
58% would be likely to watch F1 highlights via the internet.
There was strong appeal for access to online content that put fans ?in the race?:- 48% were extremely likely to access the option to stay on-board with drivers during the race
47% were extremely likely to access position 1 to 4 timing information
- 68% would be likely to subscribe to watch ?behind the scenes? features via the internet.
- There has been a positive reaction to the changes incorporated into F1 this season with half of fans ?49% ?agreeing that racing is more competitive than it was last season.
Pit-stop strategies were seen to have made racing more exciting (60%saying racing is more exciting). However, 64% of fans also agreed that there was too much emphasis placed on pit strategy and not enough placed on driver skill.
Two-thirds of fans (66%) also believed that the re-introduction of tyre changes this season had made racing more exciting.
Eighty-one percent of fans agreed that high speed is a key part of F1 and there was some polarisation among fans as to whether or not the sport had become too safe with 39% of fans agreeing and 33% of fans disagreeing that F1 is too safe
- The majority of fans, 73%, believed that qualifying had improved this season.
Two thirds (66%) agreed that qualifying is more exciting than in previous seasons and 53% agreed that, qualifying has helped to make racing more competitive than it was last season.
Significantly, over half of fans (52%) are watching more qualifying than they did last season ?a strong endorsement that the new format is working.
Just under half of fans (48%) believed that the final shoot-out session for qualifying had made qualifying more exciting for fans.
- Coverage that made fans ?a part of the race? was of greatest appeal to fans. Specifically fans would like to see more;
- Pit to car radio ?66% would like to see more
On-board camera ?59%
Split-screen coverage of the race ?55%
Car telemetry ?50%
80% of fans claimed that they want more in-depth interviews with drivers and 66% with team engineers.
Technology (73%) and Behind-the-scenes features on team factories (65%) were the topics that fans would most like to see in-depth coverage of - Pit to car radio ?66% would like to see more
- Fans had a strong engagement with the technological aspects of the sport. A quarter of fans (26%) claimed that they follow the technical aspects of the sport very closely.
Fans also claimed a strong knowledge of the technical aspects ofthe sport ?mean rating 7.47 (on a 10 point scale). Asians claimed a lower level of knowledge of the technical aspects.
Information about technology was largely gained through the racecoverage (77%) and from the technical information available on dedicated F1 websites (73%).
Fans have s strong appetite for more information about technology with 71% of fans claiming that they would like to see more information about technology.
Perceptions about technology in F1 were also positive, although some polarisation remains among fans on agreement with the statement that Technology is the most exciting aspect of F1 ?37% agree, 30% disagree.
70% of fans agree that they look forward to the technology innovations each season, up 6% from last season.
Those closest to the technology, team engineers, were the peoplethat fans felt were the best to speak to them about technology ?50%. Just under a third believed that it didn?t matter who spoke to them about technology.
- Improving opportunities for overtaking, whether through modifying cars or circuits, was seen to be the most likely measures to make the sport more exciting for fans
- Modifying cars ?89% agree
Modifying circuits ?83% agree
- Modifying cars ?89% agree