According to a recent survey, lovers of Formula One want change but with no gimmicks or knee-jerk reactions to a sport many now describe as expensive and boring.
A total of 217,756 fans from 194 countries responded to a recent online survey carried out with the backing of leading Formula One drivers.
“The fans’ reactions are clear: they don’t want a radical overhaul of Grand Prix racing that takes it away from its historic roots,” said representatives of the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA). “It may sound simple but the fans simply want the best drivers and teams fighting on track in the most exciting cars. They want competitive sport, not just a show, and they think that F1’s business has become too important, jeopardising the sport,” added the association.
In a separate statement to fans in a summary published at gpda.motorsport.com, the association said they did not believe a revolution was required. Nor did they want “an artificial show with gimmicks introduced to simply make it more entertaining”.
The summary revealed fans wanted louder and more powerful engines, more emphasis on driver skill, a return to re-fuelling and competition between tyre makers. They were also in favour of relaxing technical regulations and introducing budget caps.
Worryingly, the top three words used to describe the sport were “expensive”, “technological” and “boring” – in that order.
Respondents had an average age of 37, and three quarters had followed Formula One for more than 10 years. Kimi Raikkonen emerged as the fans’ favourite driver and Ferrari the top team.
Some 77 per cent felt business interests had become too important and 89 per cent said Formula One needed to be more competitive. In contrast, only 32 per cent said Formula One needed to promote increasing fuel efficiency and just 14 per cent said it would be better served by fewer teams running more cars.
The GPDA will be examining the data and working with key stakeholders “to put fan feedback at the centre of the sport’s future”.
A strategy meeting was recently held in London grouping the six top teams as well as the commercial rights holder and governing body.
They are considering changes from 2017 to make the cars faster, louder, harder to drive and more aggressive-looking.