F1 | Is F1 in danger of diluting its brand?
F1's CEO has reiterated that the calendar could reach 25 races in coming years and speculation mounts about a Las Vegas Grand Prix. So, what does the future hold for F1 and its brand?
The 2022 F1 season will bring with it 23 race weekends, a staggering amount and an arduous challenge for the teams and media involved. However, Formula One's President and CEO, Stefano Domenicali spoke during a recent Liberty Media Corporation 2021 Q4 Earnings Call and reminded everyone that all teams have agreed that a calendar could be as long as 25 weekends of Grand Prix action. Beyond this, speculation continues to mount about a Grand Prix being held in Las Vegas in future so as to ensure F1 fully capitalises on its current stateside success and popularity. So, what does the future hold for F1 and what will this do for the brand?
Last week, the decision was made to cancel the Russian Grand Prix in light of world events. However, any thought of the 23-race calendar of 2022 decreasing soon subsided as the worst kept secret in F1 appears to be Turkey coming in to fill the void left by Russia’s removal. In previous years, replacing a Grand Prix may have been a challenging prospect but now due to the great success that the F1 platform is having, countries are queueing up to be selected – and pay for the privilege.
Due to supply and demand, the question is then posed as whether the calendar will exceed 23 weekends in future. F1’s CEO, Stefano Domenicali spoke out on the idea during the recent conference call as seen in the transcript by seekingalpha.com.
“We need to make the right choices for the strategic market that we believe and the right one for Formula 1. But for sure I mean we can expand the calendar because technically speaking as you know we can go up to 25 that is written in our regulation and COVID agreement. And the team would follow our vision on that. I would say that it's already something that we don't have to forget that this year will be the 23 calendar races is the highest number of races in the history of Formula 1…We are not in a rush for that. It's just a matter of tuning in on the different possibility that we have in front of us.”
With speculation mounting about a possible Grand Prix, in the coming years, being held in Las Vegas, Greg Maffei, Liberty Media’s President and CEO, was coy on the matter. Without mentioning Las Vegas by name, Maffei did highlight the importance of embracing an American audience.
“Obviously having the benefit of more US races and more potential US sponsorship or more global sponsorship which wants a US presence, weighs into our thinking about that breadth as well and how long a deal we want to cut. We are very confident that our product will be more desirable in the coming years in the US than it even is today. We continue to build enthusiasm and audience, et cetera. So, it's not just breadth and money, it's also duration. And we'll weigh all those factors.”
Stefano Domenicali supported his colleague and explained: “That's exactly the point. We need measure between or the ratio between awareness growth, and the return on that is a key point.”
Also discussed, was the way that viewers can currently experience F1 race weekends and whether there is the option of returning to exploring the 3D market. On this point, Greg Maffei gave some intriguing ideas of what the future may hold for a fan’s experience.
“I can imagine few kinds of live experiences few kinds of sporting events that are better suited to the idea of the Metaverse and for example choosing your camera angle which driver you wish to watch the race through, what angle you want to see, are you looking at the driver, from the driver, across, sideways, around the whole track. I think the opportunities are limitless.”
The technological opportunities may indeed be limitless but the minds producing them are still human.
Standing at 23 races in 2022, team members, broadcasters and all those partaking in the F1 circus will be away from home for longer than ever before. To imagine a calendar exceeding 23, is a worrying prospect.
Mercedes AMG-Petronas F1 Team Principal, Toto Wolff, claimed recently that should Andretti Global join F1 in future it may ‘dilute the brand.’ However, there is the chance that a congested calendar in future would be far more damaging. With more and more races, the importance of each race as it stands alone is diluted. If a driver has a poor performance - not to worry – as there are plenty more.
However, in recent years Formula One has grown thanks to some of the sharpest minds and I cannot see there being any danger of them figuratively killing the golden goose. Well, for now at least.
