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F1 needs to listen to fan input: We are here to please the audience

F1 needs to listen to fan input: "We are here to please the audience"

21-09-2021 18:33 Last update: 19:38
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GPblog.com

There are big changes coming to Formula 1 with the new regulations in 2022. The sport is also trying new things, such as the sprint race that will take place three times this year.

According to several F1 team bosses, it is important to listen to fans' opinions as well. Among other things, there are surveys where fans can give their opinion. "We have to listen to the fans. It's all about them, without fans the sport would be very different," says Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnauer to the Dutch side of Motorsport.com.

Szafnauer continued: "So we have to listen to them - they are our audience and we are here to please the audience. You have to use the data to make improvements. First, you have to start knowing the finer points of what the fans want and then you have to give it to them."

Beware of false ideas

Fred Vasseur, Alfa Romeo team boss, also agrees. "In the end, we do everything for the fans. It's good to know what they expect. Sometimes our vision is very focused on racing because we are maybe too busy with our daily job."

Alpine director Marcin Budkowski cautions against fan input, however, as their ideas are not always good for the show. "There was a lot of talk about changing the tyre rules or making refuelling return. If you look closely at that with the strategists, those turn out to be false good ideas because they don't really improve the show. So let's listen to the fans, but let's be careful that we don't introduce something that the fans want and which turns out not to work."