Richard Branson has never been one to shy away from an opportunity to make a statement, so with the Formula E world gathered before him for his home race, he didn’t hesitate.
“I think there’s still going to be room for Formula One for another few more years,” he started. “But I would say there will come a time when Formula E will overtake Formula One.
“I think four or five years from now you’ll find Formula E overtaking Formula One as far as number of people.”
A soundbite crafted to cause any motorsport journalist within a 20-kilometre radius of Battersea Park to salivate, but nonetheless a bold point to put forward.
Emotions were running high during the final race of the sport’s 2014–15 season, and with good reason – the inaugural running of the Formula E championship was a fantastic success, backed up by a thrilling title finale decided in favour of Nelson Piquet Jr.
It seemed natural that the sport – which has been endlessly compared with Formula One despite the pair’s obvious inherent differences and the former’s insistence that it exists to do its own thing – finally embrace comparisons with motorsport’s senior player on a weekend of such positivity, made only more timely by Formula One’s current pessimistic kick.
With Richard Branson Formula E had its perfect flagbearer – the British billionaire had a brief dalliance with Formula One at the turn of the decade before turning his attention to the all-electric formula.
But after visiting my first Formula E race in London over the weekend, I found comparisons to be largely pointless. From the technical regulations and speed to the circuit design and team entries, the two sports exist in different spheres – but with the single exception of the way it deals with its fans.
Fan engagement and race day experience are two ways in which the new kid on the block rapidly diverges from Formula One, and most certainly for the better.
For one, tickets have been reasonably priced all season and granted access to almost the entire circuit, meaning fans weren’t being charged exorbitantly for simply turning up to show their support. Moreover, general admission areas allowed spectators to get remarkably close to the track, exciting the atmosphere.
Secondly, Formula E itself went to a great deal of trouble to maximise fan enjoyment outside of the racing experience. The Formula E fan zone – a concept that those who have visited the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne will recognise – is a large open area filled with food and drink vendors and various activities for fans to engage with between sessions.
Moreover, the podium was placed right in the middle – rather than being kept unreachable above the pit straight, as is often the case in Formula One – which turned the fans into part of the spectacle.
Finally there were a great many little things that perfected the day – free radio earpieces that enabled racegoers to listen to the television commentary and keep up with what’s happening while they wander the track, and event management were strangely helpful and otherwise respectful of the fans, which feels like a novelty for major motor racing.
Formula E can teach Formula One a great deal on all three levels. First, the London ePrix demonstrated without fault that a race run in a city with a connection to motorsport invariably creates a better atmosphere that in turn generates positive publicity. The fans – any sport’s lifeblood – are kept happy knowing that they are being serviced by the sport.
Next in the lesson is the need to put on a show outside of the main event. For much of its existence the Formula One business has opted against doing any serious promotion of its event, instead leaving it to the promoters to put on a show that represents value for money for the fans.
Melbourne is a fantastic example of a race promoter putting in a great deal of effort to turn the grand prix into a four-day festival rather than settle for a three-day race meeting, and the fans return the gesture by loyally buying tickets each year. Formula E is taking it upon itself to provide a great all-day show.
Similarly, it is no wonder that so many tricks fail to engage with Formula One events in this way when so many of them have very little connection to the sport or even motorsport more generally. Keeping an eye on its classic, most valuable, races would be a wise investment on the part of Formula One’s owners, despite the minor short-term economic loss.
Finally, the small things are those which can make the biggest differences, and in this area Formula One has much to learn. From the senseless axing of the portable TV contract that enabled racegoers to watch coverage and listen to commentary while walking around the track to excessively dividing the attendance into categories based on how much they’re willing to pay, too many of Formula One’s actions serve only to alienate its fans rather than enhance their sense of connection.
Richard Branson’s comments were obviously made to draw headlines rather than make any serious commentary on the state of the motor racing industry – Formula E is but one season into its life and has a long way to go before it reaches a stable and sustainable position from which it can push for serious market share.
However, it should serve nonetheless as a salient warning: Formula E has Formula One in its sights. It’s a category that isn’t afraid to innovate in its quest to maximise its audience, and it has healthy manufacturer and industry interest.
But could Formula E ever really be bigger than Formula One? Watch this space…
woodart
Guest
good post. alienanating hardcore fans in search of yuppies who then move on to the next "in thing" is silly and short-term, but that is the way of a lot of modern business.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
It would be good if some of these series could be run in such a way as not needing to be either Euro-centric. Formula one is very Euro-centric so that even when you have "Asian" manufacturers like Honda involved, the teams generally still have to pretty much be based in Europe. If some of these international motorsport categories can be run in such a way that there's no real advantage where your team is based, so you could have teams truly based around the world, so some Aussies could have a team in it that's actually based in Australia, and Japanese teams based in Japan, Chinese in China etc because the series is spread around the world in a reasonably even way that doesn't favour a particular region that would be really cool. It would also hopefully open up more avenues to reach the pinnacle of the sport, not just having to always go to Europe to have a chance to break into things like is currently the case.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Lets see if Formula E continues to have much cheaper ticket prices in coming years if the popularity does shoot up to rival F1. It was the first season. They were always going to keep prices low to bring people in. And probably will for a few years to come. Whether they can avoid getting greedy and keep ratcheting up prices under the assumption that if they are packing the stands out then the ticket prices aren't to high. But the problem with that is that while you may find enough wealthy people who want to come to pack the place out, you do effectively alienate large swathes of people who love their motor sport but can't afford the ticket prices. It's a bit like the grumbling I heard earlier this year regarding State of Origin ticket prices. They keep putting ticket prices up, and still manage to fill the stadium, but for a sport with a huge blue collar following, they basically price huge chunks of their core supporters out of being able to go along. The long term effect of these sorts of things can be to alienate these people, resulting in them losing interest and moving on to other things. Often it's a slow process that takes years, and happens via an accumulation of things. But it certainly does happen.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
An American would be great for the future of the sport in the US, but I don't believe an Asian driver would be enough to suddenly ignite interest in the region. China's success in Formula E is a good sign, but more for the fact that as a team it is representing serious investment in a category.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
In my opinion the sport is disengaging itself from fans. It constantly tells fans via the media and by not advertising at all that the sport isn't worth watching. No real word on Formula E in Australia, but Gold Coast is always looking for events post-indy...
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Yeah — and painfully so! It shouldn't be hard to shake up the event for the spectators and start putting out a positive message, and yet here we are...
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Nailed it. So many of F1's problems stems from the big teams complaining that the sport is somehow an awful event. A positive vibe would do wonders.
Trent Price
Roar Guru
You couldn't get a clearer narrative from Franchitti's commentary. A lot of information to portray and yet provided one of the most tense championship finale's since Hamilton's victory in Sao Paulo in 2008. There have been rumblings about a Formula E race in Australia, but nothing concrete yet. Having a Chinese team win an FIA World Championship is massive news for this region of the world. The traditional cash-injection for the sport has been moving away from Europe for a long time now. Hopefully China Racing's win (along with KCMG's LMP2 victory at Le Mans) will turn people onto Asian motor sport.
Rodney Gordon
Expert
Formula E has also found a way to get fans excited about energy conservation and lifting and coasting, which ironically is one of more vitriolic developments in Formula 1. Having a clear narrative and just putting on a great event seems to be the winning formula.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
From an events management and promotion point of view its easy to see where you are coming from. It seems that Formula E and even the WEC do a great job in term of giving an overall good experience to ticket holders/viewers. V8 events here too are quite laid back with proceedings, with their easy access to the paddock and great viewing from GA areas. If F1 had all these sorts of things to create better engagement, it can certainly stay on top. Easier said than done though!
SM
Guest
'Having an American or Asian person winning in Formula 1 would help the brand return to growth but no-one is on the horizon for that' I disagree completely with this. We all know how insular Americans largely are, and they have never cared for their athletes doing great things overseas. All because they don't play gridiron, basketball or baseball. They used to dominate Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing in the late 80s and early 90s, yet those riders are barely recognised in their own country. On the Asian bit, people said similar things after the emergence of Lewis Hamilton. No one is saying that anymore. If people consider the product broken, as it undoubtedly is at the minute, no amount of marketing bluster is going to change that. Another point is that there is no way in hell that the Asian continent (particularly East Asia) would rally behind a representative from one country. Knowing the historical political issues in that region, that thought is laughable.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Sounds like a great time at the race Michael! I'm at a loss with F1 at the moment, rarely can I remember feeling so disengaged. Is it the move to Pay Tv, the lack of noise, the unremarkable way the cars drive, my antipathy to Lewis and Nico? I can't put a finger on it.I tend to think that F1 will pull themselves out of the funk before FE takes over, but as you say, watch this space. Have you heard any word on the Formula E coming to Australia?
Simoc
Guest
I think Formula E will overtake F1 or F1 will evolve to Formula E with-in ten years. Electric cars are the future and that has been the case for a while. There will be a tipping point where electric cars become mainstream and that will be related to cost. The racing has been excellent. Certainly F1 is doing most everything wrong for me ie taking away free to air tv, the F1 website getting worse and trying to charge for worthwhile live timing and the prohibitive cost of entry to events. The F1 strategy is failing dismally in France, Germany & South Korea but they are also finding new markets nearly every year. Having an American or Asian person winning in Formula 1 would help the brand return to growth but no-one is on the horizon for that.