F1

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WHAT’S IT WORTH?

If Friday’s practices are anything to go by this weekend’s German grand prix should be fantastic! Being a pr-fanatic though (and you know it being the reason for the blog and all..) I was interested in the comments at the end of second practice; just after it became apparent that Hamilton wasn’t going to be knocked from no.1, making Mercedes  temporarily top in their home grand prix. Eddie Jordan’s quoted quote (?!) about Monaco practice summed it up perfectly – “you get top in practice, it’s like having pole position for two days.” It may count for little in terms of the championship but you can be sure the sponsors are happy for their team to come top on Friday, as it was also mentioned Friday practice is ”all about the Saturday headlines.” 

The role of sponsorship in any sport can not be underplayed but it is of particular significance to F1, given the costs involved in entering and running a team for a season. Of course the sponsorship is worth it when you consider the amount of publicity generated, from worldwide TV coverage and thousands of inches of press cuttings to driver guest appearences, fansites, social media and adverts. F1 has the ability to reach more people than possibly any other major sport out there and with money tight and competition to secure names fierce you can guarantee sponsors are looking to get as much ‘bang for their buck’ as possible, including logos flashed from drivers and cars being placed in park ferme uno.

Williams in particular have had a good run this season during practice, keeping smiles on the faces of their fans as well as execs at AT&T, RBS and Phillips. Some fans feel, however, that the teams overall performance is suffering as a result of their ’showboating’ and Williams seem to have backed off from it - could this be a source of tension between the team’s PR’s and their engineers? Would you prefer to see your team concentrate on set-up through practice? Or do you get a little buzz if you see one of your guys hit the topspot in practice – especially given the obvious dominance of certain teams come race day?

Whilst cheers will not doubt be ringing from the Mclaren motorhome, and the Mercedes headquarters, it remains to be seen which team, and sponsors, will be cheering when the checkered flag falls Sunday, my prediction? A Brawn in a Red Bull sandwich.

VICTORY IS PRICELESS…

Apparently this week something historic happened at Lords, and boy are the Aussies not happy! Thankfully those down under have had sporting success in other realms, namely with a certain Mr. Webber’s recent maiden victory, but it seems that success will have to be it’s own reward for Mark since increased sponsorship won’t be…

When he first started out companies such as Foster’s and that popular Australian export Yellow Pages(?!), were clamouring  to tie their colours to the Webber’s speeding cart but in the last 130+ races they’ve understandably grown a little impatient and moved elsewhere, leaving Australia’s third GP victor without a local sponsor. German, Brazilian and English brands have all had some involvement in the sport, backing drivers and manufacturers from their respective lands so are the Aussies missing a trick?

Mark’s manager, and wife and PR supremo, Ann Neal says that companies need to be shown the benefit of F1 sponsorship before they’re encouraged to invest and in the past yes this could have proved difficult; it’s a simple fact those at the back of the grid get less coverage than those at the front and with Australians being traditionally successful in many sporting arenas drivers faced a lot of competition for a limited amount of sponsorship.

According to Mark’s predecessor, Alan Jones, fans would be happy to see Webber backed by a local sponsor and it’s a missed opportunity. Brands are famous for getting behind stars who have tasted victory (think Olympian Chris Hoy and Bran Flakes) but such deals take time and effort, effort according to reports the Red Bull team are unlikely to make. The team have said whilst they’re happy to point journalists in Mark’s direction the only campaign built around his victory will be the column inches the journo’s chose to write. This seems a strange decision to take and, in difficult times for the sport, I would think the team would be looking for any and all sponsorship opportunities.

What do you think? Would you like to see sponsors backing their countrymen? Or do you think one victory does not a media darling make? As always you know what to do with the comment button!

ALONSO ABSENCE – A SAFE BET?

Following the weekend’s horrifying events in Hungary, and with the tragedy of Henry Surtee’s fatal accident still fresh in people’s minds,  it’s no surprise that safety has become of paramount importance in F1. Their were those who felt Alguersuari would prove a safety risk on the track (although congratulations to him for a solid debut) and then there was Renault…

I’m sure I won’t be alone in saying my heart jumped as high as Alonso’s right front tyre when it came tearing off his car and headed, mercifully, for the grass verge. As punishment the FIA have issued a ban to Renault for the European grand prix; the European Grand Prix that’s held in Valencia; in other words the European grand prix that’s Alonsomania part deux. So is this a wise move? Is it a necessary move? And what could it end up costing Renault?

We’re constantly told that racing in F1 is team effort; Each and everyone of a typical team’s 1,000 employees plays a vital role - win as one, lose as one, right? Well as far as winning goes yes, “I’d like to thank all of the team for their hard work” has become almost as synonymous with victory as the champagne spray, but when things go wrong all of sudden it becomes a case of everyman for himself. In this season alone we’ve waved goodbye to Ferrari’s head of aerodynamics John Iley, after claims ‘serious’ errors in his department lead to the prancing horse’s lack of pace, and Mclaren’s sporting director, Dave Ryanover the now infamous ‘lie-gate’ incident; is it just me or should Renault’s wheelman and lollipop man be panicking right about now? Would a well-timed sacrifice be enough to appease the FIA or should the ban stick?

If it does (and at this point I haven’t made my mind up) the effect on Renault could be catastrophic…Sadly it looks as though Massa won’t be racing again in ’09 and Renault are contractually obliged to offer Alonso a drive at every race of the seaon. So we have a star driver effectively on release and a star team with a driver spot available; I’m not sporty but even I could make this (logic) leap.

If Alonso were to develop a taste for red that would leave Renault with a couple of interesting options, unfortunately it’s unlikely any would be competitive – do Renault stick with Piquet Jnr and bring in a test driver? Do they swap Piquet with Grosjean (a rumour rapidly gathering pace) and bring in an Alguersuari-alike or, unlikely, hope to paoch themselves a driver from the current line-up?

If neither happens and Renault and Alonso are forced to extend their summer break their are race organisers in Valencia who will need more a few Nytol to help them sleep. As a double world champion Alonso is a hugely popular figure in Spain and since Alguersuari-mania will still be getting off the ground organisers will be hoping the original Spanish speedster puts in an appearence, bringing with him more than a few fans. Valencia didn’t exactly set the calendar alight last year, ticket sales have been slow and the circuit needs to start proving it can bring in the cash or could find itself going the way of Iley and Ryan.

What do you think? Should Renault be banned?  Would Alonso be welcome at Ferrari? And will Valencia survive to host another race?

RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON…

When I was little I used to like the posters in my local chip shop, they had the slogan ‘fish without chips would be like…’ and various taglines. This was during the late 90’s/early 00’s and it surprises me now that the one great partnership they didn’t include was Schumacher and Ferrari – a match made in motorsport heaven. Hamilton may have been with Mclaren for a long time, Button stuck by Honda/Brawn and Coulthard and Vettel certainly have a taste for Red Bull but it is the partnership of the seven-times world champion and the prancing horse that will stand as one of the most endearing in modern times.

Like all F1 fans I had an opinion on Schumacher, the guy was motorsport marmite; you could love him or hate him, but either way it was impossible not to respect his achievement. Now one of sport’s greatest prodigal sons is  returning and it’s not just fans that are clapping their hands…

Ticket sales have already been boosted and the headlines being generated during the traditional quiet period for F1 are remarkable, everybody wants a slice of Schumacher - the man is a marketer’s dream. Some of you may know I write articles for enterf1.com and recently wrote about age v experience when it comes to employing drivers in F1, the jury may still be out on that debate but as far as generating publicity goes there’s no contest….