Scuderia warn sport is losing fans to "the internet and video games"
Thursday 4 June 2015 16:42, UK
New Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene wants F1 to make a noise “like that produced by a heavy metal band” and called for the sport to revolutionise its approach.
The Scuderia’s public disdain for F1’s quieter but greener new turbo era has been as loudly pronounced as their struggles on the track since the introduction of V6 engines a year ago. Last season, when the team failed to win a race for the first time in over a decade, their outgoing president Luca di Montezemolo claimed that the new rules would reduce the field to “taxi drivers".
In a fresh critique of the sport’s current guise issued through Ferrari’s website, Arrivabene, who replaced Marco Mattiacci as team boss in November, has called for F1 to be made “more spectacular” and declared that the spectre of losing fans “is something that has unfortunately already happened”.
"By 2017, I too would like to see cars that win over the fans, with cars that they can get closer to and that are aesthetically more appealing, maybe even producing a noise that gets your hair standing on end, like that produced by a heavy metal band," said Arrivabene.
“However, I don’t think a simple evolution is enough in this case. Instead, a real revolution is called for, with significant and radical changes. By that I mean more power, higher speeds, not necessarily involving the use of more fuel, but definitely applying a cost reduction to those components that are of little interest to the general public.”
The new Ferrari chief also suggested that F1 should consider staging pre-race weekend press conferences “outside the circuit in a public area” and the sport’s appeal as a ‘show’ is under growing threat from “a variety of forms of entertainment, not least from the internet, including racing video games.”
“It is up to us to provide something better and to download a new format for Formula 1 as soon as possible,” he concluded.
After what the team have described as a “late start” with the construction of their 2015 car, the Scuderia’s hierarchy have already warned they are braced for another “difficult” season. Their 2015 challenger will be unveiled on Friday, two days before the first winter test of the year in Jerez.
The Sky Sports F1 Online team will be providing live commentary of all three winter tests, starting in Jerez on February 1, with live updates from trackside also on Sky Sports News HQ.
