How to get more in touch with the fans....

[pink69]

Various people in F1 have been saying that drivers and teams should be doing more for the fans. At present, all they do is tour the circuit on the back of a truck waving. Now granted the drivers have alot to do over the weekend but it doesn't take much to show alittle more commitment to the people who week after week, year after year turn out to support the drivers. For instance, I attended the BTCC event at Donnington at the weekend, which was my first visit to a TOCA event. I fully expected it to be closed paddock but I was pleasently surprised when I saw people freely wandering in and out of the paddock. There were people in the teams tents talking to the staff, sitting in some of the cars and there was even the odd driver about to talk to. Why doesn't F1 follow suit? Instead they charge people obseen prices to get access to the paddock area and there is little chance of getting to chat to Michael Schumacher or any of the other drivers. I saw Jason Templeman happily chatting away to a family for over 10 minutes during my time in the paddock. Surely this isn't stretching the F1 guys too much, how about it???? :confused:

[The Zuschauer]

Formula One is just a *tad* bigger than BTCC.

Even though they restrict the paddock access as much as possible, the drivers still suffer headaches from the number of people that approach them. I've been in exclusive paddock area a number of times, and although you can see the drivers wandering around, they still get pestered past the point where its funny.

Consider that they spend so much time on the road, living in the paddocks, that its basically an invasion of their home.

What I would like to see, is if ALL the drivers were made approachable BEFORE the grand prix, such as on the Thursday morning. Then, only hardcore (and sober) fans would be keen enough to visit, and it could easily be a pleasure for the drivers to chat to people who know what they are talking about.

If you open up the paddock on Sunday, imagine how many "once a year" race fans would pester the poor drivers.

I for one sympathise with them.

[ElScOrChO]

Zuschauer: your idea makes a lot of sense!

Only people who really want to go to the track on thursday will be there. It's not everyone who would be keen to take a day off of work to go to the race track

[Jay]

Heaven forbid they should have to deal with fans in the paddock area . I've been in the Cart paddock when it was so crowded that you could not move at all, and it didn't seem to bother any of the drivers to get through on scooters there - sign a few autographs as they head from their motorhome to the pitlane.

I see NO good reason why ALL of the F1 drivers could not be made available for a one hour (or more) autograph session on Friday or Saturday. I understand the number of people that attend F1 races, and not every fan would be able to get every driver's autograph, but it would at least give those that want to meet their favorite driver the opportunity - if they want to wait in line long enough.

I was happy to see that Takuma Sato, Jensen Button and Kimi Raikkonen had brief autograph sessions in Montreal - it's a step in the right direction, but again, I see no good reason that all of them couldn't do it for 1 hour on Friday or Saturday. And I am very familiar with what drivers go through in a weekend before and after their on-track sessions, as well as in between - they ALL have an hour to give back to their fans burried in their schedules.

If F1 were seriously interested in their fans, they'd make their drivers available to them. But obviously, as they're pockets are all lined to the brim, they couldn't give less of a **** about the people who pay a good portion of their income to see their sport.

[DragonFly]

Once upon a time it used to be like that. I can remember (more years ago than I care to remember) wandering into the pit lane & seeing Colin Chapman then meeting Elio de Angelis in the paddock - that was at Brands Hatch and even in those days 20-odd years ago when the British GP alternated between Brands & Silverstone, Silverstone was far more restrictive. I stoppped going to GP's maybe 10 years ago for this very reason. I kept arriving at Silverstone expecting to find machine gun towers every 100 meters along the perimeter fence. These days I prefer the "clubbies" & the FF festival if I'm going to make weekend of it! Having said that, nothing smells or sounds quite like a formula 1 car!

[jetsetter]

Maybe they could set a time before the serious part of the weekend where the driver's have a big meet & greet session with their fans. I will say that Mark Webber has done a fantastic job with his fans the last couple of years before the Australian Grand Prix & Marc Gene always does a great job when he visits for G.P. time.

[The Zuschauer]

Originally posted by Jay
...but it would at least give those that want to meet their favorite driver the opportunity - if they want to wait in line long enough.

You have 100,000 people at the circuit, and I guarantee you, nearly every one of them would line up for Michael Schumacher. Outside of him, there'd be smaller lines for JPM, JV, Ralf, Kimi & DC.

Meanwhile, over in the corner, you'd find Trulli, Alonso, Webber, Wilson, Rubens, Kiesa, Verstappen, Fisichella, Firman and the rest all having a nice chat with a few hardcore fans, because nobody (the once a year face fans) even recognises them. Harsh, but true.

[Stephen Green]

Just to clear up one point made at the outest of this thread. Paddock access at BTCC meetings is not normally free. Generally there is a charge made to attend the pitlane walkabout during lunchbreaks.

Having said all that, it's not the fault of Silverstone for the fencing etc. It's demanded by Bernie and the F1 brigade. It has gotten so bad that now all support races are within the 'camp' and so access to F3000 or Porsche Super Cup teams is also prohibited.

I agree that there should be an autograph session, arguably on Friday and Saturday to ease the crowd situation. Why don't they revert to the old system of drivers sitting in open top cars during the parade lap?

[jetsetter]

Stephen, the point you make about the drivers sitting in open top cars during the drivers parade is a good one as that's what they do here in Australia & the crowd & the drivers all appear to enjoy themselves during the parade lap.

[Stephen Green]

They used to do it here too until about 3 or 4 years ago. By putting them all together on the truck they forget about the spectators and end up chatting to each other and ignoring the fans.

[GP Racer]

Originally posted by The Zuschauer
You have 100,000 people at the circuit, and I guarantee you, nearly every one of them would line up for Michael Schumacher. Outside of him, there'd be smaller lines for JPM, JV, Ralf, Kimi & DC.

Meanwhile, over in the corner, you'd find Trulli, Alonso, Webber, Wilson, Rubens, Kiesa, Verstappen, Fisichella, Firman and the rest all having a nice chat with a few hardcore fans, because nobody (the once a year face fans) even recognises them. Harsh, but true.

You seem to have a real problem with the "once a year fans". Well, the GP only comes to most countries once a year, the rest of the time you have to follow it on T.V., and that coverage isn't all that great.

I'll be going to the U.S. GP at Indy this year, and I'll be spending a good deal of money to do it(transportation, hotel, tickets etc. etc.) and I don't think I or anybody else that makes the pilgrammage should be dismissed so casually as you do. Alittle fan appreciation from the teams and drivers wouldn't hurt and it would go a long way towards securing the future of there sport. We pay there salaries, and without us, what do you have?

As for your comment about about nobody caring enough to get autographs and talk to the drivers of the lesser teams, well thats just ridiculous. You seem to think very little of the peasants,(oops I mean fans!), but I guess that comes from being an F1 insider like yourself.

[Liz]

When I attended the Monza GP it cost me over $2,500.00 for the four day trip from Atlanta, Georgia. I don't know about you, Zuzschauer, but this is a sizeable chunk of my income and I considered myself extremely lucky to be able to attend as a once a year fan -- before they emasculated the track even. Your attitude seems to suggest that you are one of the HRBP High Rollers and Beautiful People who routinely lay out $50,000 for a Grand Prix season and take it out of petty cash. Most of us don't have that luxury.

And as for most of us "once a year fans" not recognizing anybody but TGF, you are quite seriously mistaken. The fact that we can only shell out for one Grand Prix a year does not mean we never watch or read about any of those we can't attend.

Finally, I agree with Jay that even a man who makes $85 million a year can lower himself for an hour per race to smile at and thank in person the people who saved and planned and went without and looked forward all year to the chance to say, "I came 5,000 miles to see you and tell you how much I admire you," and go back to their home country to tell everyone they know. It might even help some of these overpaid race horses to focus on just who they are cheating when a race finishes the way last year's USGP did. It's a whole different thing when you remember the faces of Joe and Joeanne Fan who maybe won't admire you so much if you do what you're thinking of doing ....

Just a thought.

P.S. I was privileged to be able to meet Jean Alesi in the Silverstone paddock after his 5th place in Canada, and he was delighted to be approached (briefly) and congratulated by fans. Jacques Villeneuve refused to turn round and look at us at all, and Eddie Irvine actually ran away.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by Jay
Heaven forbid they should have to deal with fans in the paddock area . I've been in the Cart paddock when it was so crowded that you could not move at all, and it didn't seem to bother any of the drivers to get through on scooters there - sign a few autographs as they head from their motorhome to the pitlane.

I see NO good reason why ALL of the F1 drivers could not be made available for a one hour (or more) autograph session on Friday or Saturday.

Imo, it's more than just down to the drivers. In CART, the teams use a customer chassis and customer engines whereas in F1, each constructor builds their own chassis and if F1 had fans walking about willy nilly then it leaves each team open to having their pits photographed by "spys"

just a thought.

[Jay]

So it's alright that the staff from the different teams can wander freely in the paddock, but the fans aren't allowed there because they might spy? :confused: I'm not talking about access to the garages (although at least leaving them open for the fans to have a look at a distance would be nice, just teh area around them where thye might have a chance to meet their heroes and see the cars up close. I figure if rival teams can - surely fans can.

I am well aware of the number of fans that attend most F1 races (although I think there were as many at last year's Cart race in Mexico City (100,000+), and it didn't seem to bother them). They had the standard autograph sessions there too...

As for the argument that everyone would line up for Schumachers, Montoya, etc... well if they want to they can come earlier and get the spots in line. I guarantee you even Justin Wilson and MArk Firman would have sizable lines. At the CArt races they give the first few hundred in line a ticket to show that they were there first - to prevent queue jumpers, and it works very well.

[Liz]

I think his name's Ralph, actually. But I'd line up for his autograph anyway.

[paulzinho]

Well I've alreay met Rubens, Panis and Wilson so I only have 17 queues to worry about!

[Derek Lawson]

Isn't about time these prima-donnas came down from their pedestals, they're human beings like the rest of us. Albeit they take a lot more risks than many of us in our day jobs but whose to say that they deserve any better treatment than say the Bomb Disposal Squad in Iraq? Let's give the fans an hour or so to collect their hero's signatures on the Friday before they get down to the serious stuff on Saturday and Sunday.

[The Zuschauer]

Looks like I've touched a nerve. What I call a "once a year" race fan is somebody who makes no effort all year round to watch the F1's on TV, and then turns up at the track on race day. They ask questions like "who's driving the white and blue car?". A large percentage of corporate visitors fall into that category.

Obviously, anybody in this forum is far from a once a year fan.

I agree with all of you that there should be an hour where the drivers are all available for autographs, but as I said, it would be nice if it was on the Thursday morning, as that would only be attended by the people that really care. Any time on Friday or Saturday, you'll get a bunch of drunkards standing in line with the rest of the (nice)people, and that's just not pleasant for anybody.

And there's a very small percentage of people at the track that would know who Jos Verstappen was - even if he was standing beside them waiting to get into the track! The same goes for a lot of other drivers, as long as it isn't their home grand prix. Again, the people in this forum would be part of the small percentage that would recognise those drivers. In fact, you could probably have a nice long conversation with Jos.

And thanks for the personal attacks. I'm not an HRBP High Roller (whatever that is), and I'm not an F1 Insider. My terminology might have come across a little harsh, but you know what I meant.

[Liz]

I did know what you meant -- although your definition of a "once a year fan" apparently was quite different from what most of us thought. I don't think the majority of people who pay their own $600 and up for a race weekend would fall into the "who's in the blue and white car" classs, although the majority of the High Rollers and Beautiful People swanning down the pitlane probably would. (I don't know one NA$CAR driver from the next, but then I am a "not even once a year watcher" of that series thus not unexpected.)

You did come across as patronizing and supercilious, but that may be an artefact of your writing style.

[jetsetter]

It's a bit harsh criticizing anyone who forks out their hard earned cash to attend a grand prix. I know i spend a few thousand dollars every year to attend the Australian Grand Prix & while you always get someone around you who doesn't know what they're watching (especially during the support races) they've paid for their ticket & have as much right to be there as anyone else.

[Jay]

Originally posted by Liz
I think his name's Ralph, actually. But I'd line up for his autograph anyway.

Guess I'm the once a year fan .

I agree with jetsetter though, if you buy a ticket, I don't care if it's your first race and you haven't heard of a single driver or team, you deserve some respect from the organisers and F1.

[Stevespurr]

I was at the Silvestone and Donington rounds of the BTCC and the pit lane was open for both of them (free). In 1973 I was at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and Both Peter Revson and Denny Hulme where giving autographs even the programme had a space for you to collect them my copy is signed by Revson. In Spain in 2000 & 2001 the Arrows team where signing autographs also Williams Jenson Button Spain 2000. So if some teams can make the effort why cannot more it does not have to be on the pit road or garages the circuits are big places with plenty of space that can be put aside for this purpose and used.