Race promoters need to do more

Joe thinks race promoters need to do more than just put on motor races...

It’s fair to say that a lot of race promoters in Formula 1 don’t really bother to do more than just put on motor races. They might add some static displays or an air show, but beyond that it is simply a question of making as much money as possible – if only to pay the fees that are now demanded. Why spend more than you have to? But the times are changing and getting big crowds to watch car racing these days is not easy, particularly if the circuit is not downtown. The problem of noise remains a serious one, while the proximity of racetracks to cities is required to get big crowds. Public transport helps, particularly in this day and age when one needs to think about the ecological impact of the spectators, more than the racing cars, but the fans want value for money and so promoters are now looking to do more as crowd numbers dwindle.

The concept of hosting concerts that are free to the ticket holders is not really a new idea, but it makes a huge amount of sense for all concerned. The infrastructure required for such big events is already in place, and so the overheads for a concert promoter are much reduced. It makes for a much better weekend for fans, with racing during the day and concerts in the evenings. This helps to draw non-traditional fans and create new followers for the bands amongst the regular motorsport spectators. It helps that the musicians are around on race day and can help promote the sport as well.

The first concerts I can recall were in the late 1980s at the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide. They did the job properly down there, and there were some big name acts – notably Cher and Tina Turner. Since those days the idea has spread to many other events, both in F1 and across motorsport in general. And the bands seen at Grands Prix make an impressive list: Paul McCartney, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Muse, Pharrell Williams, Justin Bieber, Robbie Williams, Jennifer Lopez, Lenny Kravitz, Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears, The Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Aerosmith, Linkin Park, Bon Jovi, The Killers, ZZ Top, Simple Minds, Jamiroquai, Santana, and many more. The concerts have become an integral part of some Grands Prix, notably Singapore and Abu Dhabi. There was even an F1 Rocks company, back in 2009 – a partnership between Formula One Administration and the Universal Music Group – designed to create TV shows that would be available on digital TV. For reasons that are not entirely clear (but almost certainly related to money) this stopped operating quite rapidly and has never returned.

The aim of all of this is ultimately to broaden the appeal of racing and create a festival kind of atmosphere, which will draw fans back to a circuit each and every year. Adelaide showed how this could be done, but it was a city with only a million inhabitants the race tended to dominate the city. In Melbourne, a city of three million, the race is still big news but it doesn’t take over the place as it did in Adelaide. The people who really have it right these days are Montreal, a city of about 3.8 million. They have put the bands downtown, and today it’s reckoned that more visitors come to the city at Grand Prix time to join the party, rather than to watch the race. That’s brilliant, and there is no doubt that in Montreal the place feels alive when F1 is in town. Singapore does a very good job too, and, of course, Monaco has an atmosphere all of its own when it comes to the Grand Prix weekend.

When the United States GP in Austin began a few years ago, it looked like they had understood how to do it. The town was hopping with life, but they still found it tough to sell tickets for F1 – particularly last year when the rains descended. That was a disaster! Since then the local government has tried to wiggle out of its commitments to provide funding for the race. The Circuit of the Americas has, commendably, fought back and has decided to try to drive some new business using music. Ambition is a fine thing, because they didn’t just go for the old rock and roll bands that appeal to the average middle-aged male F1 fan – but instead have gone out and got the biggest possible music act to play in the circuit’s 14,000 capacity amphitheatre – located at the foot of the circuit’s iconic tower. Taylor Swift currently has no plans to play anywhere in 2016, after her recent 81-date tour of the world that netted a cool $250 million. The girl doesn’t need the work, but she has agreed to play at the Grand Prix in Austin. And although her demographic is primarily young women, here’s a chance for her to pick up the older folk as well – and for F1 to find some new young fans.

Perhaps, then, the promoters of F1 in India ought to be looking at which musical act they can line up while simultaneously developing a strategy to negotiate with Bernie…

Joe Saward has been covering Formula 1 full-time for 28 years. He has not missed a race since 1988.