Grupo Drumstation

Público·654 miembros

Fans are being let into ‘the inner sanctum’ of F1 – for a price

With just 20 driving spots up for grabs, the vast majority of motorsport enthusiasts will never know what it’s like to sit behind the wheel of a Formula One car. Yet, for a price, the public can get closer than ever before.

F1 Experiences – the sport’s official experience, hospitality and travel program – vows to bring both new and seasoned fans as close as possible to the action via a range of race week offerings.

“We want people to come to Formula One – that’s our job,” F1 Experiences president Keith Bruce told CNN ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix in December.

“It’s great to watch it on television or streaming on your phone, but ultimately, our goal is to make you want to get on a plane, get in a car, get on a train and come to a Formula One race anywhere around the world.”

From Australia in March through to Abu Dhabi in December, packages are offered for all 24 races that will span 21 countries across the 2025 season.

A ticket to the Grand Prix itself is the cornerstone for most of them, but the activities that accompany it can vary widely, with more than 20 experiences offered across race week.

Many are focused on bringing fans behind the curtain: Pit Lane Walks, typically run on the Thursday or Friday of a standard race week, offer guests the opportunity to walk past all 10 team garages and peer in at mechanics – and sometimes team principals and drivers – as they scuttle to ready the cars.

As a result, garage crews have grown accustomed to working in front of a crowd.

“It’s a real eye-opener for them (the fans),” Aston Martin Team race coordinator Joe Micklewright told CNN.

“When they come behind the doors and have a look at the Formula One car for themselves up close, they love it.”

The walk is often accompanied by a photo opportunity with the championship trophy and a guided track tour, which sees as many as 60 fans board a flatbed truck to take a lap of the circuit.

“It’s one of my favorite experiences, because it gives you a pure perspective of what it’s like to be on the Formula One track,” Bruce explained.

“You get to see the chicanes, you understand the curvature of the track, you really get an appreciation for the elevation and also the technicality that goes into managing 60 to 70 laps around a Formula One circuit.”

Backstage pass

The more expensive packages can secure passage into what Bruce dubs the “inner sanctum” of F1: the paddock.

Guided Paddock Access sees groups of up to 12 fans escorted on a 30-minute journey around the truck trailers and hospitality suites which dot the area behind the garages that is strictly restricted to teams, sponsors, media, F1 staff and invited celebrity guests. The most premium packages include full-day paddock passes, allowing guests to come and go as they please.

It marks a stark change from the more guarded approach adopted before US media giants Liberty Media assumed ownership of F1 in 2017, says PA Media’s F1 correspondent Phil Duncan.

“Perhaps in the Bernie Ecclestone era, the idea was you wanted to keep that shield around the paddock,” Duncan told CNN. “It was that mysterious element – ‘What’s going on in there? We want to go in but we can’t.’

“Liberty Media have opened that up, so you have a lot more of not just VIPs, but fans in there – taking pictures with drivers, selfies, all that sort of stuff that we didn’t really have in the past.”

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