Opinion
At the end of last year it was announced that Formula 1 would launch its new era of regulations with three weeks of on track testing. However, to the confusion of many fans it was declared that the first test would be held behind closed doors at Barcelona’s Circuit to Catalunya. This private test, which came to be known as the Shakedown, wasn’t broadcast online and media outlets were unable to attend the event. As a result of this, coverage of the event was extremely limited, leaving many fans (including myself) feeling frustrated during a time of the year which is usually an extremely exciting time for the sport.
Ever since I started watching Formula 1, those few weeks in February when all the teams reveal their cars to the world have always been some of the most exciting times of the year. During the long winter, news of the sport hits an annual low, but the anticipation of new cars would bring fresh discussion into the F1 community.
This pre-season excitement is especially energized when a new set of regulations comes around. Brand new technical regulations mean a brand new look for the sport, and often a shakeup in the grid order. For most, a new formula is what keeps the sport fresh and gives its longevity.
However, as it is with this private test, this pre-season excitement is dampened significantly when the cars are revealed on track, before they are even launched.
A few teams like Aston Martin, Cadillac and Audi effectively revealed their cars to the world the moment they rolled their cars out of the garage in Barcelona. After their first on track debuts during The Shakedown, many of these teams would have official launch events for their livery and car in the weeks following; even though we had all already seen the cars. To many fans, it is still extremely exciting to see the brand new cars hit the track, however, it feels like a very anticlimactic start to a new era of cars, especially when these cars are revealed with blacked out testing liveries.
Additionally, comes the social media issue. In an era where social media content is the main source of fan engagement, having to find the new cars through low quality images online, doesn’t help the spectacle of a new season. One of the reasons the private test was favored was to let teams go about their business without the constant barrage of media, but it seems naive not to think on-track images would surface anyway.
Ironically, even with the extra security, and restrictions on coverage, the F1 social platforms were posting constant updates and highlight videos during the test. Not to my surprise this frustrated a number of fans, who felt that the test should have been broadcast, if it was going to be covered by F1TV anyway. For a company like Liberty Media that has spent so many years attempting to improve accessibility to the sport; it seems like a huge missed opportunity.
According to ESPN, it was rumored in the paddock that Formula 1 wanted to hold an official test in Barcelona, but decided to market it as “The Shakedown,” as F1 is under contractual obligation to hold the first official test of the season in Bahrain. While we will have two weeks of official testing there in the coming month, the initial season rollout has already diminished the spectacle.
Next time Formula 1 launches into a new era, I hope fan enthusiasm is met with a worthy event and not the confusion and secrecy we saw this year.
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