F1 Madness

Tag: grand prix drivers association

  • GPDA 2015 Fan Survey Results – General Overview

    GPDA 2015 Fan Survey Results – General Overview

    The Grand Prix Driver’s Association (GPDA) has released the result of their global Formula 1 fan survey.

    The overall make-up of the global survey revealed that more than 215 000 fans from 194 countries took part in the survey.  “As F1 drivers we share a passion and deep love for our sport with our fans…We want to give every F1 fan the opportunity to share that passion and for us to understand what they really think about us and our sport. We’ve heard the calls for fans to be consulted and this is our initiative to make that a reality,” writes GPDA chairman Alex Wurz.

    The survey ran from the 22nd of May through to the 8th of June 2015 with the top five represented countries listed as the UK, France, USA, Austria and Germany. The prominence of France and Germany is significant if you consider than neither of these countries currently form part of the Formula 1 calendar. It is noteworthy too that the US fans feature high up the list as Formula 1 has invested a great deal to grow its brand here.The Netherlands, Australia, Japan, Italy and Brazil comprised the rest of the top ten countries.

    The demographics of Formula 1 reveal that the average age of F1 fans are between 25 and 44 years old, with their support spanning an average of ten years. Of these fans only 1 in 5 has attended a grand prix in the last twelve months. The survey revealed that the biggest motivating factor are good vantage points, pit lane walkabouts and paddock tours. It seems F1 fans would like to see an approach similar to that NASCAR takes in the US. Here, fans are able to roam around the pitlane and paddock area and in a decidedly more relaxed atmosphere interact with their favourite drivers.

     

     

  • F1 drivers will boycott German GP if tyre problems persist

    F1 drivers will boycott German GP if tyre problems persist

    Formula One drivers have threatened to boycott the German Grand Prix this weekend if a repeat of the problems at Silverstone are experienced.

    Four drivers suffered blown tyres during a dramatic British Grand Prix on Sunday at Silverstone, forcing Pirelli to revert to Kevlar-belted tyres for this weekend’s race at the Nurburgring. They will also be introducing a new tyre for the remainder of the season.

    Although Pirelli are confident that bringing back the Kevlar-belted tyres this weekend will ensure that a repeat of the Silverstone fiasco is not suffered, drivers are not fully satisfied and the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, which represents the majority of drivers, said its members wanted to express their “deepest concerns”.

    In a statement following a meeting of the GPDA on Thursday evening, a statement was issued stating that should similar problems occur during the German GP weekend, they would withdraw from the event in the interest of safety.

    The statement read:

    “The drivers of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association wish to express their deepest concerns about the events that took place at Silverstone.

    “We trust that the changes made to the tyres will have the desired results and that similar problems will not occur during the German GP weekend.

    “We are ready to drive our cars to the limit, as we always do, and as it is expected by our teams, sponsors and fans.

    “However, the drivers have decided that, if similar problems should manifest themselves during the German GP, we shall immediately withdraw from the event, as this avoidable problem with the tyres endangers again the lives of drivers, marshals and fans.”

    Fernando AlonsoFernando Alonso spoke earlier on Thursday about the dangerous situation he found himself in behind Sergio Perez who suffered a blow out. “I committed to overtake Sergio on the left,” he said, “I was lucky because maybe if I chose the right, everything would hit my helmet. There are pieces of steel coming at 300kph so it would be like a bullet or a knife.” He added, “Pirelli made some changes. We trust them. We think they solve the problem.”

    Pirelli issued a statement on Tuesday blaming the failures on the teams but Jenson Button said following the GPDA meeting that “We followed all of Pirelli’s guidelines – on both cars.”

    Pictures have been posted on the Internet showing that tyre swapping was taking place but no further comment has been made about this by the drivers.