25th September 2005, Brands Hatch, England. A1 Grand Prix's (A1GP) inaugural Grand Prix is underway, cheered on by an excitable British crowd, filledwith intrigue and anticipation. What was the goal of this new formula? And what was its aim?
Twenty-eight countries spread from all corners of the globe have competed in the championship during its short history, clearly illustrating that it is attracting a global audience. The field is competitive with numerous teams consistentlychallenging for race victories however, having recently attended a meeting at Brands Hatch I couldn't help but feel the sport isn't getting the reception it deserves. The atmosphere was quite with little emotion being shown from an undersized crowd, despite a strong British performance. I couldn't help but comprehend what a shame it is.
A1GP was set about to revolutionise the world of open- wheeled motorsports by having its competing drivers represent their country rather than an independent constructor. For this reason it is dubbed "The World Cup of Motor sport." Each participating country was given a car, manufactured by Lola, identical to each of the other participants. This innovative idea was brought about to challenge drivers more so than other formula's and also, at the same time, to make better viewing for spectators.
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The spectacle of A1GP, although incomparable to Formula 1, is great. Tickets are cheap and innovative ideas are constantly being put forward to make a grand prix weekend more interactive for the fans. A particular example of this is the chance for fans to have a go at changing a car's wheel in a simulated pit stop, the quickest time of the day winning a race day grid walk. In comparison to Formula 1 it is far more approachable, a paddock pass costs as little as £10 making it easy for fans to meet their favourite drivers. So why has the sport not flourished into the global phenomenon it could so easily have been?
Well, to begin with, A1GP as a sport is still getting its feet off the ground, having only just finished its third year. Motor racing giant Ferrari have recently agreed to aid in the manufacture and design of the race cars for the next six years, despite a 212 million dollar loss the sport accumulated in its debut season alone. The agreement Ferrari could potentially bring about faster, more intense racing thus attracting more fans.
Also the sport continues to produce excitable racing talents, most notably German driver Nico Hülkenberg from the 2006/ 2007 season while at the same time attracting high profile drivers such as ex- F1 stars Alex Yoong and Jos Verstappen. However, as a fan, I feel the sport is not doing enough to reach out to a worldwide audience. A bigger marketing campaign as well as a greater variety of memorabilia for sale could see the sport generate more revenue. More coverage on TV and interactive features on their website could also attract a greater fan base. At the moment, from looking at events within the UK, few TV adverts are broadcast to advertise the races they are broadcasting. How can people watch a sport if they do not know when it's on or where to watch it?
From looking at the events discussed in the article I feel it is fair to conclude that A1GP is an exciting form of open wheeled racing with great potential to attract many fans from the world over. More needs to be done however to make people aware of the sport in order for it to grow further, developments such as the introduction of Ferrari developed cars next year could help catalyse the sports growth.
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3 months ago
I must admit I'm drifting away from F1 but A1 GP isn't attracting me either. Is it too similar maybe? I can't put my finger on it because I was SO excited about the format when it was first introduced!
3 months ago
I'll never drift away from F1, but I am starting to become a fan of A1. It has some cracking tracks that we otherwise would not have seen in Formula One.
3 months ago
I can't say I have really got in A1 GP. Admittedly the main reason for that is I don't have Sky otherwise I would watch.
Despite that I really don't like the look of the cars for some reason, they look a little bit ugly and I think they need to be faster, the top speed at the moment is only 150 mph if I remember rightly, GP2 is a fair bit faster and has better talent than A1 has so I much rather watch GP2 than A1 at the present time and GP2 is just a feeder series, A1 want to take on F1 so there is a long way to go.
Lets see how A1 progresses with Ferrari cars and engines, hopefully those cars will be more thrilling to watch and challenging than the current ones and maybe make the series higher profile than it is now.
Will A1 ever rival F1? Very doubtful, it needs to attract big names, that was attracts the fans more than the actual series in my view. If Raikkonen, Hamilton, Alonso all suddenly moved to A1 their allegience of fans would move with them.
from 3 months ago
Hey daniel, I think A1 is repeated on Channel five. If the big boys moved to A1 that would brilliant for A1. F1 would suffer, but it would be funny to see Bernie in a bad mood lol.
from 3 months ago
Hi Daniel. The series started 4 years ago with a design of car that could be used by experienced drivers and learnt quickly by novice drivers from non-motorsport nations. The original aim from day one was to attract countries to motorsport who have no history in the sport.
There was always going to be a 'bump' in power for season 4 but then Ferrari became interested and the whole package is getting a 'bump' -- for the better? -- won't know for another year!
Top speed is not the thing that produces the 'WoW' in motor racing it is the cars actually competing and overtaking etc.
A1 will never try to replace F1 -- they are different animals -- along with the thought process of following a driver rather than a team [your nation]. In A1 you could [in theory] have a different driver in the car for every race in the season.
A1GP is great racing and getting better year on year -- give it an eye over the F1 off-season -- you won't be disappointed!
Martin-A1
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