The Formula 1 giants have been at the forefront of digital technology (online as well as on the track) for a number of years now and continue to innovate.  Some fans though will be sad to see the renaming of the industry-acclaimed @TheFifthDriver as it becomes @McLarenF1.  This change will be promoted at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix with the new handle appearing on the front wing endplate of Jenson Button and Checo Perez’s cars.

The change will make it easier for McLaren’s global fanbase to identify and engage with the team on Twitter and reflects the wider digital engagement strategy to make the team as accessible as possible to a greater number of people – in turn providing them with a unique insight into the heart of a living and breathing Formula 1 team.

Over the last 12 months, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has seen strong growth in follower numbers and engagement across its social media channels, owing to a revised approach to content strategy, social media campaigns and entering new and emerging digital platforms:

•     During the last 12 months, the number of followers on the official Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Facebook page has increased by 40% to over 700,000.
•     In the same period, Twitter numbers have grown by 80% to almost 350,000
•     Since entering Google+ in December 2012, follower numbers have surpassed the 100,000 mark

As part of a new digital engagement strategy, the official Vodafone McLaren Mercedes website was also re-launched at the start of the 2013 season. Developed in a responsive format, the new website further empowers fans to stay up to date with the latest from the team across multiple devices. As part of the relaunch, the team’s long-standing adaptation of a second-screen viewing experience – now rebranded McLaren LIVE – continues to add to the race-day experience for fans and looks great.

McLaren.com/Formula1 will also be launching in Spanish, reflecting McLaren’s increasingly global fan base, which has been boosted by the signing of the latest Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver, Sergio Perez.

These developments are the latest in a series of achievements for a team that has developed a reputation for its forward-thinking approach to digital and social media – a fact that has been proven over the past four years. McLaren were the first Formula 1 team to offer fans the opportunity to view live telemetry during races and practice sessions, the first front-running team to start using Twitter, and more recently the team has embraced the full breadth of its social media platforms to spectacularly live-stream the MP4-28 car reveal.

Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes said:

“Our fans are at the heart of our digital strategy. We’ve strived hard to develop world-leading digital platforms that our fans can enjoy, while creating compellingly insightful content that draws them in and makes them feel part of our team.

@TheFifthDriver has not retired. Through the new handle of @McLarenF1, the mysterious micro-blogger will continue to give our fans unique access to the inner workings of one of the most successful teams in the history of Formula 1, the pinnacle of global motorsport.”

Article taken from original release on McLaren.com/Formula1

Video marketing is one of my newest passions, having spent a good amount of time looking at the nuances of it both at We Are Social and particularly now at Copa90. Now with the start of the new F1 season with us, a new report [infographic] has come out revealing huge areas of opportunities for brands.

Formula 1 is the biggest global sporting series in the world yet its brand partners are struggling to amplify the value of their sponsorship rights through branded video content.

As the new season gets underway, over 200 sponsors have again committed to the adrenalin-fuelled sport.  Yet Blended Republic, a new branded content consultancy with specialist F1 experience has revealed huge gaps in marketing potential after reviewing all video content created by each of the 221 listed F1 sponsors during the 2012 season.

The report: “Content Marketing in F1: From Exposure to Engagement” highlights that:

• Only 24% of sponsors create video content around their sponsorship
• Most video content fails to gain a significant audience with 66% of those videos achieving less than 1,000 video views on You Tube.
• Despite a quoted global TV audience of around ½ billion across 185 countries, less than 10% of F1 sponsors create content for use by F1 broadcasters.

Chris Sice, Managing Director of Blended Republic says:

“Formula 1 delivers unrivalled global exposure but most sponsors are struggling to create video content that connects with F1 fans.  The rise of social media and the popularity of F1 on TV present a huge opportunity for sponsors. Audiences crave content about F1 that fuels their passion for the sport.  As the news season dawns, there is enormous scope for those sponsors that can create video so compelling broadcasters will air it and fans share it on social media.”

The report highlights some of the best recent examples of branded videos created by F1 sponsors, summarises the potential benefits and provides a checklist of how F1 sponsors can develop effective branded content.

The key findings from the report can be viewed as an infographic below or check it out at http://www.blendedrepublic.co.uk/insight/f1-content-strategy-report.  

What do you think, are brands missing a trick here?

Over the past few months I’ve written a few pieces on Formula One and recently had the opportunity to provide my thoughts on the season we have just witnessed.

As part of their commitment towards motor racing, Money Supermarket, have been reaching out to bloggers within sport to help them produce an overall chart of who had the best season in their eyes.  As it proved, the order in which they finished in the main title event wasn’t necessarily translated to here.

See if you can spot the UKSN comment somewhere on the image (there is one there I promise).  And let me know in the comments at the bottom as to whether you agree with the final order.

A couple of weeks ago I was kindly invited to the HQ of one of Formula 1’s newest teams, the Russian owned Marussia F1.

They are based in Bunbury, near Oxford and have built up a team from scratch in a very short period of time.  They first found out they had been one of the 3 successful applicants in June 2009 and had less than 8 months to put a car onto the grid in time for the Bahrain GP at the start of the 2010 season.

They now have a staff of around 180 with the aim to grow it to nearer the 250 mark.  In terms of where they are against their rivals at the top of the table, they are nowhere near!

The reason for our visit was to ask questions to the team and one of their sponsors, Monster Jobs.  They partnered up after the team of 1, as it was then and is now 3, in the HR department who needed help in filling some of the more specific roles.

Katie Allen is in charge of bringing in the right people to the team.  Social Media has been something they have discussed a lot internally, especially this year, on how to best use it.

Currently it is seen as something for the fans rather than recruitment, which takes place through the website.  One thing they have done is work with Monster on bringing a jobs board onto their Facebook page.  It may not be a large page in terms of numbers but the idea is that then others within the company or industry can share the posts amongst their friends.  Chances are these friends are in the industry or a similar one and they may get some good leads from this.

One of the keys in getting the right staff has been to show what is unique about the team and how grounded they are.  The term ‘family’ is one used by all involved when talking about the team.  They have achieved this by video content and this has helped in giving candidates an idea as to what to expect from the team and is seeded out to sites (like UKSN) when there is something relevant.

We covered their search for a ‘Social Media Driver’ ahead of the British GP.  This has been replicated around the world with the initiative bringing fans into the heart of the experience of F1, giving them access they could never have dreamed of.

So far these videos have been viewed over 250k times and resulted in a huge number of people applying for positions.

Katie said “The branding work we’ve done with Monster has definitely caused a stir in the industry.  And, in addition to hearing positive feedback from the candidates we meet, we have also seen excitement amongst our current team members which has been an unexpected benefit.”

We then had the opportunity to speak with the team President and Sports Director, Graham Lowden.    For him Social Media has been at the heart of  bringing fans (and potential employees) closer to the team and developing the brand.

At the start, which they are still close to, it has been about building up a team from scratch with the emphasis being on the main logistics of getting a car onto the F1 start grid.

It has been Geoff Collins who really pushed the team to be involved with social as part of the development from an early stage.  They realise it is hugely important but at the same time presents significant challenges.  As an industry, F1 doesn’t do enough thinking together on what they can do better in things like social and he feels they should do it more.

There are a number of Marussia F1 senior staff on Twitter and Graham himself (although not on Twitter himself) used to tweet from the pitwall during race weekends.  Giving fans a valuable insight into what goes on and how the team are progressing.

Recently he admits they have become so busy with race weekends’ being so close together, that it has slipped.  But they plan to do more again soon.

We also had chance to speak to F1 veteran Timo Glock.  He has driven for Jordan, Toyota, Virgin and now Marussia.  He helps develop the team from a car performance point of view as well as getting results on the track to boost the team in F1.  The weekend before we spoke, Timo had produced a best ever finish for the team by cfinishing 12^th in Singapore.

You can see more of what he had to say in the video below but there were a couple of questions that avoided the camera.

One question I was keen to ask was on his tweets about making food.  A couple of years ago we wrote about his link up with an F1 site that brought together his love of food and Twitter.  Fans were asked to help choose what he cooked and then got to see the results.

This started off as a bit of fun but once it was getting more coverage this became lost for Timo.  It took away from what he did as a driver and became a bit of a joke that he just spent his time cooking and not driving.  This is why he stopped doing it.

Now watch the video below to hear more about his thoughts on Twitter, Facebook and engaging with fans…

Thanks to Marussia for being great hosts and to Monster Jobs / 3 Monkeys for setting the day up and inviting us along.  We’ll be keeping an eye out for the teams results from here on in for sure.

Here are some pics from the day;

The Grand Prix of Monaco is the most prestigious Formula One event of the year, providing drivers with the most challenging and demanding layout on the calendar around the twisty streets of the principality.

The winners of the event generally go on to become legends- with names like Senna, Schumacher, Moss, Stewart and Villeneuve all being synonymous with excellence in their field.  And now is your opportunity to see six of these legends in action live at the circuit.

MoneySupermarket.com is giving bloggers or website owners the opportunity to win two tickets to the 2013 race for what would be the ultimate dream day for any motorsport enthusiast.

This is a nice example of blogger outreach by the brand to help promote their work within F1.  Brands are taking bloggers more seriously with the realisation that online media can be just as powerful as offline.  Bringing together F1 fans that are keen on entering the competition will no doubt bring out more relationships, something in the long-term that can only help.

So, for any bloggers out there who are into their F1 and would like to get out the Monaco then get entering!

All you have to do is write a post about the Monaco Grand Prix from the past which you think has been the best and explaining your reasons for this choice. Perhaps it was the 1997 race where Michael Schumacher obliterated the field in the treacherous wet conditions- demonstrating his undoubted superiority over the rest of the field during that particular era. Another popular choice will undoubtedly be the 1982 which saw five different leaders in the final two laps of the race.

Whatever your opinions, the entries will all be judged based on the passion for and knowledge of the sport demonstrated by the entrants. MoneySupermarket.com is simply looking to reward the most deserving writer with the trip of a lifetime.

All blog posts must be at least 500 words long and feature an additional 100 word section at the bottom of the post explaining the competition. This must feature links to the MoneySupermarket competition page (http://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/f1ashback/) and also to their partners www.worldchoicesport.co.uk . Contestants are also welcome to tweet a mention of their entries from the hashtag #MonacoF1ashback in order to generate support.

Once you have completed your post, send the URL of your article to monacof1ashback@moneysupermarekt.com in order to register your entry and stand a chance of winning the opportunity to experience the ultimate day of motorsport action.

For the last few months Monster has been on a search for top talent to join the Marussia F1™ Team and now fans can get in on the action too. Monster and the Marussia F1™ Team are looking for a Social Media Driver for the British Grand Prix (7^th – 8^thJuly) to work behind the scenes and share their experience through the team’s social media channels.

All it takes is social media skills, creativity and imagination, as well as an unrivalled passion for Formula 1™.

The role will give one fan a truly unforgettable experience with exclusive access to the Marussia F1™ Team, a chance to interview the drivers and team members, interact with fans and get one of the best views at the British Grand Prix. The Social Media Driver will of course capture all of this in pictures and video to share with the world online.

But this isn’t a usual application process. Those looking to apply for this chance-of-a-lifetime role need to prove their social media credentials through interacting with Monster via the dedicated hashtag #SMDriver – evidence of their skills can include anything from a creative post, interviews with friends or even some fake commentary of a sporting event. The best creative execution will be chosen by Monster and the Marussia F1™ Team.

Alun Hindle, from the Marussia F1™ Team’s commercial team said: “This is a unique opportunity to win a behind-the-scenes experience at the British Grand Prix. We’re looking for someone with stand-out social media skills – their tweets, posts, pictures and videos are going to be seen by people all over the world. At Marussia F1™ Team we are constantly talking to and engaging with our fans and we’re looking for someone to be at the forefront of this when all eyes are on us during the incredible weekend of racing.”

“This really is a cool opportunity for anyone looking for a career in social media,” commented Michael Gentle, Head of Consumer Marketing at Monster.co.uk. “It is a chance to get exposure in one of the biggest sporting industries in the world and add some incredible experience to your CV. We’ll be judging all posts, videos and pictures through the #SMDriver hashtag during June to pick the lucky winner who will join the team at Silverstone in July.”

To find out how to be in the running for the Social Media Driver role visit http://mf1team.monster.co.uk.

As Formula 1 moves onto the most iconic and beloved circuits on the calendar with the Monaco Grand Prix shaping the sporting weekend ahead, we spoke to the Tony Fernandes, Team Principal of the new Lotus Racing team, who gives a fascinating insight into the team’s modern approach to Formula 1. In an exclusive chat with the UK Sports Network, Tony discusses the Lotus heritage, the impact of social media on the team’s communications strategy, why F1 is still has a lot to offer international brands and how Lotus Racing aims to put the sport’s legion of fans first.

As a new F1 team with an iconic name, how difficult is it to satisfy the F1 purists and concurrently appeal to new audiences?

“Some would see this as a potential problem, but since day one we’ve seen it as a major opportunity. The key to satisfying both parties has been honesty – we have never pretended to be, nor do we want to be, a rebirth of Colin Chapman’s Lotus, but we are very aware of the responsibility we have to uphold his legacy, and that of his cars, his drivers and his employees. We embrace a number of his philosophies in the way we go about racing – innovation, passion and dedication all being key watchwords for us, and those are as relevant to the purists as they are to the younger fans. We also chose our cars’ livery specifically because it is a contemporary nod to the classic green and yellow colours, and have been delighted to see that both new and old fans have unanimously come out in favour of our choice, many already saying it is by far the best looking car on the grid.  

So that’s the philosophy and the way we look on track – we’ve also embraced the new audience by being open, honest and very interactive in all forms of media. Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube all afford us the opportunity to talk directly to individual fans, to build a relationship with them that gives them unprecedented access to team information and to give us their feedback on what we do. F1 teams are notoriously secretive about what goes on behind the garage or factory doors, and we want to challenge that, so Mike Gascoyne will tweet from the pit wall the lap before Jarno pits, telling his 15,000 followers what’s about to happen on track, or I will share a picture of me embracing Heikki as he climbs out of his car having broken into Q2 for the first time  – this is how the fans talk to each other and share in each others’ lives, and we do the same.”

What are the objectives of the team in 2010 not only from a performance point of view, but also in terms of fan attraction?

“The performance goals are clear – we initially want to be the best of the new teams, then challenge the established runners in the midfield, and the top, as quickly as we can. After the first four races we have achieved our initial goals – we are comfortably the best of the new teams and in China we took on and beat Nico Hulkenberg’s Williams in a straight fight on track. We had a major upgrade package in Barcelona, with a new front wing, front and rear brake ducts, new turning vanes and a number of mechanical updates, so we now want to push on from a solid base and take on the likes of Toro Rosso, Force India and Williams.

From the fan’s perspective it’s also simple – we want to be the number one team that fans follow. Traditionally fans will support drivers, and only one team has really broken that mould, Ferrari. The Ferrari legend is very alluring, but so is Lotus, and we have the opportunity to take on Ferrari and beat them in the fan stakes. We are new, fresh, honest and inclusive, but with the added magic ingredients of heritage and credibility. For fans this is a very cool mix, and gives us the chance to become, in a reasonable timeframe, the fans’ favourite worldwide.”

How do you view Formula 1’s global perception? What needs to be done to increase F1’s international appeal?

“In recent years F1 has started breaking out of its traditional European based model, and has expanded into the Middle and Far East. Next year there will be a race in India, and with the launch of the South Korean race this year, and the success of the Singapore night race, there will be more races in the sub-continent and Asia in future. This is critically important for F1 as this is where the developing nations are – as the countries’ economies strengthen so do the buying power of their people, and there will be huge competition for their attention from every area of the sports and entertainment industries. F1 needs to be seen and heard in their countries, and needs to be accessible 24 / 7 via their mobiles, laptops and TVs with content that is truly innovative, engaging and creative, and that’s the challenge for F1 – embrace the digital world and see the fan numbers swell, hold it at arm’s length and football, the Olympics, music, film and games, to name but a few, will push F1 further and further down the fans’ list of priorities.

As an Anglo- Malaysian team we have a unique opportunity to open up the sport to fans across China, Asia and India, and to give the brightest talent from those areas the chance to work with us, both at our factory in the UK, and at our base in Sepang, where we will have an R&D and production facility, a museum and other visitor attractions, all aimed at creating employment opportunities in a global sport, and at giving fans access to Lotus Racing, its stories and its experiences.

The other aspect of the sport that needs looking at is the on track action. For too long now the rules have favoured the teams at the top and have not encouraged enough on track action. Great efforts have been made to spice up the action on track, but when conditions are variable and the teams are pushed to the limit, strategically and tactically, the fans see amazing action, on track and in the pits. Australia and China this year have produced two of the best races seen in years and that’s because of variable conditions. We can’t artificially reproduce those conditions, but we can decrease the artificial conditions that lead to processional races – one immediate way to do this is to get rid of blue flags. Every one of the guys on track is a racing driver, and yet we have to wave a flag to make them let fast cars through, further slowing down the guys in the midfield and down, and widening the gap between front and back even more. Do away with these flags and suddenly everyone has to concentrate throughout the whole race – the guys at the back come into play in the action, wherever they are in the race positions, the element of risk when overtaking is introduced throughout the pack and the metronomic nature of the latter stages of races will soon become battles all over the track – we’re here to race, and overtaking is racing, so let’s get rid of the flags and show the fans what the drivers can do.

Lotus is one of a few teams to really embrace social media (Facebook, Twitter) – was that a conscious decision?

“Very much so. As I’ve said earlier, our fans use social media to give each other total access to their lives, and why should we be any different? F1 precedent dictates that we should keep the doors shut and not give away any secrets, but why? What does that solve? Nothing. All too often a team has spent millions designing and building something that may or may not give them an extra tenth of a second on track, and when they finally unveil it everyone else rushes off and copies it, spending millions on something that has no relevance to fans and doesn’t improve the show at all. We must move away from this, and instead be thinking how we can use that money, or in fact much less money than is wasted on the latest gizmo, to embrace fans – let them experience what it’s like to be a mechanic in sweaty overall in 40° heat in Malaysia as Heikki’s about to pit, or what an Engineer is going through as the heat sensors on his car are rising to dangerous levels with three laps to go and he has to decided whether or not to bring his driver into the pit. That will increase our fan base, and that will ensure we have fans for life. Until we can all do that, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube are our best conduits to the fans, and we love the fact they respond to us every day.”

Does the team have a social media strategy as such?

“The strategy is simple. Embrace all the relevant social media platforms with content that is relevant, timely and innovative. We can over complicate it, but that’s what it boils down to in strategic terms. Tactically, the challenge is obviously immense, and requires a different but complimentary plan for each outlet, but we have embraced social media, we think, like no other team and are breaking new ground in our use of all its platforms.

Heikki is an active Tweeter, as are Mike and yourself, does this help break down the barriers between the teams and the fans?

“When used effectively Twitter is a fantastic tool for breaking down barriers – but it’s the same as having a conversation with your friends – say something interesting and relevant and you will get complimentary responses. Say something bland or banal and people will very quickly turn away and listen to someone else. That’s the challenge – to make it interesting. We’re lucky that we have a number of Tweeters in the team who are all interesting personalities, and that’s what fuels our Twitter strategy:

@h­_kovalainen gives insights every day into what the life of an F1 driver is really like. He seems to play a bit too much golf, but at least I know what he’s eating every day is healthy……..

@mikegascoyne definitely leads the way in F1 technical people, giving such detailed information about the team, on and off track, that some members of the media have already given us the title of Twitter Team of the Year

@mylotusracing is a source of general news from the team, again on and off track. There are a few people in the team who have access to that account, and they use it really well to give updates about what’s going on at the factory, show inside, for example, our new race trailers, and give timing updates throughout each on track session

@tonyfernandes is mine, and I’ve been an avid user now since late 2008. I love the fact I can tell a load of people what I’m doing and where I am in one message, and even more important to me is the fact people can respond to me directly and tell me what’s going on with them in their lives, what they think about AirAsia or Lotus Racing, ask my advice or tell me something amazing – it’s such a democratic tool, with no geographical, social or religious boundaries, it’s honestly one of my great loves.

Your website is very interactive, what was the thinking behind this concept and are there any developments in the pipeline?

“Thank you! The site was pulled together very quickly by a very talented team who worked extremely hard to get us online at the same time as we were putting the whole team together. The site is the gateway to everything we do as a team, it’s the door to all the content we produce, the conversations we have with our fans, it’s where our partners can create communities with our fans and it’s where we tell the world what we’re up to. It is being developed further now and we will very shortly be unveiling version 2 – keep clicking to find out what we’re up to next!

What can F1 learn from other sports…as a keen West Ham supporter do you have any football related experiences that can be transferred to F1?

“I’ve already said above what F1 needs to do to increase fan numbers and stay ahead of the other entertainment choices consumers have. The relatively recent explosion in interest in football is both down to the fantastic, interactive coverage it has around the world, and the way the brands involved in it use it as a platform for globally relevant, innovative marketing activities. Nike, Adidas, Coca Cola, Sony, Microsoft and all the other brands involved at club and international levels keep driving up awareness and fan loyalty, through amazing campaigns and great products. F1 must do the same, and the very nature of the sport, cool cars, amazing athletes and jaw dropping locations, give our sport the perfect platform to promote ourselves. This will see us replicate the success football has had in attracting new fans, particularly in Asia and India, and that’s the key lesson we can learn.” 

What does Formula 1 in 2010 stand for and what benefits can brands derive from an association with F1?

“F1 still stands for what it always has – speed, passion, glamour, risk, excitement, innovation, excellence and international cool! Any brand that counts these words amongst their own brand values can derive huge value from association with our sport, but the key is to embrace the sport and support the naming rights they purchase with fully integrated activation plans. There are too many brands in the sport who see the benefits of awareness, but, perhaps because their expectations were not fully managed, are somewhat blinded by the range of other opportunities that their investment can provide. We have a number of partners with Lotus Racing who are already showing what can be done with a well thought out strategic plan – Maxis, the leading Malaysian telco, have already created and launched an iphone application that within a week was the top application in Malaysia. This creates a dialogue with a new fanbase who will keep coming back to Maxis for more content, more access to the team, and this is a great use of their sponsorship. I think that shows what can be done, and what should be done by brands who come into the sport for the right business reasons.”

The signs have been there. From Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat to my own version: The (Sports Marketing) World Is Flat, it’s been clear that India was a country about to explode as a global leader from a sports perspective. Maybe not as participants – though that wouldn’t surprise me at all – but as viewers, and more importantly as consumers, the subcontinent (and the Indian diaspora) is poised to change the global face of sports marketing.

Anecdotal perhaps, but here are a couple of things to be aware of:

Earlier this year it was announced that YouTube would begin live streaming of select sports content. NFL football? English Premier League soccer? No, IPL cricket.

Yes, that’s a 4 hour 30 minute YouTube video. Cricket, more akin to religion than sport in India, is exploding all over the world. When ESPN bought the stellar cricket website, cricinfo, not many people here in the States took notice. Or rather, not many in the sports marketing world took notice. But ESPN saw what was happening. They saw that during the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup cricinfo got it’s highest percentage of page views from India. No prizes for guessing that one, but which country came next? The United States. Shortly after the tournament ESPN announced the purchase, and even today the U.S. ranks fourth for audience percentage on cricinfo, trailing India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

As cricket’s popularity continues to grow internationally, India’s players, teams and sponsors figure to cash in and they’ll be able to thank YouTube for helping to spread the word. As of this writing, the IPL’s official YouTube page had more than 16 million channel views and more than 55,000 subscribers. By contrast, ESPN’s official YouTube channel has more than 33,000 subscribers.

Outside of soccer, cricket is perhaps the most popular sport in the world. If any other sport could make an argument it would be F1. Another sport in which India is poised to become a major player.

It started in 2005 when Narain Karthikeyan became the first Indian to secure a ride in F1. Leave it to consummate showman and legendary hustler Eddie Jordan to be the first to try to capitalize on India’s huge potential by giving Karthikeyan a chance. Ultimately, Karthikeyan may have been a pioneer, but he didn’t achieve breakout success. Since then an Indian-based team,Force India, fronted by billionaire Vijay Mallya, has joined the F1 circus and a new driver, Karun Chandhok, has also entered the F1 ranks (see this Forbes India post for more on Karun and F1 in India).

We know that Indians are fans of cricket, but what about F1? That’s not really their sport is it? Well, a good friend, Mansi Trivedi has recently been doing some research on the subject which she was kind enough to share with me. I was somewhat surprised after reading some interviews she did with F1 fans of Indian backgrounds. This certainly speaks to my ignorance, but they sounded like Italian, British or Brazilian F1 fans (what should they have sounded like?). They loved the drama, the speed and the technology. They watched with friends, had favorite drivers, and though most had never seen a race in-person, that was high on their ultimate wish lists. According to ESPN-Star Sports, there will be 22.6 million such fans for the entire 2010 F1 season in India. With the F1-branded iPhone mobile app seemingly an instant hit, the sport is well placed to take advantage of this new fan base and the technology they are using to stay connected to friends and family who are spread out across the globe.

Kunal Shah is calling 2010 The Year of Indian Motorsport and with a round of the 2011 F1 championships scheduled to take place in India at the Jaypee Group Circuit in Uttar Pradesh, expect F1, and sports in general, to continue to gain traction in India.

We are just weeks away from the start of one of Formula 1′s most open and uncertain seasons for years. Teams have been desperate to get mileage on their new cars with just three official pre-season test sessions prior to Bahrain, but even the Spanish weather has been unusually fickle. Out of last week’s four-day session at the most southerly of Spain’s numerous testing venues, Jerez, two days were a complete washout, placing even greater importance on this week’s Barcelona test.

What can be deduced so far? In truth very little, but in the absence of real facts, we are left with traditional timesheet PR and that has been more prolific than ever before with the seeming eruption of Formula 1 accounts across the Twittersphere. From the most esteemed journalists to the most dedicated fans of the sport to the teams and drivers themselves, there is a veritable feast of F1 on Twitter. For those of us who devour every morsel of F1 ‘news’, Twitter accounts are burgeoning with seemingly endless opportunities to ‘follow testing live’.

This is a real breakthrough for Formula 1 whose fans are used to playing second fiddle to other sports when it comes to access and interaction. You only need to look at the continued frustration from the armchair spectators at the lack of Formula 1 coverage in HD to see just how insatiable their appetite is. With other leading sports not only embracing High Definition but also branching out into 3D and other cutting edge technologies, F1 has to avoid being left behind in the media stakes. F1 is the fastest moving, most technologically advanced sport on TV so it should be similarly ground-breaking and progressive in its adoption of the latest media and communication technology.

Twitter and Facebook have allowed those who work in the F1 paddock’s inner sanctum to do their own bit to bring the fans closer to the sport. Autosport and BBC journalists are among the frontrunners with live test coverage and regular news insights but the teams themselves have really embraced this new found link direct to the fans. McLaren stood out in 2009 for their use of Twitter (@thefifthdriver) while Williams have been lauded in recent weeks with frequent updates from @clairevwilliams, the team’s press officer. The new teams are also helping to breathe new life into F1 with Virgin and Lotus adopting very public and approachable faces. It will certainly act as a wake-up call for the more established teams. Getting a piece of the action will be harder than ever in 2010 with up to 13 teams and 26 cars on the grid.

But let’s get back to the subject of Timesheet PR. In the past, you just needed a rough idea of fuel loads to guesstimate car and team performance in testing, but with the abolition of refuelling during races in 2010, it is now a more intricate job. As a consequence of the refuelling ban, 2010-specification cars have bigger fuel tanks so teams have a much greater window to test in. Lap times can differ by seconds rather than the usual tenths or hundredths of seconds depending on fuel loads, so the fact that Michael Schumacher “languished” in tenth place on the combined times from last week’s test means absolutely nothing without knowing his set-up, fuel loads and tyres. Not that it makes a difference for some unseasoned Twitter commentators for whom ‘you are slow on the timesheets, ergo you must be slow’ is the daily mantra. Testing is more about analysis than running commentary. Finding that happy medium is where the better quality journalists really make a difference.

This week sees the final test session of the pre-season period take place in Barcelona. And for those of you who have not overindulged in a pre-season testing binge, the Formula 1 season actually starts in earnest in Bahrain with free practice on 12 March. That’s when we’ll know who is quick and who is not…

There are few people in Formula 1 who can command an audience quite like Michael Schumacher. The ‘launch’ of the Mercedes Grand Prix team in Stuttgart on Monday was proof that the seven-time former world champion can still create a stir amongst the international press corps, not least the British press for whom memories of Damon Hill’s mugging at Adelaide in 1994 still resonate strongly. But the return of Schumi to the F1 fold after a failed three-year attempt at retirement is a much needed boost for the sport after a year dogged by controversy.

The departures of Honda, BMW and Toyota from F1 over the last twelve months or so are in stark contrast to German automotive giant Mercedes who have conversely upped their involvement in motor racing’s premier class by buying into reigning champions BrawnGP. Their increased presence in the sport is enough to grab headlines in the so-called post-manufacturer era but poaching Schumacher from Ferrari is a major coup for the company.

Spare a thought, however, for poor Nico Rosberg. A much vaunted switch from Williams to the reigning champions for 2010 was supposed to be his move into the limelight but he now finds himself in arguably the most unwanted seat in F1, that of Schumacher’s team-mate. For all the talk of equal driver status, the fact that Nico’s number 3 plate was quickly nabbed by Schumacher (he has a preference for odd numbers don’t you know?) was indication enough of the 41-year-old’s intentions upon his return. He is not back in F1 simply to make up the numbers; he wants to add another championship to his impressive collection. And he won’t let even a son of a former world champion stand in his way. It’s make or break for Nico in 2010.  

When the lights go out for the first race of the 2010 season in Bahrain in March, the sport as a whole will have a very different look. F1 has been gradually reinventing itself over the last few seasons with new rules and revised regulations, but 2010 will see some of the biggest changes yet. The sport welcomes a raft of new teams this year with a possible 26 cars on the grid (imagine that at Monaco!). New teams Campos, Lotus, USF1 and Virgin Racing will make their bow in Bahrain but little is expected of the rookies in their first year. In fact, it remains to be seen if they will all make it. The return of the Lotus name is fantastic and although an entirely different proposition to the icon of the past, the return of such a famous F1 name will undoubtedly raise F1’s profile yet further. The return of engine supplier Cosworth also harks back to the glory days of the past but it is a very different company to the Cosworth of the past and will be supplying 40% of the grid. It is one of the most tantalising and widely anticipated seasons for years.

In-team battles will not be limited to the Mercedes camp. We also have a mouth-watering all-British driver line-up with reigning world champion Jenson Button joining former world champion Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, a duel that should have every family in the country locked into BBC1 or glued to 5Live for all 19 races this season. Many have been quick to criticise Jenson’s move to Woking, but it is a bold and sensible move in my opinion. He won six out of the first seven races of 2009 and was criticised for winning too much. His drop off in performance in the second half of the season was well documented and led to suggestions that he was reversing into a championship that was won as a result of the Brawn Supremacy. His performance in Brazil dispelled those critics and his switch to McLaren proves he is well up for a fight. He will have tough opposition from Lewis, even he knows that, but he is not reversing into anything this season – he is squaring up to his defence of the crown face-on and for that he should be lauded.

But when we reach Bahrain, all eyes will be on the return of one the greatest Formula drivers ever, perhaps even THE greatest – Michael Schumacher. His odds on taking the drivers’ crown in 2010 say it all. At 5-1 (behind Hamilton and new Ferrari recruit Fernando Alonso) and getting shorter – who’d bet against him?