Recent seasons have seen the rule-makers in F1 changing the format of its qualifying sessions to varying levels of resistance. However, none has raised quite as much vocal objection as those proposed for the 2005 season. International sponsorship research experts S-COMM consider here how these changes may affect sponsors.

The qualifying changes have been introduced in the wake of the perceived success of Sunday qualifying when it was necessarily given its test in Suzuka following typhoon Ma-On. The feeling from those present that Sunday was that they were getting a lot more for their attendance. And so, key elements of this experimental solution to a problem have been brought into the format for 2005 - the Sunday race grid now being based on the sum of drivers' times from two qualifying sessions, one on Saturday afternoon and one on Sunday morning.

The fans in the stands will certainly lap up the extra action, but what of the other cash cows of Formula 1, the sponsors?

Notwithstanding some of the more brand-specific objectives, the main benefits gained from Formula 1 sponsorship are hospitality benefits and brand exposure and the new format will affect each of these in different ways. Increased action at the track will surely be a plus to many in the Paddock Club, although the trade-off will inevitably be a reduction in opportunity to visit the team garages, generally seen as a real "wow-factor" for business-to-business guests. Additionally, the effect on sponsor exposure through the medium of television may also be considerable as TV fans change their viewing habits accordingly.

During coverage of live races in 2004, team sponsors gained a total of 25½ hours of exposure, a figure that is almost doubled when Saturday qualifying is added. However, the value of this exposure is crucially dependent on the audience each programme gets, and so any change that might jeopardise the valuable TV audience justifiably raises considerable concerns amongst sponsors.

Teams and their sponsors will, of course, be affected to different degrees by any change in qualifying audience. Analysis by sponsorship research experts S-COMM has shown that, compared to the mean for all teams, Ferrari received almost 25% more coverage from qualifying, 19 percentage points more than its closest rival, Williams. However, Ferrari was not so effective in converting this team coverage to sponsorship exposure, being only average for a Formula 1 team and some way behind the leaders Williams, Renault and Toyota.

The culmination of these two factors means that should teams receive similar shares of voice from qualifying in 2005, it will be Williams, Ferrari and Renault that stand to lose the most in terms of sponsorship exposure and BAR the least.

According to Ben Cronin, S-COMM's Head of Research, "The attractiveness of F1 to the TV viewer is vitally important to the F1 product in being able to attract and hold onto sponsors at the right price. Any changes that put this factor at risk endanger large revenue streams for all of the teams."

Many F1 fans will be holding their breath as the 2005 season approaches, hoping that their partners will grant them leave to watch a further hours coverage on their treasured Sunday mornings. The sport's treasured sponsors are sure to hoping for the same.