09/08/2007
NEWS STORY
With hundreds of sponsors investing literally billions in F1, the sport's business is constantly shifting. In recent years there has been more going on behind the scenes than on the track in some of the races but F1's coverage on television has never really strayed into covering the complex machinations of the sport's business. That is about to change.
Beginning in September the BBC will be screening a new series about the business of F1 called 'Formula for Success' and it promises to make up for lost ground.
Pitpass writers Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid are contributing specialist data and interviews to the series and it is being produced by Sunset and Vine which is responsible for the BBC's horse-racing coverage and the Tour de France for ITV.
The series stretches across eight half-hour parts and, as well as looking at the business models which have made F1 and its teams so successful, it also examines how they can be applied to other industries. So accompanying heavyweight interviewees such as Flavio Briatore, Adrian Newey, Frank Williams, Gerhard Berger and Christian Horner are businessmen unconnected to F1 like Sir James Dyson. F1's top sponsors such as Shell, TAG Heuer and Hilton also spill the beans on what they get from F1 and why they are involved.
Sadly it could be some time before we all hear what they have to say since the series is being screened on BBC World which is not available the UK. Perhaps if its first run is successful, BBC One will pick it up bringing F1 back to the channel for the first time in over a decade.