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Perhaps Gil Scott-Heron was right all along. When it comes to Formula One and the future, the revolution is not going to be televised. It's going to come through the Internet.
And it's not just me speaking here. That view is now coming from the very top of the sport - FIA president Max Mosley is convinced that the Internet is the biggest neglected area in F1.
Any long-time reader of autosport.com/AtlasF1 will know of the trials and tribulations it has taken to get the value of the Internet at least partially understood within the F1 paddock.
A journalist at work in the paddock © XPB |
The immediacy and widespread impact that a news story has on the Internet, has changed the face of journalism in the modern era. A decade ago, a number of teams absolutely hated what was then a new phenomenon, and the fact that what drivers said one second in the paddock in their own tongue, could be picked up by racing fans as far apart as Brazil, China and Australia just seconds later.
There were times when Internet outlets were not just the poor relation of magazines and newspapers; we were quite literally viewed as the 'evil' side of journalism. How dare we so swiftly report on what is going on? How dare we follow up on interviews and news reports that appear in a foreign language and teams have no knowledge of?
There were plenty of times when we were not invited or sometimes even barred from press conferences, interviews or briefings.
I remember speaking to one team principal at a grand prix a few years ago to ask him why F1 was not embracing the Internet more. Would it not be a great idea for F1 to use what online offered in a better way, I asked. The option for multiple camera feeds, more live data for fans and the deliver a better perspective for those that wanted it -
than television could ever offer - was something that should be grasped with two hands.
The idea got short shrift. The response was an open attack on the Internet, a phenomenon that this team principal thought would never become big as use of 'wideband' was so limited.
How things have changed. On the news front, the public are demanding more and more information, more and more instantaneously.
That includes F1 fans, who are coming in ever bigger numbers to autosport.com, but also the media, teams and drivers who find the news agenda dominated by whatever issue is topic of the day online. Those who have wised up to what is going on now know that using online content is a valuable tool for getting 'their' message out there.
The Internet is also starting to shape the sport itself. Trial by YouTube has become a regular occurrence. Within days of the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, footage from a fan in the grandstand of the incident between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber behind the safety car appeared on YouTube. It was analysed by fans and then forced a stewards' inquiry into Lewis Hamilton's actions. The same online analysis took place after Spa last year - and will become more and more common for any on-track incident.
It is hard not to deny now that the Internet is becoming a hugely valuable tool in getting F1's message out there to the fans. So much so, in fact, that the voices of the few remaining 'luddites' become drowned out.
And chief among those calling for a major rethink about how F1 deals with the Internet is Mosley himself. While some men his age may think google is some kind of kid's boardgame, Mosley is an avid fan of the online world. So much so, in fact, that he has issued a call to arms for everyone in the sport - and especially commercial chief Bernie Ecclestone.
Speaking to selected media including autosport.com (yes, Mosley has never been one to freeze out the online journalists) during his annual pre-season lunch in London this week, he was adamant that the sport should be doing more with its online content.
"I would revolutionise the way we do the Internet," he said. "The Internet is the great neglected area of F1."
Although Ecclestone has gone some way to addressing online fans with his official website - and the video reviews of each race are a brilliant step in the right direction - formula1.com still offers a pretty much one-directional approach considering how much access to teams, cameras, resources and people they can get.
Mosley thinks that a wholesale revolution is needed - one that will take fans right into the heart of the pits and the paddock.
"Bernie has a sort of reluctance to deal with the Internet, there is no question," he explained. "And if we overcome that, we will see great things because the potential is vast.
"Just think for one moment - on the one side you could have all the archives, all the practice times, all the four (timing screen) pages and everything that is available to the teams. A camera in every garage, a camera in every public area of the motorhomes, a camera in all areas of the paddock. They would be all there and there on-site.
"On top of that, if you have some good software writers you could sit at home and join in the race. And there would be the race, and you would be in the middle of it... socking it to Lewis Hamilton for pole position. It is all there to be done.
"The technology exists. It is just annoying because the potential is vast. Eighteen to 24-year-olds - what do they do? They do the net."
The first step of the FIA's own shift in attitudes begins this year when official footage of race incidents that have been dealt with by stewards will be made available online. It should help alleviate the kind of controversy that emerged after events like Spa last year - where fans and media were kept in the dark about why the stewards had come to their decision.
And that posting of footage will be the first of what I foresee being a continuing shift in attitudes over the next 12 months - the extent to which will depend on whether Ecclestone can end his reluctance to unleash all the Internet can offer the sport.
Scott-Heron in his 1971 song said: "The revolution will put you in the driver's seat." It's a line that fits perfectly for what is going to be a dramatic change in the way we all view the sport in the next few years.
It's not going to be televised. It's coming online. Come and join the ride Comrades.
