How F1 avoided a pre-season failure

With Abu Dhabi's dull season finale thankfully just a fading memory, the steady trickle of announcements last week about 2018 Formula 1 car launch dates marked the official switch-on of excitement for the season ahead.

It's the time of year when things get serious again: teams flat-out getting their new challengers in order; the nerves starting to heighten as the potential for smiles or tears on the first day of testing edges ever closer; plus fans and media getting more excited as the show gears up for getting back on the road.

Until the first round in Melbourne, it may well be just 'the winter world championship', but in the modern world of smartphones, 24/7 news, social media and a constant thirst for content, it's a hugely important time for F1, as it serves as an enticing opening act to the main event.

In fact, car launches, pre-season testing stories and the intrigue that surrounds the build-up to the campaign often manage to deliver some of the most read and shared stories of the year - and can often produce more traffic that an actual grand prix weekend.

That's why it was heartening this week to find out that the traditional format for individual car launches had remained in place, and that an idea floating around Liberty Media's corridors last year of a single-day launch special featuring all the cars had been firmly laid to rest.

On some levels, having a single launch event, where the new cars are rolled out one after the other, has some logic.

It would be straightforward and cheap for media to attend, there would be a day of guaranteed focus on the F1 circus, and it would be easy for fans to get a look at each new car as it's unveiled.

But the negatives far outweigh the positives, and such an event would have been very much a backward step for F1. In fact, it was good to hear that when the idea was discussed by Liberty and the teams before Christmas, the doubters spoke up convincingly - and F1's bosses agreed to park the concept without the need for any thumping of fists on the table.

One of the simplest arguments against the single launch event is that it would stray into overload territory. Trying to cram 10 teams and 20 drivers into a programme that would maintain everyone's interest would be a nightmare, and would deliver an over-saturation of coverage.

How little attention would each car get, being shunted into a short timeframe, compared to what's possible when a team has a whole day to generate a bit of social media traction, cover the car launch and then speak a little about the design and the season ahead?

While there would be something nice about seeing all the cars together before they hit the track, a single launch event would be brutally unfair on the smaller teams too.

Even with a timed window for each team to unveil its car, it's obvious that the focus would be on the biggest outfits. Sauber or Haas would get so little coverage compared to Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, no matter how impressive their product was. At a time when F1 is trying to help out the smaller teams as much as possible, what good would this do them?

Having its own bespoke launch ensures that a smaller team is pretty much guaranteed to get its day in the sun. Plus, it offers the chance to be first out of the blocks.

Teams know full well that being the first to reveal their new car is a way to generate huge exposure, which is great for keeping sponsors happy.

But even if they aren't first (and I know of a team whose PR boss once rejected the chance to grab that first launch spot because he thought the car looked too ugly), just having a car unveiled at your own event, when you are that day's main F1 talking point, is enough to bring benefit.

At a time when F1 is struggling to get audiences when cars are racing each other on track, it's not really conceivable that fans would be happy to sit for an even longer period watching some static cars being pushed around

There are practical issues too that would make an all-team launch a real headache. It's well known that teams are sometimes up against it getting their cars ready for the first test, so to tell them that they had to get their cars shipped to downtown Barcelona a few days before would be a major hurdle if things went wrong in the production schedule.

Also, would fans really enjoy sitting around for three hours watching car after car being unveiled?

The novelty factor of seeing new cars revealed would wear off pretty quickly, I reckon, even if the best teams were kept until last. The excitement of seeing the first covers pulled off would likely be replaced by yawns after not too long.

At a time when F1 is struggling to get audiences to sit down and concentrate for two hours when cars are racing each other on track, it's not really conceivable that fans would be happy to sit in a theatre - or even on their sofas in front of the TV - for an even longer period watching some cars being pushed around.

But while a special launch day for the cars would be a bad move, it doesn't mean that F1 can't hold its own, more compact, 'season' launch event to engage fans and get the world talking before the season starts.

After all, having been told so often that it's the drivers and not the cars that are the real stars of the show, a more relaxed event that featured just the drivers would be just as engaging for most fans.

F1 Live in London last year showed that the desire is there for the public to get up close to the drivers and cars.

So, once the launch week is done, followed by two weeks of testing, why not organise a couple of special season-preview events? One in Barcelona and one in Melbourne...

F1 could take over an area downtown; let's create an open city arena event for fans, and send out the drivers for questions, autographs and a bit of fun.

Such a show would be a huge statement of intent from F1's new owners. It would be great for fans, and good for the media too to get some stories and interviews in the bag before the paddock gets fully into the swing of the season.

While F1's bosses know full well that a big chunk of their commercial-rights income derives from TV and radio stations, and that written media doesn't directly contribute to the bottom line, they'd be foolish to underestimate the value that website, newspaper and magazine coverage brings.

The drama, controversy, conflict and intrigue that's talked about each day keeps F1 in the spotlight. It ensures interest is maintained when the TVs are switched off - and that the public know they need to tune in and watch this fantastic show.

A 10-day period when the launches are rolled out across the media, a two-week period when the cars are running, and then a potential pre-season launch event to big-up the first race is the perfect combination for getting interest rolling ahead of the new season.

Taking all that value away with a one-day launch would be nonsensical. Would the Olympic Games consider running all its events on a single day? Would FIFA consider hosting all the World Cup group games on the same day? Of course not.

Big events like F1, the Olympics and the World Cup are so huge because they successfully lock out media coverage for days. It's about building momentum, the constant focus that keeps people coming back for more.

Let's rejoice that we've got our run of launches coming up. Whether it's just an online event like Ferrari or McLaren are having, or a full-blown unveil, shakedown and media extravaganza like Mercedes, we've got a thrilling run-up to that first test. Then F1 finally can emerge from its winter sleep all guns blazing.