Fans demand more overtaking

That is the one of the key messages that has come out of the results of the 2008 ING/F1 Racing Survey, which was completed recently by 70,000 fans from 160 different countries.

Speaking about their hopes for the future of F1, 96 percent of respondents said that they wanted more exciting racing and overtaking - with 81 percent saying that the cars should be modified to achieve this, and 70 percent saying the tracks must be changed.

The survey results suggest that the quality of the racing remains the key factor for fans. However, a vast majority (90 percent) also believe F1 must continue going to classic venues, 88 percent want to place more emphasis on driver skill, and 83 percent stating that the sport must always be the pinnacle of technology.

Despite the keenness for technology, only 35 percent believed it was the most exciting aspect of F1.

Television remains the most popular way for fans to follow F1, with 97 percent of fans having watched the sport through the medium this year. But the Internet was not far behind, with 93 percent of fans saying they had used the World Wide Web to follow the sport.

The Internet remained the main channel for Formula One fans to get their news updates from the sport, with 90 percent of fans going to dedicated F1 websites - up from 87 percent in the last survey in 2006.

Only 44 percent of people followed the sport mainly through television highlights, with only 19 percent - down from 39 percent at the last survey - going to newspapers.