F1 needs to do more for fans, says Hobbs

At Indianapolis on Thursday morning, the F1 pitlane was thrown open to the public and the organisers were surprised by the response. So popular was the event that many of the team personnel were caught in the unanticipated volume of traffic heading towards the Speedway.

"I hope you guys took that on board," Hobbs said. "For the last two decades Formula 1 has distanced itself from the people who have paid for it, ie the spectators. Going to somewhere like Silverstone or Hockenheim, I want to be the chain-link fence manufacturer - you've never seen so much of it in your life. The teams need to make the drivers more available than they are at the moment."

Renault's Pat Symonds backed Hobbs' cause adding: "I agree very much with the issue of spectators and what they get for their money. It really was good to see how many people were here on Thursday. We used to see a similar thing in Montreal when that was opened to the public. We are a global sport and television is important but we have to seed that audience with the local people.

"We are distancing ourselves far too much and I think that, particularly in America, our local audience must find it very alien because we've all see Champ Cars racing on TV and how close they get to the spectators. I really think that we should be doing something similar in F1."