Fans get shot at making new form of F1 coverage with Innovation Prize
Formula 1 sporting boss Ross Brawn and four-time world champion Lewis Hamilton have helped launch a competition to make a fan's new way of following grand prix racing a reality
The F1 Innovation Prize is an initiative from F1, Tata Communications and Mercedes that has crowdsourced ideas from fans about how to improve their viewing experience.
This is the fifth year of the competition and, for the first time, the $50,000 prize will be augmented by a commitment from F1 to put the winning idea into action.
The competition's theme for 2018 is 'My F1' and calls for ideas to "bring fans closer to the cockpit" by taking all elements of the data available from a race - human, mechanical and technical - and working out how this could be incorporated within F1's publishing and broadcasting capabilities.
F1 has been investing in ways viewers can consume coverage, with TV-related innovations like uprated graphics and live post-race broadcasts on Twitter.
Five finalists will be chosen and rewarded with a trip to the United States Grand Prix in October, where they will present their ideas to the judges: Brawn, Hamilton, the managing director of Tata's F1 business Mehul Kapadia, Mercedes technical director James Allison, Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle and F1's director of digital and new business Frank Arthofer.
As well as the usual prize money, the winner will then help develop the idea at F1's new research and development centre.
Brawn said: "Tata Communications has been at the forefront of transforming the way fans experience the sport.
"One of the key elements of our partnership is the F1 Innovation Prize which, since its inception in 2014, has established itself as an unrivalled crowdsourcing platform in Formula 1.
"This continued evolution of the competition has taken us to a unique place where fans' wishes are more than just an idea on paper and will actually be incubated and prototyped.
"Myself and the team at Formula 1's state-of-the-art R&D centre are looking forward to working with the winner to take their idea all the way from conception to prototype production."
Hamilton added: "Nobody is better qualified to tell us what the fans want than the fans themselves and today we are empowering them to do exactly that.
"Getting the fans closer to the sport is one thing but getting them to help transform the sport is unprecedented.
"We are breaking new ground with this competition by giving them access to different data points - some of which have never been shared beyond the confines of the garage and cockpit."
The key Honda changes that convinced Red Bull
McLaren admits its 2018 Formula 1 car has less downforce than 2017
How Ferrari’s Monaco headache became its Silverstone migraine
OPINION: Ferrari won the British Grand Prix with Carlos Sainz, but it ultimately cost Charles Leclerc a chance to make a bigger dent in Max Verstappen's title lead by leaving the Monegasque out on old tyres towards the end. Like Monaco, indecision over strategy proved to be the Scuderia's biggest issue - and if the team doesn't reflect, the headache can only intensify
The five factors behind Sainz winning a British GP he’d twice lost
Formula 1 has a newest race winner, in a grand prix the victor appeared to have lost twice, only to charge back to headline a sensational and dramatic British Grand Prix. From a massive start crash to a late sprint finish, here’s how five factors saw Carlos Sainz take his maiden grand prix win
Why there was no case to answer in Aston’s latest F1 copycat saga
The appearance of a revised Aston Martin in Spain caused controversy but PAT SYMONDS explains why the FIA investigation found the Silverstone team had no case to answer
Why it's Red Bull that really leads a three-way fight so far at Silverstone
After a slow start to Friday at Silverstone, all the Formula 1 teams had to effectively cram in a day’s worth of practice into one hour. But there was still plenty to learn and while Ferrari topped the times, a three-way battle is brewing ahead of the British Grand Prix
Why the future is bright for the British GP
It wasn’t so long ago the situation looked bleak at Silverstone with the future of the British Grand Prix under threat. But a transformation has seen it restored to one of the most important races on the Formula 1 calendar, with bigger and better to come
Could mixed fortunes for F1's leading Brits turn around at Silverstone?
For the first time in many years, none of the local racers starts among the favourites for the British Grand Prix. But George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris could have reasons for optimism
Verstappen exclusive: Why F1’s champion isn’t fazed by Silverstone return
Max Verstappen is the world’s number one racing driver… and he’s determined to keep it that way. Speaking exclusively to GP Racing's OLEG KARPOV, the Red Bull driver explains why he’s relishing the 2022 championship battle with Charles Leclerc – and why he’s not worried about returning to Silverstone, the scene of the biggest accident of his career last year
Why Red Bull’s RB17 hypercar can help its F1 team
On Tuesday, Red Bull laid out its plans to develop and build a new hypercar - the RB17 - penned by Adrian Newey. As the project itself sates Newey as a creative outlet, it also offers Red Bull's Formula 1 team a number of new and exciting avenues to pursue