Teams must help promoters with show - Lotus F1's Federico Gastaldi
Formula 1 teams need to be more open to working with race promoters to improve the overall show, according to Lotus deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi
A number of drivers and teams have been critical of F1, with Red Bull's billionaire owner Dietrich Mateschitz so unhappy with the current state of play he threatened to pull out.
But Gastaldi believes teams not only have a duty to be more approachable but also to educate fans about Formula 1 to boost interest and arrest declining TV figures and race attendances.
"We need to be more open to help the promoters to help them sell tickets," Gastaldi told AUTOSPORT.
"If the promoters struggle, there may be no race and that is not good for the future of Formula 1.
"And we need to be more generous with our time, including the drivers, to make it more accessible.
"I understand their job is stressful but it is good if we can find a way for them to be more available to fans.
"It is about educating the people. I come from Argentina where Formula 1 is as popular as soccer is in Brazil.
"The current generation has to be educated to show that Formula 1 is a good sport because I think Formula 1 is still the best show on earth."
F1 CAN LEARN FROM OTHER SPORTS
Meanwhile, Felipe Massa has called on Formula 1 to learn from what other sports are doing to boost their profile and enhance the show for the fans.
"I think Formula 1 needs to be intelligent and change to improve the show for the people," he said.
"For example I was watching the finals in basketball and I followed them on Instagram.
"It's amazing how they help the competition. When you watch a game, Instagram is showing so many things for the people.
"We need that here as well. We need to see and understand things that people are doing in other championships and try to copy because they are good for the fans."
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