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How Formula 1 should promote itself

Times have changed since F1's years of plenty, so DIETER RENCKEN speaks to an expert in the field about how it can get with the times in the 21st century

Rewind to Formula 1's formative years, and it is easy to recognise when, why and how the flab developed. Generally recognised as the early- to mid-seventies, this period led to the rise of commercial sponsorship (primarily tobacco brands), influx and influence of motor manufacturers (led by Renault), growing interest from TV broadcasters beyond home races - and the rise of one Bernard Charles Ecclestone.

F1 never had it so good: on TV it was the only game in town Sundays post-lunch; fag companies, increasingly hit by advertising restrictions, threw millions at anything that moved; Renault upped the ante, leading with a full-blown PR/media charge; and Ecclestone entrepreneurially led F1's expansion across the globe off the back of the James Hunt/Niki Lauda rivalry that captivated hordes of new fans to the east and west of F1's heartland.

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