Changes to press conferences

For years, the FIA has been organizing a drivers’ conference on Thursday and another one on Friday dedicated to team leaders. Thus, a panel of six drivers and five team principals faced journalists for a Q&A session.

But the new organization wanted to change this process by bringing the real heroes, namely the drivers, closer to the public. Thus, starting with this Australian Grand Prix, eight drivers took part in the exercise but in two distinct phases. A first group of four drivers, composed of Ricciardo, Hamilton, Vettel, and Alonso, presented themselves in the usual way in the same press room as before. Meanwhile, another group of four drivers appeared in front of television cameras for individual interviews. Today in Melbourne, this consisted of Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon, and the two Williams drivers: Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll.

But this is where the main difference occurs: instead of being in the paddock, this media square is set up just outside, between the drivers’ parking and the paddock entrance. The FIA has requested that drivers and team principals stand on the road while the TV cameras are instructed to film the drivers with the crowd in the background.

The objective is therefore clear: to bring fans closer to their heroes and offer new phases of interaction, in addition to autograph sessions and pitlane visits that can already be scheduled at various events.

What remains now is to lift the directives given to teams to avoid upsetting sponsors or suppliers through unflattering public statements…

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr