Ecclestone believes bringing down ticket prices is up to the teams

Ecclestone believes bringing down ticket prices is up to the teams

In an interview with the media this week, Formula One Commercial Rights Holder Bernie Ecclestone says the easiest way to bring down grand prix ticket prices is for teams to accept less commercial rights income.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff revealed recently that F1 teams had broached the subject of high ticket prices with Ecclestone during recent meetings. The matter has become a big talking point because empty grandstands at traditional events like the German and Italian GPs have prompted questions about why fans are no longer going to races.

In the media, Wolff believes that something needs to be done in order to fill the seats of traditional races. Wolff said the following on the subject

'I guess it is pretty clear what needs to be done to fill the grandstands in the traditional races such as Hockenheim and Monza.'

As Wolff says, something needs to be done to address this issue that affected the audience figures who turned up to the German and Italian Grand Prix. It has been suggested by the German GP organisers just after the Grand Prix had finished in July that one of the reasons why the turn out was so low was due to comments made by Sebastian Vettel at the start of the year that the V6 engines were “shit”.

I can understand why the comments made by Vettel could have helped with the low turnout at the German Grand Prix this year. From Vettel stating that the new V6 engines were “shit” and stating his thoughts on the direction that Formula One is taking currently will not have helped attract fans to the circuit to watch the sport.

If anyone can sell the sport and attract fans to come to the circuit, then Vettel would be the best sales person for it. With the levels of success that Vettel has enjoyed over the past four seasons (maybe not this season), this would certainly attract the fans to support and follow the sport, Vettel and the rest of the German drivers such as Sutil and Hulkenberg but also support the circuit as well.

In regards to Monza, there is no question that the performance of their national team which is Ferrari will have impacted on circuit sales this season and many of their beloved fans in the tiofsi will not want to spend their hard earned money watching their team perform to a level which not deemed as acceptable to them.

But Ecclestone believes that ticket prices are so high because the income from spectators is one of the only ways that promoters can recover the high race sanctioning fees that are paid to him

Speaking in response to Wolff’s comments, Ecclestone insisted in his interview later this week that it would be easy to bring down race hosting fees to make tickets cheaper – but that can only happen if teams are willing to accept less money from him too.

Ecclestone stated the following
'Has he told you how? You should tell him about reducing what they want for racing, and then we can reduce the fees. That is the problem. We collect money for the teams – the teams get 70 per cent of the revenue that comes from the promoters.'

It would seem that once again money and the income that the teams receive from the sport to compete and to go racing could be a factor in high ticket prices. As we all know, the income that Formula One gets from circuit promoters alongside advertising, marketing and sponsorships is crucial for every team to survive in the sport.

If Ecclestone reduces the fees that the teams made from this, then we could see once again the future of some teams on the grid pulled into even more further doubt and this is something that no one wants to see.
In the latter stages of his interview this week, Ecclestone also doubts that the decline in audiences at grands prix is solely down to high ticket prices. He thinks that pressures on people’s time and also the wide variety of entertainment options means nothing (especially Formula One) is as popular as it once was. Ecclestone added the following

'With sport, there is so much of it – and only so much time – that everything has lost a little bit, the same thing with the promoters.'

Even though I understand Ecclestone's point of view, I don't really understand it. People do leave busy lives nowadays (myself included), but they still make time for their favourite things and in my case (like many others) it is watching Formula One like I have done since the age of seven years old. And Ecclestone has to remember that without the massive amount of dedicated fans watching the sport, Formula One wouldn't be where it is right now.

Overall, something about ticket prices have to be done in order to maintain but also keep the remaining fans that spend their hard earned money by going to Grand Prix. It is clear to me that the teams will not agree to a reduced income as Ecclestone has suggested as many teams depend on this to run and compete in the sport.

So I have a suggestion of my own to Ecclestone and that is for Formula One and the circuit organisers of Hockenheim and Monza. And this is to invest in getting all fans who turn up to each session involved in the aspects of the Grand Prix. We have seen so far this season seen circuits such as Silverstone, Austria and Canada do this and seen fans have a great time, while seeing an exciting race in the process.

For example at Silverstone, we saw the British fans truly embrace the Grand Prix as always and the Silverstone circuit organisers fully realising that without the fans, there wouldn't be a race and over the stage of the weekend, allowed the fans to feel even more connected to the teams and the drivers by putting on events such as a pit walk. By Silverstone organising events such as this, this will only make the fans feel valued and cherished for supporting and buying a ticket but also give them an experience they will never forget and will want to come back year on year.

And I feel this is what Hockenheim and Monza need to embrace. By providing their fans and also travelling fans the opportunity to not only watch the best racing drivers in the world battling each other in the fastest motorsport in the world, but to connect with the fans and the sport by putting on unique events just like Silverstone did will only attract the fans to the circuit even more.

However, I will argue that even though Vettel's comments have helped a little bit with the low turnout at the Grand Prix last weekend, it isn't the only reason. Also, there has been much speculation on social media just after the Grand Prix from many pundits and fans that the ticket prices to watch the Grand Prix this year in Germany are very expensive and has put off a lot of fans coming to watch Formula One.

With reports that a one day ticket at the Hockenheimring was £245 Euros each, it is no wonder why fans decided not to come to the race. With the current economic climate, it is hard for people not only to live but to also save up for the chance to see Formula One cars in action.

I feel that if the Hockenheim and also the Monza circuit organisers were to organise a three day deal this season and for future seasons that are value for money, we would have and will see more fans turn up for the race in Germany in July and Italy in this month and this is something for the organisers to look into for further Grand Prix that they may stage in the near future.

There is no question that Germany's performance in the World Cup would have taken the spotlight off the Grand Prix, but what you have to remember is that their performance in the competition will have benefits to the country as a whole and it is a fantastic achievement for the German football team.

And also, there is no denying that the performance of Ferrari this season is clearly a major factor for many fans not to come to the Grand Prix but you cannot also discount that it could also be high ticket prices like in Germany could have also put fans off coming to the event too.

But back to Formula One, there is no denying that circuit organisers such as Silverstone truly understand the value of hosting the Grand Prix and the importance of having dedicated fans turning up year after year to have the best experience with the sport that they love.

I am not saying that the dedicated fans that turned up at the Hockenheimring or in Monza this season did not have a memorable experience. If anything, the fans who turned up saw a really fantastic race and saw battles up and down the field with the best racing drivers in the world.

In conclusion, I feel that Vettel's comments earlier this season has slightly affected for the “low” turnout at Germany and the performance of the Ferrari has affected the turn out in Italy. But you cannot just blame Vettel or the performance of the Ferrari team for this.

I do strongly feel that the responsibility lies with the Hockenheim and the Monza circuit organisers who I believe have not strongly embraced just what it means to host a Grand Prix. There is no question that the Hockenheim and the Monza circuit has provided fans with some cracking races over the past decade, but I feel that they need to look into how to expand and communicate further with their fans by putting on unique events such as Silverstone do in order to provide their fans with a memorable experience with the sport that they love that will keep them coming back every year.

And I believe that if Hockenheim and the Monza circuit organisers fail to deliver this experience for their fans, at a reasonable price that provides value for money and also profit that they need, then the future of the circuit looks to be very much in doubt. And certainly, Ecclestone will be keeping an eye on things with both of the circuit and offering them suggestions for improvement.

There is no question that Germany and Italy needs Formula One and Formula One needs Germany and Italy, but they need to start looking into the real reasons why they had such a low turnout this season before it is too late and we lose Hockenheim and Monza off the calendar. And it would be a real shame if we lose two important circuits that do provide close racing and puts on a show for the sport, the television audience and most importantly, the fans of Formula One itself.