Only “Four or Five” Gran Prix Races Promote Formula One to the Correct Standard, Says F1 Official

Formula One commercial chief Sean Bratches wants to see more crowds like that at Monza.

byCaleb Jacobs|
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Following record turnouts at both Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, Formula One is improving its popularity come race day. With each of the last two events taking place at a pair of the sport's most historic tracks, hundreds of thousands of fans flocked to observe the contests, boding well for spectator ratings as well as general acceptance of the sport. And though this was received well by officials, F1 commercial chief Sean Bratches notes that Belgian and Italian GP promoters are just two of the "four or five" who successfully promote the series to a proper standard. 

Following Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, Bratches mentioned to reporters that he'd like to see similar responses from more grand prix races on the calendar.

"I think there's some inherent wind behind our sails in Monza," said Bratches. "By definition a promoter should be promoting, and I think we have to encourage more of that.

"But our intention is to create an overlay for our promoters, to help them activate."

He continued on to say that nearly three quarters of current promoters should push further for more success.

"We have 20 promoters, but only four or five are truly promoters - the rest are car enthusiast groups or governments. We're trying to bring everybody up to a standard, and Monza is something that should be looked at in a favorable light."

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Bratches pointed out that Italy's affection towards Ferrari certainly helped the fanfare at Monza. It was so strong, in fact, that fans actually booed race winner Lewis Hamilton, for his lack of Scuderia red. This is something that others should look to and use as encouragement to invoke the same emotion out of their audiences, according to Bratches.

"I think the passion and emotion and energy and excitement amongst this fanbase was captivating," he said. "It was very contagious, and I had a wonderful grand prix, not only on a business level, but on a personal level.

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