SEPTEMBER 15, 2006

Another survey

The FIA has contacted us to point out that the F1total.com survey about perceptions of manipulation and fairness in F1 is not the only such survey available and that we should take others into account if we are to be totally fair. This is a good point. The federation has pointed to a Pitpass.com survey of 23,710 fans that has revealed that 54.22% of them do not think that Renault has been treated unfairly.

While this is better than in Germany, it is nothing that F1 should be proud of.

The reality is that 45.4% of the Pitpass.com fans think that Renault IS being unfairly treated and that is less than five percent different to the findings of the German survey (50.35% of a 5500-person survey). This means that the margin of error between the two polls is well within the norms of such polls and, perhaps more alarmingly, that it is not just a problem of the German market but also the view of English-speaking fans as well.

Whatever the case, the percentages are far too high and we believe that everyone involved in F1 needs to give careful consideration as to how F1 can change the perception of the fans.