Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene says he is totally against plans to reduce the number of paddock and pit lane passes available to Formula 1 fans.
The Italian took the opportunity to meet fans during Saturday’s test day by taking reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez and sporting director Massimo Rivola to sit in the grandstands.
He explained that it was done in protest to rumoured plans to limit paddock access even further, something he believes should be opened up to allow more fan-driver interaction.
“Now I give you a big [headline],” he said. “I heard that in Australia there will be more restrictions in terms of [fan] passes [for the pit-lane] and I think this is not acceptable. So I said to the guys ‘OK, if we are going to have a situation where the paddock is going to be empty, it’s better if we start training to go to the people and we sit in the grandstands’.
“I have to say it was a good experience because the people were very well-educated, we were with our headphones following the test. They were respectful, asking for pictures. It was a good experience and I hope to have others like this.”
Arrivabene has joined Ferrari from a background in marketing and is therefore well aware of what the sport needs to do to welcome more fans.
He recently pushed forward the idea of more radical looking cars by releasing renderings of a Ferrari F1 concept car and has asked his rivals to do the same, something he described a provocation.
His decision to sit in the grandstands was another attempt to provoke F1 and Bernie Ecclestone into taking action.
“It was a kind of provocation but I love to do this kind of provocation. I said we need to take Formula 1 close to the people. We were sitting in the middle of the people. And I don’t like to see now and in the future the paddock empty, it’s not the right way.
“Nothing is decided yet but we have certain communication that the number of passes is going to be reduced. Normally when you have certain rumours in Formula One, they become reality. So I sit in the stands before it is becoming reality. Exclusivity doesn’t mean having an empty paddock. This is my clear statement.
“I don’t play golf but I watch it on television sometimes and it’s one of the most exclusive sports. But when they play, you have thousands of people following the players. And this is not working against exclusivity of the sport.”
