In 2016 Bernie Ecclestone banned Lewis Hamilton for sharing content from the F1 paddock on Snapchat. In 2017 F1 has done a deal with Snapchat to provide coverage of races on the social media app, which shows just how far things have come since Liberty Media took over the sport!
That’s right. F1 content will now appear as Snapchat stories on the app during race weekends after the sport signed a deal with the company that owns Snapchat, Snap Inc. The deal starts with this weekend’s British Grand Prix, and will continue in Singapore, Japan, USA, Mexico, Brazil, and Abu Dhabi.
It’s been pretty obvious for a while that expanding F1’s footprint on social media would be a key part of attracting new fans to the sport and although Bernie seemed resistant to that fact, the new owners have fully embraced it pretty much from the word go.
F1’s head of digital, Frank Arthofer, said that the deal was just the first step of the sports presence on social media.
“This is the first step towards expanding our social media strategy. Right from the start, we have said we want to work with partners to bring fans closer to the amazing show that is Formula 1, an incredible mix of technology and individual talent – and Snap fits that bill.
“We need to continue to bring new fans to the sport – by reaching out to them on social media platforms with behind the scenes, fun and engaging content. Snap’s platform is one of the most popular among ‘millennials’, a sector we are particularly keen on attracting, as it represents the future of our sport.”
Exactly what sort of stuff is going to be featured on the app is unknown at the moment, but we’re looking forward to seeing what F1 does with this partnership as it’s definitely a good thing for the sport. Let’s just hope they’re careful when using it in press conferences…
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