Putting The PR Into F1

Wednesday 19th March 2008

The 2008 F1 season revved into action last weekend, and with it will bring nine months of spin - on and off the track.

With as many twists and turns as Monaco, the 2007 F1 season was one of the most enjoyable ever. The theme du jour of last year was the wide-open battle for the Drivers' Championship F1 had been deprived of for so long. But it wasn't just on-the-track action grabbing above-the-fold headlines: Chicanery, off-the-track, propelled F1 coverage into the back - and front - pages the world over.

So spare a thought for the F1 spin-doctors working 24/7 in the paddock. These guys, and girls, don't care about hairpins - unless one was to slip in front of their eye during a tough interview with the ubiquitous Louise Goodman. To the F1 PR pro, a decent flying lap around the paddock is about not leaking-out negative quotable-quotes to a pit-pass media so apt at sniffing out dirt.

There is no disputing F1's communications professionals have one of the sport's toughest jobs. The 2007 industrial espionage scandals, embroiling four teams, proved just that. McLaren, Ferrari, Honda and Renault were all put through their crisis communications paces like never before.

Take Renault's (cleared of any wrong-doing) statement following spy allegations against the team: "Ever since the matter was brought to our attention, we have acted with complete transparency towards McLaren and the FIA and we will continue to do so." Flavio Briatore got a lot of bang for his PR buck with this textbook statement - a trend repeated by the other teams caught up in F1's 'spygate'.

But textbook statements are a luxury when the team's chief spokesperson - the driver himself - is driven into a tight left-hander by the unscrupulous reporter.

McLaren - hit with a record-breaking $100 million dollar fine and stripped of its constructors' championship points - were far from being in the driving seat when managing its media relations during 2007. And Ron Dennis' quotes, like the one describing McLaren's 2007 bete noire - Fernando Alonso - as a "loner" only exacerbated the debacle further.

But all hail the prodigious Lewis Hamilton, who showed why media training (which he received from a young age) works.

Throughout 2007 his media interview skills proved to be as effective as his famed late braking technique; race after race, interview after interview, it became clear that the guy was a winner not only in the cockpit but also in front of the microphone.

The same cannot be said for 2007 F1 Champion Kimi Raikkonen, not that he cares. But the money men do care. And they care very much because the Formula One circus is one of the world's great showboats for the world's leading brands - some of them owned by the team owners themselves.

But, surprisingly, the notoriously quiet Finn does care; he just has own way of getting his sponsors and Ferrari team messages out to the masses. We all know Kimi does his talking through his actions - and he is no different when it comes to PR.

Somewhere between walking from park ferme and up the steps to the podium drivers are handed two things by their PR minders: a cap and a team sponsor's watch. In 2007 a typical post-race press conference for Kimi meant guiding his shiny wrist-watch to his face - in perfect view of the cameras - rather than sharing any half-decent post-race mumblings. Actions have always spoken louder than words for the Ice Man.

But promoting brands is modern day F1. From front wing to back wing, from right rear to left rear, logos appear as part of a wider PR strategy. Look at F1 in 2008: it gives Red Bull the wings it needs for global domination; it is why Ferrari pencil cases are just as fashionable as their two-seaters; and F1 is now the PR tool of choice for Force India's Vijay Mallya - one of India's most flamboyant entrepreneurs who makes his billions selling Kingfisher booze on Kingfisher planes, and now he has Kingfisher F1 cars.

With Round One completed and Sepang just around the corner, the 2008 F1 PR circus has arrived and is back in town for business. The pit garages have some new additions - most notably Matt Bishop (former editor of F1 Racing) as McLaren's new sultan of spin - but very little will change. The show will go on, as it always does in F1.

Paul Dixon

Paul Dixon is a PR consultant and freelance journalist based in Beijing. And now a guest columnist on PlanetF1

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