Last week, Formula 1 and Tata Communications launched a contest to find new ideas that might help create experiences to bring fans closer to the track. The winner of the Tata Communications F1 Innovation Prize will receive $50,000 in prize money, and the chance to develop their idea at F1’s new research and development center.
“There are so many brilliant minds out there,” said Tata’s global head of marketing, Mehul Kapadia. “How do we tap into them to actually help us create a better solution?”
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The contest is open through Aug. 6. Five finalists will present their ideas to a panel of judges at the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, in October. That panel will include Kapadia, F1 superstar Lewis Hamilton, F1 sporting chief Ross Brawn, Mercedes technical director James Allison, Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle and F1’s Roberto Dalla.
To help fans come up with ideas, the organizers have listed a set of data points that they could use, including a car’s fuel level, temperature, and tire pressure. “If you had this mix, how would you curate your experience,” prompted Kapadia.
“We appreciate that there is a little bit of an understanding of technology that people need to enter into this competition. Still, the fact that we’re able to get people to relay this sporting experience and then be able to transfer it into how they would want it, that has been a really interesting part of the journey over the years.”
SportTechie Takeaway
F1 and Tata have been collaborating to make the sport more accessible to fans. Earlier this year they collaborated to launch an OTT platform, F1 TV. The streaming service gives fans different ways to watch a race with multi-language capabilities and on-board driver cameras.
Both F1 TV and the new innovation prize are acknowledgments that no two fans watch in the same way. Some tune in for a full race, while others consume the action in micro experiences. Maximizing engagement, regardless of how fans choose to interact with the sport, is the overall goal.