MUMBAI: The exponential growth in Formula One’s following, especially among youngsters, has created a buzz around the sport’s potential return to India. But before that can happen, president and CEO Stefano Domenicali wants to build on the hype and create the perfect “ecosystem” before making a comeback.During the interaction, the 61-year-old revealed that the sport has “gained 20 million fans from India in the last year alone” and overall “98 million” are following them in the country.In an exclusive interview with TOI, Domenicali spoke about F1’s strategy for the Indian market, Kimi Antonelli’s rise, and how the new regulations have made racing more exciting this season. Excerpts:India has seen an uptick in F1 fanbase over the last couple of years and it has created a buzz about the India Grand Prix returning. Can you talk about it?We are very happy to see an incredible growth for our sport in India. In the last year, we have gained 20 million fans on social media from India and with over 98 million following us, it is something incredible. This is a sign that F1 can be back in India as the atmosphere for returning is growing quite intensively. Before returning, our focus is to create the awareness of F1. Majority of the fans that follow F1 are very young which means that there is a future in front of us. Therefore, the more attention we create, we will create a stable condition for us to see if the ecosystem is ready to support the race in India. Silently, in a way, because we don’t want to create things that are not possible to achieve.Is there a certain timeline you have set for the sport’s return to India?It depends on the opportunity that we can have and (whether) the ecosystem is ready to welcome us…at the political level and the right promoter, which we are already starting to discuss with. We are preparing what is needed to make sure that when we are going to be there, all the conditions are perfect. Today, F1 is not only a sport, but also a platform for entertainment, lifestyle…so we want to embrace all these elements.What are the tools you are using to promote F1 in India? Is that a strategy you use for every developing market?The younger generation is common all around the world. (Idea is to) lock in their attention when they are young, keep them connected. What is important for us is to understand India, which is very big, has different languages, different sensitivities, so the more we can capture all these, the better we are going to be in getting bigger. You have cricket that has a massive cultural dimension, and this is really what we would like to be...in the right time, with the right approach.Can you pinpoint a couple of strategies which you are optimising to capture the eyeballs in the Indian market?We have just started…like the collaboration we did with Ravi Shastri in Monaco. We want to make sure that we can have a project in Bollywood, to connect with the cluster of people that don’t know Formula One. So, we need to get more attention, keep working with people that know the Indian market…to get into the house, computers, phones and in the mindset of the Indian people.Coming to the current season, Kimi Antonelli has taken the sport by storm. Do you think he has it in him to be the next face of F1, like say Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen?We need to be prudent, but he is very young. His personality connects with the younger generation. To win so many races in a row is not easy, so the talent is there. We need to let him grow, but for sure he will be the protagonist for the future of F1 without a doubt.During the Bernie Ecclestone era, F1 was called an old man’s sport but over the last few years there has been a constant push towards getting young people hooked on to it. Can you talk about the strategies adopted to make it appealing to younger people?I think it’s not younger people, but also more diverse because the vast majority of our fans are female. Netflix’s Drive To Survive and the F1 movie have given us an opportunity to connect in a different way with a younger audience. It’s a connection point that enables them to talk about something different. Through it, we wanted to get into areas that were not common and we saw the result.Formula One sometimes may look monotonous with the same drivers and teams dominating. What steps F1 is taking to make sure that different drivers and teams keep challenging for the title to keep interest among the new fans which F1 is trying to capture?More teams, more drivers involved in a title fight is very important. It is true that in the history of F1 we have had cycles that have characterised our sport. I think, with the new regulations and the new drivers coming in, we can have different situations that will evolve in a different way. But the more action we have on track, the more we are fighting, the better it is for us.Do you think the new rules will help in breaking the monotony and as the teams develop their cars further, Mercedes will face more challenges like what Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari did in the last race in Spain?It is an important point. This year the effect of new regulations has been very positive, in terms of racing, overtaking, and action on the track. For example, last year’s Grand Prix in Spain was very monotonous, (this year) we have seen action that was very crucial. (At the same time) we saw that in all the races this year. Therefore these (new regulations) are a very important element and have been the biggest success for the season.What kind of pressure are you facing to cap the F1 season to 24 races or extend it further?We have a quality problem to manage. We have more requests than what we can offer but we believe that 24 races is the right number. We may add one, but so far, the balance is right. Therefore, it is up to the promoters to develop their deal, to keep engaging with the fans, keep improving in terms of structure, and keep being in the right position for us.With big manufacturers like General Motors, Audi and Ford coming in, and once their cars are at optimum, can we see a more competitive field than it is today?Yes, but it will take time…It’s not a day job. If people believe that with money, you can win the day after, they are underestimating the complexity of our sport. It will take the new manufacturers a couple of years at least to be competitive.
