The head of Formula One or the FIA has contracts with the teams involved and part of the contract states that teams have to do x amount of publicity throughout the calendar year. The race this weekend is in the United States and today Daniel Ricardo (Renault), Valeteri Bottas (Mercedes) Max Verstappen and Alex Albon (Red Bull) were tasked with doing a publicity stunt.
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The 4 drivers hit Hollywood Boulevard wooing passers by and fans that were lucky enough to be close enough to the vicinity. The FIA is trying hard to crack the fan base in the States and I think they need to up their game more.The States is different to most countries and if you are not into Formula One you could quite easily not even know the race is happening.
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The States is a huge market place and the FIA could do so much and i think they are missing out by giving the States too short a time period. The race in Mexico was last weekend and doing a promotional day in Los Angeles is falling way short of what they could be doing.
Doing doughnuts and wheel spins down Hollywood boulevard is a good start but maybe they needed an extra week to have like a promotional circus across the entire country to raise the awareness even more. The motor heads who are into motor sport will know it's happening, but the rest will be none the wiser. Interest needs to be peaked to gain more viewers and I think they are failing miserably in growing a market that could change the sport forever.
I think maybe they need to did deep into their pockets and actually pay for a race themselves in a city like Las Vegas. Could you imagine a night race in Las Vegas with all the lights as a back drop. The FIA needs to be more imaginative and a city like Las Vegas would back an event like this. The whales would come watch the race and hit the casinos so everyone would be happy. Whatever it cost they would recoup in the amount of viewers they would gain and it would be money well spent.
I just think the way the FIA is doing things it will take them years to get to where they need to be and they need fresh ideas and a budget to match. You need to spend money to make money and sending 4 cars and drivers to Hollywood two days before the race is a failure and a wasted opportunity. They should have thought this one through and given themselves an extra week for countries that offer them the opportunity of expansion. I think they are still putting Europe at the top of the list and need to adjust the racing calendar slightly for growth potential or hot spots. The racing teams will understand as it will benefit them in the long run as more sponsors jump aboard.