Williams: Strategy Group needs to set agendas aside to focus on fans

By Jan 16, 2016, 8:00 AM EST
© AP
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BIRMINGHAM – Williams Martini Racing deputy team principal Claire Williams has called on the Formula 1 Strategy Group members to set aside their agendas and place a greater focus on fan engagement.

The F1 Strategy Group is made up of representatives from Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams, Red Bull, McLaren and Force India, and jointly makes decisions on the future of the sport with the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Management.

Since coming into existence in 2013, the Strategy Group has struggled to push through a great deal of meaningful change in F1, instead receiving criticism for its exclusive nature and inability for those included to agree on matters.

Speaking at Autosport International in Birmingham, England on Saturday, Williams made no secret of her frustration with the Strategy Group, but acknowledged that the lack of agreement was due to the differing agendas and positions of its member teams.

“We can’t agree and it’s really frustrating,” Williams said. “As part of my role I sit on the Strategy Group and I’ve been sitting in those meetings now for two-and-a-bit years. These meetings go on for like six hours, and I think the only thing that we’ve really agreed in the double points system in Abu Dhabi that we then decided to take out.

“It can be frustrating, but you have to understand that there are teams around that table, there’s the governing body, and then there’s the promoter. Everybody has different agendas. Naturally everyone has different agendas because for a start we all have very different business models.

“We’re in the sport for some of us different reasons. We all have different capabilities within our businesses as well. If you’ve got a suggestion on how to save costs, let’s ban wind tunnels, for teams like Williams, McLaren, whoever else has invested millions and millions of pounds, you’re never going to agree on that.

“So unfortunately it is one of those situations where democracy doesn’t necessarily do the best job for our sport.”

Williams called on the Strategy Group members to set aside their agendas where possible to try and improve how F1 engages with fans and attracts future generations.

“As a Strategy Group we need to be thinking, setting those agendas aside and sitting there and thinking what is going to keep engaging the fans that we have watching our sport and engage a future generation of fans,” Williams said.

“That’s really important to me. Yes, looking at the cars from a technical regulations is hugely important for the work involved in the Strategy Group, but also a case of do we need to look at race weekends: the format of those to make sure that they’re engaging, when are we going out on air.

“All those kind of things are what we need to be looking at where agendas don’t need to come into play so much.”

Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).