Twitter and it's impact on F1 fandom...

A week or so ago, I stumbled across an online article about the racing scene in America. There the various teams and drivers interact regularly with their fans. It pointed out that Formula 1 is pretty inaccessible by those who follow it and stated that the fans rarely get the chance to get close to their heroes. But I think that’s changing thanks to the wonders of the internet….

I resisted the social network sites for while but now I’ve taken the plunge. Many teams have their official Facebook pages where various updates appear, but it’s on Twitter where fandom really takes a hold and forms a solid source for F1 news and views. Twitter democratises the internet in a way which is almost impossible anywhere else, I can tweet comments and I have access to the same 140 characters as esteemed icons such as Mark Webber, Jenson Button, or official team accounts like McLaren or Ferrari. Of course – I have far less people viewing my comments - but I still get a chance to put across my views, and as long as I tweet things which are occasionally interesting then they may get re-tweeted to a wider audience.

I follow as many F1 fans as possible so I can see what they think and enjoy their comments. Some of them stand out more than others with their witty, thoughtful, and often controversial views. I can respond to them, I can forward their messages on, I can try to continue the topic – something I could never really do before in such a casual manner because none of my friends/colleagues actually like Formula One!

The argument that F1 is not accessible by fans isn’t as strong now; many of the Formula 1 teams have gone out of their way to engage with fans. For example the guys at McLaren ask for people’s predictions on race results, they offer comments and promote competitions, and Mike Gascoyne from Lotus has offered his personal views on the developments surrounding the recent Lotus-Renault re-branding project. Some teams are a bit slow in utilising the service, Ferrari do have a twitter feed but they offer little more than boring official statements (“Massa is coming out for first practise”) rather than anything of any real interest. Other teams have engaged with absolute enthusiasm, Virgin Racing may be the new kids on the block but they are prolific tweeters, and instead churning out boring official press releases there seems to be a real human touch behind them, and coupled with super fan Alex who has gone to watch every race of the season they have provided F1 Fans with a level of access only a small minority would have previously been able to experience.

There may well be teams and drivers tweeting away merrily, but the majority of content comes from fans – and particularly those who are involved in blogs (much grander than mine!) and websites dedicated to the sport. Over the last year or so I’ve enjoyed the sport more than ever before because I’ve been able to share the experience with hundreds of others who range from casual fans to those who have in-depth knowledge of the engineering of each flap and wing of the cars. There are fans who make me laugh, fans who swear a lot, fans who share my own views and fans who have given me a different perspective. Folk like myself who have never been to a race (I will one day – it’s my mission in life!) can feel closer to the sport because of the fantastic network which links fans, drivers, websites and teams.

If this is the way forward then I embrace it – for a sport which is infamously expensive to watch live, Twitter has provided a common medium for everyone involved in the sport at all levels to congregate. As more fans tweet, and as more teams realise the value they can provide by joining in too – then the experience is just going to get better. After all, where else can I read a comment direct from a Formula 1 world champion and then reply directly? Sport is always best when it's a shared experience and Twitter has enabled a thriving F1 community to develop.