Formula 1

F1 must work to win over new markets - Whitmarsh

By Motorsport.com/GMM

Edited: Apr 17, 2011, 8:59 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

The Chinese Grand Prix is a good reminder of the work F1 needs to do to promote itself in new markets.

China is one of those new markets

Photo by: xpb.cc

That is the claim of Martin Whitmarsh, not only the McLaren team principal but also in charge of the teams organisation FOTA.

He was speaking in Shanghai, where small crowds having paid high ticket prices have gathered at the imposing F1 circuit, and a lack of local knowledge and enthusiasm away from the venue is obvious.

"We have fantastic worldwide TV audiences but we have to work harder at the circuits," Briton Whitmarsh is quoted by the Associated Press.

We need to learn that lesson before we go back into the US market

Martin Whitmarsh

"It's a similar story in Istanbul, which is where we go next. Go around Istanbul and tell me how many billboards or advertisements you see," he added.

Whitmarsh said the issue is important, particularly a year ahead of Formula One's return to America at a circuit currently under construction in Texas.

"We need to learn that lesson before we go back into the US market," he insisted. "We can't just plonk ourselves down and believe that America will reignite any enthusiasm for F1."

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Alguersuari not yet ready for F1 'war'

Next article Race Results

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

24 min

McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"

2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Indonesian GP

2 h

2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more

Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II

10 h

Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race

FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

14 h

FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned

Feature

Discover prime content

Why Oscar Piastri has struggled to show his best with this year's McLaren MCL40

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Oscar Piastri has struggled to show his best with this year's McLaren MCL40

How levelling the playing field isn’t antithetical to the principles of F1

Formula 1

By Pat Symonds

How levelling the playing field isn’t antithetical to the principles of F1

Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Formula 1

By Kevin Turner

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts