Study highlights sport’s problem in attracting future fandom

Susanna Coletta, a student at the University of Lugano in Switzerland, has written an in-depth study that investigates intergenerational consumer behaviour – and focuses on the engagement of the so-called Generation Z or iGeneration, who were born between 1997 and 2021. 

This group is estimated to earn 27% of all global income by 2031, and their interest levels and spending habits will be crucial to the success of sports. It is almost exclusively influenced by social media, and less inclined to attend events unless incentivized to do so. 

“I’m really passionate about cars and motorsport in general, and I grew up in this sport because of my parents, who both work in the industry,” explained Coletta of her work. “Meantime, I studied corporate communication with a focus on customers. 

“I focused on Generation Z because I could see the potential problem for motorsport, because there would not be so many fans in the future. I interviewed people from different generations to make comparisons to see the changes, both older and younger people, to decide whether the problem is real, or whether it’s just my impression, based on their experiences and the new technologies that have changed our lives.” 

The responses she received highlighted the problem that motorsport organisers and marketeers will face as the post-Millennial audience becomes increasingly important. 

“It is clear that young people are not so interested in cars as the generations before them,” said Coletta. “One example is my sister, who is 18 right now. She is not interested in having a car. When I was 18, just about four years ago, the first thing I wanted to get was a car! It’s like she is living in a completely different way to me. I think there’s a huge generational shift – it seems that the generation of my sister are all like that. None of her friends are interested in cars or getting their drivers' licences. 

“My sister is always on her phone, like eight, nine, 10 hours per day. During Covid, she was watching virtual races – which I’m not really interested in, someone else playing a game – but she was giving a high value to esports. So I think that is important, to capture their attention, but I don’t think it’s the future of motorsports, although clearly it can be integrated. 

“When you’re at a track, the experience you get from watching a real race is totally different. It’s not like watching someone else playing.” 

Photos are taken with phones as Lewis Hamilton inspects his car

Photo by: Jose Rubio / Motorsport Images

Coletta believes that prohibitively expensive ticket prices are a serious stumbling block to new fans gaining access for real-world contact with the sport for themselves, rather than solely experiencing it via TV or streaming. 

“One of the main points that came out was the price of the tickets for big events, like Formula 1, is out of reach of Generation Z,” she says. “A high percentage of them won’t spend that kind of money to watch a race when they could spend their money on new technology or clothes.  

“They viewed it as very expensive compared to a sport like football. And that also meant they weren’t interested in other forms of motorsport, because they viewed F1 as the highest form of the sport.” 

Coletta also reported that promotion of motorsport events will need to further embrace social media platforms to influence a new audience. 

“This generation are always on social media, looking at Instagram, TikTok or whatever,” she said. “I see Formula 1 is promoting itself, but other categories not so much, and because this generation is living on social media – if they don’t see it, then they don’t think it’s important.  

“Think of it like searching for a restaurant, the first thing you do now is look for a good place on Instagram with nice photos, if you don’t make it look good, you’ll find somewhere that does. It’s the same with other categories outside F1 in motorsport; if you don’t find it, you’ll live without it. 

“It’s going to be crucial for categories to promote their races better to this generation.”