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Author Topic: Note to Celebs ...  (Read 1929 times)

Offline Calman

Note to Celebs ...
« on: June 12, 2018, 08:07:27 AM »
1) If you are going to come along to an F1 weekend, please don't pretend to be interested in our sport, you will only look foolish!

2) If you are approached by the Media (okay, let's say Martin Brundle) ... then don't stand there, like you have a right to be there and the person "bothering" you is like BLEEP!! on your shoe, again, you will only look foolish!!

3) If you turned up to plug your latest song, movie, merchandise etc, please don't bla bla bla for 10 minutes, as the rest of us are here for the action on the track, so please pretend to look interested in motor racing, otherwise, you will only look foolish!!!

4) If you manage to wangle some involvement with a prestigious part of F1 procedures and BALLS IT UP!!! ... please don't pretend that you were only following orders, you will only look foolish!!!!

5) If you are asked on the grid, who you would like to see win the race, play it safe and say "Lewis" ... as you are probably invited to the team hospitality 'after party' anyway.  Pull any other name out the bag, connected with the wrong team, well, you will only look foolish!!!!!

6) If you disagree with all 6 points above, then you can't count and everyone else found you out ... but you will still only look foolish!!!!!!

Best Regards,
The 'Anti-Celeb-F1-Connection' ... Cal :)





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guest3164

  • Guest
Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2018, 08:39:28 AM »
But we need the celebs to add 'glitz and glamour' to F1.  Or something anyway.   They are also one of my personal pet peeves.

Offline John S

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Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2018, 10:13:13 AM »
Your right Cal, these Celeb guys n gals are there on freebies so they can at least make the effort to give something back.
Racing is Life - everything else is just....waiting. (Steve McQueen)

Offline Ian

Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #3 on: June 12, 2018, 12:01:06 PM »
Rather than celebs on the grid wouldn't it be better to have a two or three ticket numbers picked at random and give them the full works, at least then the real fans would benefit.
An aircraft landing is just a controlled crash.

guest3164

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Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #4 on: June 12, 2018, 12:26:36 PM »
It would Ian and it is something I have long wanted to see.  But no, F1 is more interested in the money and there is no money in random ticket holders, only in celebrities, they help pedal the image that racing is still glamorous. 

Offline Jericoke

Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #5 on: June 12, 2018, 03:08:28 PM »
Like it or not, there is extensive research that shows that people like things that 'famous' people like.

F1 isn't trying to get F1 fans to watch, they're trying to get non F1 fans to watch.  Quite frankly, if I was trying to make money, non F1 fans make up a far larger portion of the population than F1 fans, so if I have to pick between the two groups, I'd do whatever I can to appeal to non F1 fans.

Leave the racing to the fans, and the festivities to the people with more money than sense.  That way everyone wins.

Offline Monty

Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2018, 03:54:46 PM »
I could not care less that Celebs are present at F1 races (apart from being jealous that they get access that us genuine enthusiasts will probably never enjoy).
If their presence creates additional interest then fine. I just wish that the Grid walk didn't end up 'having' to include them because nobody else wants to talk.
I can't help but keep comparing other race series; Moto GP, World Superbikes, British Superbikes - these all have riders who are happy to chat just before putting their crash helmets on to start the race; British Touring Cars actually have the TV presenters pushing the microphone  through the window and under the crash helmets to have a laugh and joke with the drivers. ITV4 even have commentator to driver radio links while the the cars are on the warm-up laps.
I remember when F1 drivers would talk on TV just before the race - not many years ago Brundle would talk to Coulthard and Button and give them a 'nipple tweak' before the start. Now the drivers are not even on the grid until the ludicrous National Anthem  gathering. When a few are tracked down between the toilets and the grid we get 10 second 'mumbles' which tell us nothing.
Make them sit in the car from the 5minute warning and tell them that any of them may be approached by TV crews up to the 1 minute warning (or whatever timings would be more suitable. The point is; make them accessible. Good for the sponsors, good for the viewers, good for the business sport!

Offline John S

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Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2018, 07:00:39 PM »
I like your thinking Monty, however the sheer scale of reporters from many countries doing 'the grid walk' it's inevitable that the drivers feel under siege and seek to duck too many. Moto GP, WSBK, Formula E and Touring cars just don't have the same level of world media interest.

There's a problem as well in having just a couple of official 'grid walk' TV crews, which language do they conduct these interviews in?  :DntKnw:

Maybe it should just be a couple of 'grid walk' crews from the country they are racing in sharing coverage though FOM distribution, every driver must be available to at least one of the crews.  - Oh and your own language broadcaster can offer a translation, or a voiceover of what they should be asking from their own expert, if the language don't suit their audience.  :D   
Racing is Life - everything else is just....waiting. (Steve McQueen)

Offline Alianora La Canta

Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #8 on: June 12, 2018, 10:35:59 PM »
1) Many celebrities are genuinely interested in F1. Unfortunately, some celebrities... ...aren't. [My favourite example of the latter was Liberty X, who failed to notice that the team that had sponsored their pit pass - Arrows - was not the team that included David Coulthard].

2) Some gracefulness from celebrities approached by media would probably be a good idea, unless they've asked to go incognito and cleared that with the press (who I think would advise their grid-walkers accordingly if asked in advance). Team staff are excused from social graces to a certain extent because they've got another job to do (and in some cases risk penalties if they get the balance wrong), but a public-facing celebrity doesn't have that diversion.

3) There's an art to the 15-second soundbite.

4) The flag-waver was following orders, as admitted by some of the people doing the ordering. However, I think the flag-waver should have been paying enough attention to the race to be able to say what lap it was, for exactly this scenario.

5) "Lewis" is only safe if you are connected with Mercedes, or have espoused support of Lewis on your social media channels (and no, pulling "Lewis" out of the bag when it doesn't make sense won't get you into the Mercedes after-party). It shouldn't be too difficult to guess that someone who is there because of connections should state a name they and the connection have in common. People who got there independently (perhaps because Liberty or the organiser invited them) should say someone that makes sense based on previous declarations or clearly state they are neutral. For that matter, there's no shame in saying "I'm only here for the atmosphere/racing/overtakes/strategy/networking/free promotion/freebies" if the alternative is to lie. (And whatever you do, don't say you're only there for the crashes. Even the fans who actually watch for the crashes won't respect you for it).

6) There are enough genuine F1 fans among celebrities that F1 can have glitz and glamour from their association, without things getting embarrassing.

As for the idea about interviews immediately pre-race: it's a nice idea but unfortunately, non-essential staff are required to be off-grid by the end of the National Anthem (10 minutes before the start of the race) so that any short-notice work needed on the cars can be done without interruption. That's not for the benefit of the drivers, that is for the mechanics who need the space to do their jobs.

Perhaps there could be a "lucky dip" for TV and radio stations to get a 5-minute exclusive slot with a random driver (possible exception for any driver starting from the pits, as it is possible they may not actually be able to sit in the car during some of their slot due to work in the garage). I believe there are more than 22 such stations covering F1, so there would have to be a rule that stations that hadn't had anyone recently would get priority.

The slot would start from whenever the driver returned to their car, and team staff would be forbidden to talk to their driver until the slot was completed (media override button; something similar could be used during the race for when Race Control needs to tell all the drivers something simultaneously, as Formula E and WEC routinely do). If the station abused the priviledge to be obnoxious towards a driver, the FOM would use the override button to let the team have their radio back prematurely (I would hope the existence of such a tool would prevent anyone from misusing it).

If the driver left their car, appeared to be deliberately wasting time with excessive non-word use, or there was dead air for more than 3 consecutive seconds, the clock would pause - to be resumed when the driver was more co-operative. And if that meant a reluctant driver slow to return was still having to field questions during their formation lap... ...I bet they wouldn't try that twice! (In this scenario, questions would be in whatever language made sense for the driver and the station involved).

This would force media to consider drivers they'd never normally talk about properly, and drivers to give some sort of idea about their thought processes going to the grid.

(I don't think this needs to replace the current grid walks, though they need a shake-up too. It would be nice to see the back half of the grid covered as well as the front, and for crews to stop chasing drivers who don't want to talk to them when racing people who appear to be potentially willing to speak are nearby and ignored. Having said that, there is rarely much insight given from grid walks these days; I think it's just that, after 20 years, there isn't much new left to say at that point.).
« Last Edit: June 12, 2018, 10:51:40 PM by Alianora La Canta »
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Offline Calman

Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #9 on: June 13, 2018, 01:07:48 AM »
Alianora La Canta ,  I think I may have caught you out with my high level of Scottish Satire on my initial points, especially Lewis H.  I can't be "that" serious for very long ... and when I do, there is a critical "boring alert" about to give you ear ache!!

Edit:  "Many celebrities are genuinely interested in F1. Unfortunately, some celebrities... ...aren't."
I personally wouldn't agree with that in all honesty, most "may" be excited by F1, but don't have a genuine interest.  As I touched on, many are there for promotional reasons, a good day out or looking to attend an expensive weekend party!!

Best Regards,
Cal :)
« Last Edit: June 13, 2018, 01:10:57 AM by Calman »
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Offline Alianora La Canta

Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #10 on: June 18, 2018, 04:52:44 PM »
Sorry, Calman, I picked up the "you will only look foolish!!!!!" joke... ...but I thought it would be more helpful to try to explain why I felt .

When I say "many celebrities are genuinely interested in F1", I'm thinking the likes of Chris Rea, Jamaroquai and Guy Labierté, who are celebrities (if sometimes in fairly specific fields) who know a lot about F1 and would be perfectly capable of doing the job of flag-waver. (Contrast people like Ozzy Osborne, who probably does know a lot about F1 as well, but couldn't be trusted with any job that responsible - or the band members of Liberty X, who probably could wave a flag on cue, but apparently thought David Coulthard drove an Arrows in 2001)...
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Offline Calman

Re: Note to Celebs ...
« Reply #11 on: June 19, 2018, 01:30:00 AM »
No worries Alianora La Canta, it's all good!!  :good:

Yes, there are a few celebs who I would call "genuine F1 fans" ... the rest of them, well, they get on my nerves (clearly  :DD ).   Turning the clock back, I even think someone like Lenox Lewis referred to an F1 driver as either "Damon Coulthard" ... or "David Hill" ... could have been the latter, but it occurred on live TV and Martin Brundle or whoever was doing the interview at the time, handled the situation professionally, without making Lenox look like a moron!!

.. still more interesting than listening to Ozzy talk about Rasputin on the grid! .. or "Which team would you like to see win today?" .... "... the silver ones!!"  :crazy:

Best Regards,
Cal :)
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