F1 ITV Email the studio

[John]

Dunno if Im allowed to say this here but here goes!

Has anyone Emailed a question to ITV - and did it get a reply?!?

Seems to me they only read out stupid crap questions like this weekends 'what does the T in Tcar stand for?'

Whats next? Why are the wheels round?

I've never seen a decent Q on it! :mad:

[Jackie]

Never tried to mail the studio John. There does seem to be a lot of silly questions in there though! OK how much is it worth to mail the studio next race and ask why wheels are round?!!:D

[Kelvin]

They think we are stoopid!!
How many times do they explain the simple rules, simple technical stuff, over and over they repeat themselves as if the audience each weekend never saw F1 before.

Kelvin

[Racefan_uk]

Because that's what the people who make the programme think the intelligence level is of an average F1 fan! They have no idea, do they?

I can't understand why they have Jim Rosenthal on the show anyway, his background before F1 was boxing and I don't think he's learned a great deal more since!

[Alan]

I expect there is an element of "dumbing down" - perhaps even a big element!! but has anyone actually sent in a "sensible" question?

If not I suggest you all get emailing and see what sort of result you get. If they carry on with their simple questions then I guess you have a cause to complain - but until you have tested the waters I don't see that you can moan alot!

I rather suspect - having said all that, that for a variety of reasons only the simple questions will get answered. Someone like our friend tvgod may have a view or input on this - are you out there?

I expect the same would happen if they did it for the BTCC - however now that we can text/email Alan Hyde that may well not be true for TOCA Radio. Must think up some really deep technical question for him at Thruxton!!:D

[bramble]

Even if they do answer the questions in simple terms, that shouldn't stop them answering complicated questions.

[Reynard]

The trouble is that most people who tune into a GP of a Sunday afternoon are casual spectators with only a passing interest in the sport. As a result, what might sound simple to us, to them it is likely to be much more informative.

Not everyone who watches motorsport is blessed with a good in-depth knowlege of the hows and whys as a result of many years worth of following the sport and/or working in that area.

They have to cater for everybody which means that it are always the simple (and to us, very obvious) questions that will be chosen. Also, they also have a time restriction so that would put pay to detailed explanations - what they want is something that can be answered in just a couple of sentences at most.

For those seeking more detail, there are always publications such as Racecar Engineering, Autosport and such like, that will cover the more technical and obscure aspects of the sport. For those who are really desperate, the FIA yearbook is actually available online! ;)

[tvgod]

As Reynard said, 90% of the audience are just casual viewers. These people will watch the race because sometimes there is some excitement...but they won't watch every race in the season, and won't car that they miss some.

The programme is aimed at these people - and designed to attract new viewers, who wouldn't normally watch F1. It won't do this by being so technical that it bores them.

Less than 15% of the ITV F1 audience read Autosport regularly.

Incidentally if you send an e-mail to studio@itv-f1.com, you won't get a personal reply - their software is specifically written to prevent that.

Finally, I doubt very many people watching the race on Sunday could have told you what the T stood for in T Car before they saw that, so it wasn't that bad a question to choose.

[Kelvin]

>The trouble is that most people who tune into a GP of a Sunday afternoon are casual spectators


What evidence do you have?

Would be interesting to see viewing figures for the Australian and say Japanese GP which go out early hours of morning, thats not casual viewing!!!

Kelvin

[Nikki P]

"As Reynard said, 90% of the audience are just casual viewers."

Is that really a fair assesment? I may not have much technical knowledge and have never been lucky enough to work within the sport (I doubt I ever will), but I watch every Grand Prix and haven't missed one in the 10 years I've been following F1, does that make me just a 'casual viewer'?

[Stuart]

Nikki P makes a good point here. It is possible to follow F1 for many years and get a lot out of the sport without getting bogged down in the technicalities of the sport.
As John says, a lot of the questions come across as being pretty lame to the ardent enthusiasts, but then ITV isn't catering just for such a limited audience.
TV has made F1 one of the most accessable sports in the world and it won't have done so by aiming its programmes at the fanatic who would still tune in to watch no matter how the programme was presented.
And don't forget that had F1 not been such a big hit, we wouldn't have the BTCC on TV... which would have meant that the crowds would have been limited to a couple of thousand enthusiasts...and we wouldn't have the manufacturers involved...
Keep up the good work ITV!

[Kelvin]

from a source on the net:

"TV exposure of Formula One is enormous. This year, (2002) a collective 3 billion TV viewers worldwide watched at least one of the 16 Grand Prix races."


Are 90% of these casual viewers too?

FYI
3.4 million watched the British GP in 2002 on ITV
(not many people know that!) :D

[tvgod]

The Australian GP got half a million viewers for its live showing.
The Brazilian GP got nine million. The three European GPs have averaged just over 4 million.

That seems to back up my point that 90% of the audience are casual viewers.

[The Stig]

E-mail the studio has it's uses, ie carefully selected questions which can quickly be answered on air by Brundle or Tony Jardine. For real info you need to be quite careful not to miss, simply listen to Martin Brundle. This man has a wealth of knowledge, imparted in a fashion that also entertains. Even technical things on many subjects are aired concisely.

[kevin ritson]

Never mind all that! Let's all e-mail them to ask how Kimi Raikkonen's exploitation of the friction circle compares to Shuey's

[The Stig]

Pardon ?

[kevin ritson]

It was a favourite topic of Peter Windsor's in F1 Racing a while ago (haven't read it for a while, bit too coffee table these days...)

Basically, imagine a circle representing the limits of a tyre and the up and down axis being acceleration/braking, left-right being steering - the more of this circle you exploit, makes you faster but harder on the tyre.

There's loads more to it, I'm sure, but it would be great to see Tony Jardine's face as he attempts to explain it :D

[Alan]

Um - yes well! Good point!;)

I guess this can all come down to how you define casual, enthusiast or, for want of a better word, anorak (expert?).

Personally I would put myself in the enthusiast category, but definitely erring toward casual where F1 is concerned - more towards expert/anorak for BTCC.

But I think the viewing figures above say it all really - you have to be pretty keen to get up to watch the Oz GP live! - and only 1/2 million people were that keen.

As for listening to Martin Brundle - good point - he really does know what he is talking about and puts over a suprising amount of detailed info if you listen carefully. Probably one of if not the best TV commentator in this respect.

[The Stig]

Think I'm a keen enthusiast of both. Enjoyed F1 since school days playing Top Trump card games, (Any one remember them ?). Probably somewhere between enthusiast and anorak for both. Deffo not casual. BTCC not as early, but it's considerably more watchable and spectator friendly.

[Nikki P]

"But I think the viewing figures above say it all really - you have to be pretty keen to get up to watch the Oz GP live! - and only 1/2 million people were that keen."

I see your point but how many people watched the re-run at lunch time? For some people it may not be an option (or particularly appealing!) to get up in the middle of the night especially when they know that a full re-run will be shown at more friendly time. I personally don't think that it is the time you watch the race that defines your level of interest or status of 'enthusiast' or 'casual fan', as far as I'm concerned watching the race at all does that.

[Reynard]

Err firstly, I wasn't the person who quoted the 90% figure, but I still stand by my view that a majority of the people who watch GPs on a Sunday AFTERNOON are casual spectators. Those who will stay up in the middle of the night to watch a race are just a little bit more anoraky - my good self included.

Thing about the Sunday lunchtime viewing figures - large numbers of self-respecting racing enthusiasts are actually out at circuits all over the UK! :) Well I know I tend to be, either at Rockingham, Snetterton and occasionally elsewhere.

Stig: I remember the Top Trump F1 set - I still have it somewhere, all full of Tolemans, Brabhams etc. Lovely.

Although I do watch F1, I am only really interested in the technical side of the sport (part of the day job as well - researching into F1 crash tests) since I don't have any especial driver interest in the current field. Also, I've graduated more to GT, ASCAR & BTCC as I've gotten older though I've always been a big Gp C fan.

If I am around and able to watch a GP on TV I will, if I'm not, it's no big deal, though plenty of teams keep a TV in the garage. I can claim the fact that I watched bits of the San Marino GP together with Teo and Stefano Fabi! ;)

[Nikki P]

I appologise if I came across as argumentative (I only used your quote for reference) and I don't necessarily disagree, as I said I really do see your point, I just don't think it's so easy to categorise. I always thought that motor racing was meant to be fun & entertaining, and that most people watched the sport for the excitement 20+ cars driving around a curcuit as fast as possible and seeing who finishes first, not for the technical aspect. As I said before, I have a limited understanding of the technicalities but I completley agree that the questions e-mailed into the studio so far this season have been basic, but if this encourages people to keep watching as they gain more of an understanding it can only be a good thing. Personally, I would LOVE to know more about how things work.

I started off watching with my Dad when I was 12 and was hooked. I must admit I'm more of a follower of BTCC now as the racing is so close, but I still wouldn't miss a GP. As for getting off my backside, I wish I was able to get to more races! I'm affraid 4 BTCC meetings is all I can manage this year, and as far the Britsh Grand Prix goes, I wish!! :( Oh well I can dream......... :)

Anyway I'll put you all out of your misery now and shut up!! ;)