• The Inside Line

Winds of change

Fans currently shell out £155 for general admission at Silverstone © Sutton Images

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Recent days have seen an increasing amount of chatter from F1 circuit bosses about their plans for 2015 and beyond. It seems as though changes - of the positive sort - are afoot.

Of immediate interest to those fans able to attend the British Grand Prix were comments made by Patrick Allen, managing director of Silverstone, regarding an ideal ticket price of £99, a considerable reduction on the £155 a general admission pass to this year's race is on sale for.

"What I would like to do is see ticket prices falling for the British Grand Prix," Allen told the BBC. "In my mind I have the benchmark of a £99 admission ticket. I think that's what customers deserve. I would much rather see better ticket offers and once people are here, do more for them. If you want to get more people here every year, you don't do that by putting ticket prices up. We are desperately trying to bring the ticket price down."

More interesting, however, were comments made by Sepang International Circuit boss Razlan Razali, who has been negotiating an extension to the Malaysian Grand Prix contract with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

According to Razali, in the current round of negotiations the 84-year-old has been far more open-minded with regard to opportunities for the circuit to make money from the grand prix it pays so much to host.

"There was a lot of negativity surrounding F1 last year," Razali told Press Association Sport. "So we have discussed with Mr Ecclestone on how to make it exciting as an event. Fortunately, this time around, Mr Ecclestone was very much open to a lot of ideas from us, compared to previous years when I have met him.

"I guess it was only a matter of time before he realised he had to do something. So there were a lot of ideas on fan engagement, fan activation, how to get the drivers closer to the fans, also a relaxation on certain areas of the circuit to bring in more activities. It was a very positive meeting with him, and we're happy. In the last six years of being in charge of the Sepang Circuit it was one of the best meetings we've had with him."

Using MotoGP as an example, Razali showed Ecclestone the potential benefits of improving trackside entertainment options for fans, even approaching the idea of opening up an auto show-style exhibition in the FanZone with displays by local automotive brands unrelated to F1 and its roster of sponsors.

While nothing has yet to be confirmed with regard to Sepang's hopes of a fan carnival, that Ecclestone demonstrated a willingness to be flexible in his arrangements with race promoters and circuits is a positive sign indeed. Last year's empty seats in traditional strongholds like Hockenheim and Monza was worrying, and it behooves all of F1's stakeholders to ensure that the sport starts to make financial sense for all of those involved.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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