McLaren chairman and CEO Ron Dennis believes Formula One teams must change to keep fans interested
Ron Dennis believes Formula One teams need to re-invent themselves if they are to survive in the current multi-media world and attract a wider fan base.
With F1 audiences declining, both watching at home on television and at some circuits, McLaren Group chairman and CEO Dennis feels he has to take the initiative rather than sit and wait for instructions.
"I think Formula One teams need to re-invent themselves," said Dennis.
"You can't wait for other people to do it, so we're doing it our way and hopefully we can constructively contribute to the future of Formula One because we have to change.
"The model we have is the model we've evolved over the years, and evolution is not always a good way to move forward.
"So we can either embrace change and use it, or ignore it at one's peril."
Expressing his concerns with regard to viewing figures and spectator numbers, Dennis feels that altering McLaren is a step in the right direction.
"If you analyse television, TV is somewhere between 40 and 45 per cent down on everything," added Dennis.
"Formula One has actually held its own much better than many other sports, but actually numbers are down, so analyse why and then do something that's based on the facts.
"How can we go to Silverstone and Austria and it be absolutely full, and then we go to Germany and it's half full? There must be a reason. We can all guess, but that's not very scientific.
"We've really got to understand why these things happen. Is it ticketing prices? Is it national heroes etcetera?
"Whatever it is we have to address it, and my view is to start from changing McLaren, because we're competitive and can contribute to the future of Formula One in a very constructive way."
Dennis feels more could be done across the board, though, to make F1 more attractive to fans, sponsors, investors and promoters.
"My own view is we should commission stylists to create what a new F1 car should look like. It should be something where a child is itching to grab it and go 'zoom, zoom'. It has to be futuristic.
"We should have low-profile treaded tyres, so it has more relevance to tyre manufacturers and encourages them in and we have another tyre war.
"These are the sort of things we need to consider, but at long range.
"Then, when we have all got comfortable, maybe some of that can come forward a little bit and stimulate the race."