Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel hit out at Liberty Media's new F1 logo
Four-time world champion Hamilton has said he does not believe the new logo is truly 'iconic', while Ferrari's Vettel has also admitted that he is not much of a fan
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Your support makes all the difference.Lewis Hamilton has hit out at the new Formula One logo which was launched following the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The design, described as symbolising the look of a Formula One car with a ‘modern-retro feel’, replaces one introduced three decades ago by former commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
Managing director Sean Bratches said it reflected the “wider transformation taking place in Formula One” as owners Liberty Media sought to broaden the sport’s appeal and lead it into a digital future.
But Hamilton, who also called for changes to F1's season-ending fixture after an underwhelming conclusion to his world-championship winning campaign, said he is not a fan of the new logo.
“The old one was iconic, and the new one isn't,” Hamilton said after he finished second to Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas at the Yas Marina Circuit. “Imagine if Ferrari changed theirs.”
Another former World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, said simply: “I liked the old one better.”
Formula One's director of marketing Ellie Norman, who joined from Virgin Media in August, said the new logo derived from fan feedback and would be easier to work with on digital and mobile platforms.
“I think over time it will be received positively,” she said, recognising there could be an initial backlash in some quarters.
“Having shared it with the teams in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and with our sponsors and partners on Wednesday, the feedback... has been incredibly positive.”
And Jean Todt, president of the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA), told reporters he saw it as “a good evolution”.
To accompany the reveal of the new logo, Formula One has also set out a ‘mission statement’ in language that may raise eyebrows among those wary of ‘Americanisation’.
The five ‘key behaviours’ are listed as: ‘Revel in the racing’, ‘Make the spectacle more spectacular’, ‘Break down borders’, ‘Taste the oil’ and ‘Feel the blood boil’.
The first involves working with teams and the FIA to improve the racing, the second to build up events around races and create more of a buzz while the third is about increasing the audience and drawing in new fans with digital technology.
The last two relate to presenting the technology in a more compelling way and highlighting the human emotions and rivalries.
Norman said Liberty, who took over Formula One in January, had carried out extensive fan research and the message coming back was that the sport had lost excitement and become too sanitised and inaccessible.
“We really have to set about a shift in that perception because without the passion of our fans there could be a point where there is no longer Formula One, because we just don’t have that connection with people,” said Norman.
(Additional reporting by Reuters.)
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