Teams pushing Ecclestone into internet era

F1 needs to race into the digital era, according to Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

A report by the Bloomberg news agency said the official F1 website is only the 39th most popular among rival sports, and worryingly outpaced by the likes of Egyptian soccer and American entertainment wrestling.

The report said chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has resisted embracing the internet to protect the huge revenue stream of exclusive television rights.

Race highlights are therefore limited to a less than three minute clip put to contemporary music, but Domenicali thinks formula one is being left in the pits.

"The young generation wants to see sport in a different way — they don’t want to see an entire race for one and a half hours", he said.

"This is a challenge we need to address," the Italian added, revealing that similarly concerned teams are "almost close" to convincing Ecclestone to change tack.

"People have a more impulsive way of living" today, Domenicali continued. "We need to be able to connect with them."