By Nick Mulvenney
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Mercedes will take Formula One back to South Korea for the first time in 12 years with a show run in Yongin next week and team principal Toto Wolff thinks it is high time the sport again made an annual visit to the country.
The team will head to Korea on a high after George Russell gave them a second win of the season at Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, one of only three East Asian stops on the current 24-race calendar, along with Japan and China.
South Korea hosted four grands prix at Yeongam from 2010 to 2013 and Wolff strongly believes the tech-savvy population would embrace the product Formula One has become over the last decade.
YOUNG FANS DRIVE FORMULA ONE’S GROWTH
“It has been a little bit of an untapped market for a while now, considering that Formula One has grown very strong over the last few years, particularly in the younger target group,” the Austrian told Reuters in Singapore.
“You know, our strongest growing demographic is young females from 15 to 24 and they are very active on social media.
“South Korea is an extremely social-media-connected country and so it would be great if we could come back and show how Formula One has changed over the last 10 years.”
Formula One now has six races in the Americas and four in the Middle East on top of its traditional European core.
“(Formula One chief executive) Stefano Domenicali – his aim is always to balance it well,” Wolff said.
“And there’s obviously commercial factors, but also long-term planning, and I believe that we have a little bit of a blank spot in (East) Asia.”
East Asia’s modest presence on the calendar is also reflected on the grid, with just Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda and Thai Alex Albon representing the most populous region of the world.
ASIAN DRIVERS NEED GRASSROOTS DEVELOPMENT
Wolff acknowledges that fans are attracted by drivers they can easily relate to, but says more Asian representation has to come from the grassroots.
“Formula One is purely meritocratic because you can’t afford not to have the best driver in your car,” he said.
“It always starts with go-karting. People do need to see heroes. When we had such a boost of German drivers, it’s because kids saw (Michael) Schumacher. It needs this kind of igniting spark – and then it rolls.”
The Mercedes team has a strong link with Asia through its long-term partnership with Petronas, Malaysia’s national oil and gas company.
Wolff says he is excited about the work they are doing on the sustainable fuels being introduced next year under new regulations as Formula One aims to be net-zero in carbon emissions by 2030.
“The next generation of engines will run 100% on sustainable fuel, and we hope to achieve performances that are equal to fossil fuels,” he said.
“This is a high-tech innovation exercise that Petronas is doing together with us … It’s a mind-blowing R and D exercise, with the aim of eventually fuelling high-performance road cars and aviation.”
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by)
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