The program has been hyped as “allowing spectators, celebrities and guests attending a Grand Prix to have an extraordinary and unique experience: being driven in a supercar by a professional racing driver on the same exciting circuits where their F1 heroes battle it out”.
The program aims at communicating the benefits of competing in major motorsport events and then hopefully translating that into sales, according to a Pirelli statement on the venture.
Hot Laps will be run between the races on the Formula One weekends and right before prime-time television viewers – no small audience considering the sport had 352.3 million television viewers last year.
Although fans may be able to win a ride in a supercar with a high-profile driver, it is directed more to the rich and famous who are more likely to boost the exposure of the activity.
Ticket allocations are believed to go to Pirelli and the race organisers, but the main participants will be guests of the dealer network of the car-makers involved in the program, now including Aston Martin and McLaren.
Guests may get laps with the relevant team drivers. For example, the Red Bull Racing team is a partner with Aston Martin. Early reports indicate that drivers may include Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen doing laps with customers in an Aston Martin Vantage.
Aston Martin Vantage
McLaren could field its 720S car with drivers being Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne, former F1 champion Mika Hakkinen and test driver Lando Norris.
Mercedes-Benz and Renault are also expected to join with cars and drivers of their own.
Guests will also get to experience the Hot Laps garage within the pits and access to the paddock area. Manufacturers also intend to showcase more affordable products to all spectators.
The main partner in the program is Pirelli. Its head of F1 communications, Roberto Boccafogli, said the involvement allowed it to showcase its P Zero road-car tyre under race conditions.
“One of Pirelli’s targets is to show the top technology of its product: motorsport or road tyres,” he said.
“For the first time on a regular and repetitive schedule, supercars driven by top professional drivers and fitted with our P Zero road tyres will drive top guests and stakeholders at very high speed on F1 circuits on the same days as the Grands Prix.”
Formula One’s managing director of commercial operations, Sean Bratches, said in a statement that the program “represents a new opportunity to allow Formula 1 fans to get closer to a real track experience”.
“The once-in-a-lifetime experience of being driven at speed by a racing driver at iconic race circuits in dream cars is truly unique. We are seeking to be fan-first, and this is yet another example of our efforts to that end,” he said.
The Hot Laps program has become an additional profit stream for Formula One, now a part of listed public company Liberty Media Corporation which, according to F1 chief executive Chase Cary in an interview during last week’s Australian Grand Prix, is planning to expand the number of activities around each grand prix event over more than the four days at present.
Under the Hot Laps arrangement, Pirelli and the participating car-makers pay for the series. The garages used at the circuits are already available, having previously been used for the two-seater F1 car and its VIP experience sessions.
Aston Martin Lagonda chief marketing officer Simon Sproule said: “As one of the auto brands engaged in F1, showcasing our products during the race weekend creates a better overall return on investment (ROI) for our participation in the sport.
“We hope F1 Hot Laps is just the start of creating a bigger experience for fans and for the guests we host at the race,” he said.
“We made the decision to invest in F1 for all it represents in terms of technology and passion; the ability to communicate that through experiencing our cars on the circuits is exactly the right direction for this sport.”
McLaren 720S
By Neil Dowling
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