Codemasters has positioned itself as one of the premier development studio and publisher of elite racing video games. The latest release from Codemasters is Formula 1 2018.
Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene said F1 must be aware of that threat as well as improving competition and it would be wrong for F1 to focus purely in its product.
F1 is plotting a major rules and structure overhaul from 2021, focused on bridging the gap financially and competitively between the three big teams – Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull – and the rest of the grid.
“Our competitors today, and this is my personal opinion, they are the PlayStations. Most probably we need to switch our mind and focus attention on our competitors.” Arrivabene said.
“Today we have a broad offer of entertainment and we need to look at everything, not only certain sports or trying to equalise everything. Is the PlayStation our competitor? In my opinion, yes.
“What do you have to do to beat the PlayStations? You have to do something that is more interesting, most probably. Today the offer is bigger than many years ago.” Arrivabene continued.
A budget cap is one of the political issues facing F1 owners Liberty Media in its sophomore season. F1 CEO Chase Carey last year said teams are in broad agreement on the issue, with a seasonal figure of £150m per team believed to be the original proposal.
Formula 1 to introduce soft budget cap in 2019. (Source:www.planetf1.com)
Ferrari, meanwhile, has backed the mooted budget cap in principal, and softened its quit-threat stance in the face of impending sweeping changes.
“We need to be honest with ourselves and ask ‘How is the level of interest in F1 vs yesterday? What we need to do is not the budget cap – it is one of the solutions but is not the only solution. We need to relaunch the sport and relaunching the sport, it is kind of a complicated and complex equation.
“If at a certain point the audience is becoming older, older, older and you work to maintain what you have and your attention is less focused on acquiring the younger generation, that means you have a problem. And you have to find a solution.” he added.
Some of F1 teams are hopeful changes like a budget cap and staffing limits, which should start to be phased in from 2021, will make things fairer across the grid.
