More live demo events to be expected from F1 - Bratches

Formula 1 commercial boss Sean Bratches says the sport will promote itself this year to fans with a schedule of F1 Live events in major cities.

Days before last year's British Grand Prix, F1 descended on central London with a first-of-its-kind build-up event centered around Trafalgar Square which brought together teams, drivers and over 100,000 enthusiastic fans.

Bratches underlined the importance of PR events for the sport and F1's upcoming presence in several major cities.

"They are very important," the Liberty Media executive told Auto Motor und Sport.

"The next events of this kind will not be quite that big.

• Bratches: 'Formula 1 is like managing a start-up!'

"We're planning something similar in Marseille, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai and Miami, but not with so many cars," Bratches revealed.

"But we do believe that this contact with the audience outside the race track is important. It carries our message to people we would not otherwise reach.

"Formula One has been so exclusive over the years that it was only accessible to interested people. The same applies to sponsors.

"There is a lot of interest from companies that are not yet in F1," he added.

Liberty's plans have forced the company to invest, a move which has reduced its bottom line and the teams' income. But Bratches says it's all about taking a step back before moving two steps forward.

"If there is a business that has been as poorly marketed as Formula One, then everyone understands that first of all you have to invest," he explained.

"There was previously no department for sponsors, digital platforms, marketing, communication, the rules.

"Setting this up will pay off one day to the extent that everyone will appreciate the investments."

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