Todt says Formula E deserves 'much more' media attention

FIA president Jean Todt says Formula E deserves "much more" attention from the motorsport industry's media which he believes should highlight more frequently the unique all-electric series.

Todt attended the recent Rome E-Prix and the 75-year-old Frenchman, who will conclude his tenure as president of motorsport's governing body at the end of the year, met with the media to discuss all things Formula E.

Todt underscored the high level of competition in FE, but lamented the media's enduring lack of interest, pointing to the limited coverage in a local newspaper of the Rome event to support his case.

"Clearly, [Formula E] has developed very well," said Todt, quoted by Motorsport.com.

"But still, we need to put a lot of pressure, we need a very strong coverage, we need media interest, we need the fan interest. That's what we need to build.

"We want to promote electric mobility in cities and Formula E is great way to achieve that. It's very special.

"We have all the ingredients to have a very strong championship. We need to have that well-advertised.

"Sometimes I'm a bit bitter. When I see, for example, an expert magazine or paper, they don't speak enough about it.

"It deserves much more. That's what we need to improve for the championship."

One might argue that it's perhaps not the media's role to promote a championship, with that burden sitting with the championship's promoter and the FIA.

But Todt insists the media must also do its part and join the collective effort.

"It's the work of all working together," he said. "For me, the success, you need to put in all the efforts.

"The teams are there, the venues are there, the specification of the championship is there. We need to inform well about it. We need to create interest.

"It's kind of a niche championship, comparable to none of them, so we need to make sure that we highlight that and honestly that's also our job [at the FIA] and [the media's] job."

Round 5 and 6 of the 2021 ABB Formula E Championship will take place this weekend at Valencia in Spain.

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Michael Delaney