The "culture of secrecy" among Formula 1 teams "could be removed as part of an initiative by the sport's new owner to increase its number of fans," according to Rebecca Clancy of the LONDON TIMES. The teams collect "huge amounts of data" from their cars during a race weekend -- everything from fuel loads to tire profiles and degradation, engine settings and racing lines. The idea is to give the information to TV viewers and race spectators via an app that they can access during or after the race, and "could use to devise their own race strategies to share with fellow fans." F1 Managing Dir Ross Brawn said that "it is time for the teams to stop being so competitive in certain areas -- and that could involve data sharing." Brawn added, "If we cross that barrier [of secrecy], to make all that information available, I think the large chunk of enthusiasts would really enjoy seeing all that, both live and retrospectively." Teams will "probably resist the proposal" but Brawn is "undeterred" and said that it will be a case of "changing the existing culture of secrecy in the sport." That is something, he noted, which has been done before. Teams "used to spend a fortune encrypting their radio messages so that their rivals could not hear what was being said between the pitwall and the driver." Now, they are open. Brawn said, "There was just a change of mindset, that everybody's radio is going to be free" (LONDON TIMES, 4/12).
