Agag: “Formula E is the championship for the young fans”

Alejandro Agag (R) with Dragon Racing owner Jay Penske

(Editor's note: No doubt, this is a not so subtle response by Agag in the wake of Bernie Ecclestone's recent comments.)

Alejandro Agag declared Formula E as the championship for the young fans as he spoke during the official pre-race press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Putrajaya ePrix.

The CEO of Formula E said: "Formula E is the championship for the younger generation. We are open to the young fans and Formula E is designed with that in mind. We have for example created FanBoost, which is a possibility for fans to vote on social media and online to push for their favorite driver. For the first time ever fans can have an impact on the result of sport."

Agag emphasized that the impact of social interaction and influence of the mobile phone and tablet generation as a key to driving Formula E’s future initiatives.

He said: "You can't score a goal in football or score a point in tennis through social media but clearly you can push a driver to help overtaking. The next generation have a different way with interacting with the world. The young people are going mobile and it’s going interactive. In our opinion a new racing championship has to be ready for that change."

Talking ahead of the second race of the season in Putrajaya, Agag spoke about the impact of Formula E and the reason behind hosting the opening rounds of the inaugural championship in Asia.

"For us it was a message to start in Asia. We started the championship in the region that is probably going to lead the way in terms of growth and development. Malaysia is a fast growing country, you can see the dynamism here. This is a country and a city that shares with us the will to go towards cleaner mobility and sustainability.

"Here in Putrajaya tomorrow we expect thousands of young children. We have been working with the local authorities and schools to distribute free tickets in this area and Kuala Lumpur because we want young people to be fans of Formula E. When those kids grow up and buy a car, that car will be electric. We are the championship for the young fans and of course we respect and don't like to comment on other series commercial or fan strategies."

Formula E