Brawn apologises for F1 TV failure

Ross Brawn has issued an apology to Formula 1 fans over the failure of F1 TV at the Spanish Grand Prix. Liberty media was forced into an embarrassing apology and refund to customers after the much-vaunted streaming system almost universally failed to work properly upon its introduction.

The service was moved back to the Barcelona race from the start of the year to allow for more testing, but F1 fans were left furious as streams failed to work.

Though contrite, Brawn says F1's current chiefs are having to move fast to bring the sport into the modern age, after years of suspicion to new media under Bernie Ecclestone.

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Brawn said in a post-race F1 debrief: "I confess [social media] is not a big part of my world, but I do appreciate its importance in reaching new audiences, especially among our younger fans.

"Three initiatives made their debut in Barcelona: F1 TV, the Twitter Live Show, and F1 Vision, the most advanced handheld device on which to follow the race.

"The launch of the former did not go very smoothly, and apologies to our fans, but we are dragging our sport from a place where none of these initiatives previously existed and we will get there.

"In some ways that's what Formula 1 is about, a sport where things are developed on the move and on the track with technology that is always cutting edge.

"We're in the front line with the aim of unleashing the greatest spectacle on the planet and we want to take you with us."

Brawn also made sure to point out the number of new advances F1 has made in the show this year.

"We have new camera angles, an all-new graphic design that we are constantly evolving and the new halo graphics which has managed to make the halo less intrusive on television to our viewers and fans," he said.

"There's a specially-made microphone placed to enhance the sound of the power units, and we are interviewing the drivers immediately after qualifying, following the heat of the battle.

"We are doing that after the race too, capturing the emotions of the drivers on screens around the world."