This book takes stock of the position of motorsport in the 21st century and considers how it will continue to influence sport business, politics, and society in the future.
Presenting a set of thematic essays and multi-disciplinary case studies, the book demonstrates that motorsport continues to play a significant role in relationships between the automotive industry, nationalism, industrialisation, and capitalism as well as motorsports’ position as a feature of contemporary popular culture. Examining issues such as event management and legacy, environmental sustainability and ‘greenwashing’, diversity and inclusion, the rise of gaming and esports, and the use of sport as political soft power around the world across multiple motorsport disciplines, the book shines fascinating new light on this innovative but sometimes problematic industry.
This is essential reading for all advanced students, researchers, managers, strategists, sponsors, and other stakeholders working at the nexus of motorsport, business, politics, and culture.
1. Introduction: Motorsport in the 21st Century – Trends and Tendencies. Part I: The Motorsport Sector. 2. Formula 1 in the Gulf Region: The Fast and the Furious. 3. Governance Controversies and Financial Mismanagement in Motorsport. 4. When Institutional Capital Flows into Motorsport: From Leagues to Teams. 5. The Business of Motorsports in China: From Shanghai to Every Emerging City?. Part II: The Operating Environment. 6. Formula One and Environmental Sustainability: Changes, Shifts, and Future Challenges in Motorsport. 7. Cultural Traditions and Contemporary Pressures: The Path Ahead for the FIA World Rally Championship. 8. Motorsport Racing to Save the Planet: The Business Model of Extreme E. 9. Events on the Edge: Values of Motorcycle Racing, Its Past and Future at the Isle of Man. Part III: Social Responsibility. 10. The Prospect of Societal Duties in Motorsport: Racing for Humanity?. 11. Gendered Representations in Motorsports and the Case of the F1 Grid Girls: Looking Back, Looking Forward. 12. What Initiatives May Help Women in Motorsport? A Commentary Essay. 13. Processes of Greenwashing, Virtue Signalling, and Sportwashing in Contemporary Formula One: Formula Façade?. 14. Twitter Activism (or Lack of It) during the Saudi Arabian Formula E Motorsport Races in 2018 and 2019: Does Anybody Care?. 15. Fighting on Twitter: How Online Trolling Affects Offline Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Motorsport Sponsorship. Part IV: Digital and Technology. 16. The Gamification of Formula One. 17. A Convergent Approach to Motorsport Digital Video Content and Data: Gaining Traction. 18. Autonomous Racing as the Future of Motorsport: An Empirical Investigation of the Attractiveness of Autonomous Car Racing for Generation Z Spectators. 19. Future Growth of Formula E: Reinforcing Spectators’ Sensory Experience through Sonic Branding.
Hans Erik Næss is a Professor of Sport Management at Kristiania University College, Norway. His areas of expertise include sustainability, sport management, sport organisations, sport and politics, and social responsibility, and he is the author of several books on motorsports. Simon Chadwick is a Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy at Skema Business School, France. Chadwick’s work focuses on sport’s geopolitical economy. He has worked extensively with some of the most prominent people and organisations in the sport industry, including Formula E and several F1 drivers and teams.
