With rumors linking Apple to a stake in Formula One, the discussion about which company would be the best to invest in the sport has been sparked once again. Although there are plenty of companies which would benefit from Formula One and would be good for the sport, there is one company which stands out above the rest: Google.
Google is an American multinational technology company that develops multiple internet and software services. The company is most well-known as the world’s most used search engine, but it has also developed an office suite, email service, cloud storage service, advertising service, social networking website and one of the most downloaded internet browsers. The company also develops Android, the leading operating system for mobile devices, and owns YouTube, the most popular video sharing website. The company also works outside of the World Wide Web, working on autonomous driving systems, Google Glass technology and many other projects.
It’s obvious that the Formula One, with technology becoming such an important and influential part of the sport, would benefit most if a technology company where to take over. When it comes to the technology industry, Google has become one of the most powerful and largest companies in the field, although their Formula One bid would probably go under Alphabet Inc, the holding company of Google and the companies previously owned by Google. There are so many opportunities for both Google and Formula One to benefit.
Since the company owns so many different services in so many different areas, Google could use Formula One as an opportunity to push their services. They could use Formula One in social media to increase the activity on Google+ and catch up to social media giants like Facebook and Twiter. They could increase the brand awareness of their unpopular Chromebook and Chromebox technology by getting the teams to use it. This would also work for their cloud services like Google Drive and Google Docs.
Google’s main source of income is from their advertising service, Google Adwords. The company could increase the revenue generated from this service and the overall value of advertising with the service if they could find a way to incorporate Adwords into the Formula One broadcasts and other Formula One services like live timing.
A link with Formula One could also help Google with their car project, by introducing them to some of the world’s top car manufacturing. Purchasing Formula One would also give Google a seat on the FIA, which is the company that governs Formula One and other motorsports, including Formula-E. Google could use this connection with Formula-E to get insider information on the electric car technology and could even use this to demo, test and develop their latest technology with electric cars.
Of course, the sport of Formula One would also benefit greatly from a Google ownership. Since they are a technology company, Google could help to push the development of the technical side of Formula One. The sport may even benefit from some of the technologies that Google has already developed. This would maintain the sport’s cutting edge position in automotive technology.
Many Google services are free to use, meaning that the company has a skill for creating sizable profits without hiding their services behind a paywall. This could work wonders for the current Formula One broadcasting rights, as many broadcasts are locked behind pay TV. Formula One could even use their popular video sharing service, YouTube, to broadcast the sessions and even create an archive of past events at little or no cost to fans, but while still yielding a profit for the sport.
Google’s American base could also help the sport. The American market is an important aspect to Formula One and it is often overlooked, seeing as the sport is largely dominated by European based teams and fans. Google could use their popularity in America to increase the popularity of the sport in that region. It’s not just limited to North America, as the Google brand is also highly regarded in other countries around the globe.
There are just so many ways that Google could help Formula One by purchasing a majority stake in the sport and there just doesn’t appear to be a better candidate. Unfortunately, Google hasn’t expressed any interest in purchasing a stake in Formula One or even a Formula One partnership of some kind, so it’s unlikely that we will see them take control of the sport.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company. Assumptions made in any analysis contained within this article are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.
