They might be starting from a low base, but Formula One’s new owners are picking off the low-hanging fruit when it comes to their digital strategy.

The sport hasn’t always been at the forefront of digital. Under old management, F1 had been constrained somewhat by the rules set from above – barred from posting footage from the race, teams weren’t just unable to give their fans highlights, but they also couldn’t post videos from the paddock either.

Over the last few months, the sport has experiences some great growth with social and digital media at the heart of the strategy.

This week, they picked off some more of that juicy low-hanging fruit: Formula One now has a fantasy game.

It costs them very little and allows fans to engage with the sport in a new and interesting way: fantasy games require a different kind of thinking about the sport and open new horizons to the wider consumption of the races. It engages fans in a way that retains their interest, potentially for a whole season. And if it enjoys even a fraction of the success of fantasy Premier League, for example, it will have been worth it.

There’s more to it, though.

Rupert Pratt, co-founder of Snack Gaming reacted to the news by reminding his followers that games and fantasy leagues are also a way of showcasing sponsors and getting fans engaged in such a way that they can be retained throughout the season. They add another dimension to fandom and it’s yet another point around which content can be created.

As rights holders start to think more and more like content producers, it’s initiatives such as these which will become more widespread.