Last week, Onside Law and Google hosted a morning on motorsport – a panel discussion featuring some the sport’s biggest names, with the likes of Formula One’s Murray Barnett and Formula E’s Ali Russell giving their thoughts.

In the modern world, the issue of sponsorship is becoming more important than ever – and it’s always been pretty important.

Aside from broadcast rights, this is one of the most important topics in sports business and when it comes to motorsport it’s crucial.

In the last year or so, Formula One has undergone big changes, opening itself to social and digital media in a way that it never had done before. Indeed, Murray Barnett is the sport’s first head of sponsorship, showing the modernisation that’s taking place in the sport.

Across the morning, the panelists talked about the future of the sport, F1’s adoption of esports and other uses of digital media in growing motorsport.

So when it comes to actually doing it, what are the challenges and the aspirations F1 should have? We asked Claire Ritchie-Tomkins, CEO of Sine Qua Non, a digital agency specialising in motorsport sponsorship for her thoughts.

Who should F1 be trying to learn from when they attempt to grow their commercial dealings?

“The Premier League is a benchmark that many organisations look to when it comes to commercial activities, both in terms of the body selling the media rights and clubs in how they are growing their own new revenue streams. Manchester City are a stand out example of creating new opportunities, whether that be within digital creative where partners feature heavily or telling the story around the world through Amazon.”

“But looking outside of the traditional ‘big sports’, WWE – which you may dispute being labelled a sport – posted record revenue of $281.6m for Q2 this year and a paid subscription base of 1.8m. Digitally, fans viewed their content 14.4bn times in a six-month period!”

Media value may not rival that of the Premier League but in terms of maximising commercial opportunities there are few to rival WWE.”

Clearly there are numerous sports who are doing ‘digital’ well – and certainly a lot better than F1 during the Bernie Ecclestone years, but finding the right niche for the sport will be the issue. Copying the obvious big players is always a honeyed path – it’s attractive but rarely the right fit. Looking to others like the WWE might prove a savvier bet.

How can F1 help their teams and drivers to grow sponsorship opportunities?

F1 are starting to show the way by opening up opportunities around fan engagement, the broadcast experience and pit access. As much as the sports promoter is looking towards their own sponsorship opportunities there needs to be a push from the teams to become less dependent on TV and prize money, and more self sufficient.

If teams are to maintain or increase their current level of sponsorship income, then they must be creative with their offerings. It’s time to get with the times, put the brands first and provide them with the best platform by which they can tell their stories to the largest possible audience. Teams need to deliver opportunities that harbour the greatest potential for brands.

A belief that the space on an F1 car is the prime asset in a sponsorship package is narrow-minded. Of course, it will always hold its own value, but the potential offerings surrounding any F1 team are vast, and at the moment haven’t been fully utilised. Many other global sports teams and championships are already reaping the benefits of this approach, now it’s time for F1 to catch up and match up!