THE 2008 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
1. ONLINE ACCREDITATION
2. ACCREDITATION PRINCIPLES
3. ACCREDITATION CRITERIA
4. PERMANENT ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE
5. RACE-BY-RACE ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE
6. ELECTRONIC MEDIA AND WEBSITES
1. ONLINE ACCREDITATION
For the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship the FIA will be trialing an online accreditation system for all international accreditation requests for publications and agencies. For the time being national accreditation requests must be sent to the National Press Office of each circuit as usual.
First-time applicants (publications / agencies) must register before any application for accreditation can be submitted (see link on the right-hand side or click here). After approval by the FIA the applicant will receive an email which will give access to the online accreditation system. Only then can an accreditation application be submitted.
After approval the online accreditation system can be accessed via the FIA website (see link on the right-hand side or click here) using your chosen ID and password.
Please note that supporting materials (see point 4 and 5 – Permanent and Race-by-Race Accreditation Procedure) must still be supplied by post.
The system will work for any accreditation request for the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship and for permanent pass requests for the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship. The online accreditation system not only gives the possibility to apply for a press credential but also to monitor current and past requests any time the user logs into their account on the system.
2. ACCREDITATION PRINCIPLES
Editors of publications are asked to conform to the following principles to ensure that media accreditation is restricted to professional journalists and photographers:
1. The FIA considers the press pass to be a working tool to be used only by bona fide members of the press. Publishers, marketing personnel, sub-editors, staff of the publication's secretariat, etc. cannot be accredited as media.
2. The FIA only accredits publications:
a) with a minimum circulation whose size and quality fulfill the criteria of the FIA;
b) with a format and quality which fulfill the criteria of the FIA;
c) which are available to the public in sales outlets;
Internal magazines of companies, trade magazines and newsletters cannot normally be accredited as Media. However, at the sole discretion of the FIA, and where the quality and circulation criteria justify their consideration, such magazines may be eligible for accreditation on a case by case basis.
3. TV and Radio, websites and other electronic media must send their application to Formula One Management Ltd, Accreditation Service, 6 Princes Gate, London SW7 - Great Britain - Tel (44) 207 584 6668 / Fax (44) 207 589 2191, Email: seyre@fomltd.com.
4. Under no circumstances will advertising, public relations agencies or similar companies and organisations be accredited as media, nor will the FIA issue any accreditation to representatives (press officers or otherwise) of sponsors, suppliers, engine suppliers, teams, drivers, etc.
5. The FIA will only accredit press from outside the country in which the event is held. National press must apply to the National Press Officer (e.g. Spanish press applying for the Spanish Grand Prix must apply to the National Press Officer whilst press from countries other than Spain must apply to the FIA).
6. Accreditation requests of the central and local offices of the major international press agencies (AFP, ANSA, AP, DPA, EFE, JIJI, KYODO, Press Association, Reuters, UPI, etc.) will always be handled by the FIA.
3. ACCREDITATION CRITERIA
The FIA will allocate annual permanent media accreditation to publications intending to publish reports for every Formula One race during the season.
Press passes can also be allocated on a race-by-race basis to general news, specialist, business and lifestyle consumer publications that do not intend to publish conventional race reports but whose coverage is considered to be of promotional benefit to the sport.
Usually, a maximum of two representatives (journalists and/or photographers) per publication may be accredited for any one round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. Agencies are subject to the same requirements as publications.
All applicants must fulfill the following basic criteria:
Coverage
For a daily newspaper a substantial amount of coverage for each event is required. For example, an introductory article in the Thursday edition, follow-up articles in Friday, Saturday and, where applicable, Sunday editions, plus a race report in the Monday edition.
For a weekly or monthly publication a substantial amount of coverage for each event is required and a major portion of the overall content should be on the subject of Formula One.
Quality
The highest standards of fairness and accuracy are expected as a minimum quality requirement from the press.
Circulation
Accreditation decisions are based on the relative ‘media market’ in the country of the applicant. As such, the usual minimum circulation for a national weekly or monthly publication is 20,000 copies. For a national daily the minimum circulation is 50,000 copies.
Freelance journalists must apply for credentials via their own agencies. The onus is on the freelance applicant to prove the supply of regular Formula One related stories to at least five publications meeting the FIA accreditation criteria.
Photo agencies must be able to prove that the pictures have been regularly sold to publications matching the FIA accreditation criteria and have been paid for at the normal commercial rate. A publication must be able to prove that the pictures published are the original work of the publication's accredited photographer.
4. PERMANENT ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE
A Formula One permanent press pass will provide access to every Grand Prix during the given Formula One season. To qualify for a Formula One permanent press credential applicants must submit sample proofs of coverage to the FIA Press Council by the appropriate deadline.
The FIA Press Council meets annually to review applications.
The FIA Press Council is made up of leading international motor sport correspondents, representatives of motor sport photographers and FIA Press delegates from the key FIA Championships (Formula One, WRC, WTCC, GT and the Photographers’ Delegate). The Press Council is chaired by the FIA Director of Communications.
To qualify for a permanent journalist’s credential the applicant must have attended at least 12 events during the previous year’s Championship. Only in cases the FIA accepts as force majeure the number of events may be lower than 12.
To qualify for a permanent photographer’s credential the applicant must have attended at least 14 events during the previous year’s Championship. Only in cases the FIA accepts as force majeure the number of events may be lower than 14. Additionally, to qualify for a permanent photographer’s pass, at least 280 photographs, per pass issued, must have been published in the print press during the previous year’s championship.
5. RACE-BY-RACE ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE
For race-by-race press passes the FIA will only accredit press from outside the country in which the event is held. National publications must apply via the event’s national press office.
Applicants must submit sample proofs of coverage to the FIA Communications Department at the latest three weeks prior to the first day of the event (see deadlines listed below).
Publications or agencies applying for a race-by-race photographer accreditation must supply evidence of independent coverage of a minimum of 15 pictures per pass issued at each event they have been accredited for in the previous year’s championship.
Commercial photographers for teams, sponsors, etc. who do not comply with the above criteria may apply for accreditation to Formula One Management (address below).
Accreditation decisions are made by the FIA Formula One Press Delegate and Photographers’ Delegate according to the following procedures:
1. Applications must be received via the FIA online accreditation system (please see point 1 – Online Accreditation – for further information) or alternatively via registered post at least three weeks prior to the first day of the relevant event (see deadlines below). When applying online the required supporting materials as listed below must be sent at the same time by registered post to the following address:
FIA Communications Department
Formula One Accreditation Unit
8, Place de la Concorde
75008 Paris
France
2. Applications which are late, incomplete or sent by fax may not be considered.
3. Requests should be made online. Applications by registered post will still be accepted for the 2008 Formula One World Championship season after which they will be phased out completely. The supporting material must include a formal application letter written on the publication's letterhead. This letter must be signed by the editor or a senior member of the editorial staff. Requests signed by clerical staff will not be accepted.
This letter must include:
a) the name(s) of the representative(s) who will be covering the event(s);
b) the photocopy of the official national press card(s) (where applicable) of the representative(s) who will be covering the event(s);
c) the job title(s) of the representative(s) (journalist(s) and/or photographer(s));
d) information on the publication (such as circulation, readership, frequency, etc);
e) an original copy of the publication;
f) photocopies or originals of material published following previous FIA Formula One Grands Prix, particularly those the publication/agency was accredited for;
g) a formal undertaking from the editor to publish a report related to the event concerned and an indication as to when this report will be published;
Note: d', 'e' and 'g' do not apply to the major international press agencies.
In addition, publications from countries that are not using Roman letters (e.g. China, Japan, Russia, etc.) must supply a certified translation into English of the publications’ credits’ page and the proofs’ bylines.
4. The FIA will email the result of the application to the publication. If successful, an agreement will be included for signature by the editor of the publication.
If the representative(s) is (are) unable to attend the event the FIA Communications Department must be notified as early as possible before the opening of the accreditation centre. Failure to inform FIA Communications of non-attendance may result in further accreditation requests being refused.
If a change of representative(s) is to be made, please notify the FIA Communications Department as early as possible.
5. The representative(s) must produce the signed agreement which is emailed with the confirmation when collecting the credential at the event. NO ACCREDITATION CAN BE COLLECTED WITHOUT THIS DOCUMENT.
6. The application letter for a press pass must include written confirmation that the publication/agency or the journalist/photographer to whom the credential has been allocated has not applied or will not apply for additional FIA passes for any other purposes, including journalism for Television and Radio networks.
Deadlines
The deadline for applications is usually three weeks prior to the first day of the relevant event (please see below), unless otherwise stated. Late requests may not be examined.
| 1 | Australian Grand Prix | Thursday, 21 February 2008 |
| 2 | Malaysian Grand Prix | Thursday, 28 February 2008 |
| 3 | Bahrain Grand Prix | Thursday, 13 March 2008 |
| 4 | Spanish Grand Prix | Thursday, 03 April 2008 |
| 5 | Turkish Grand Prix | Thursday, 17 April 2008 |
| 6 | Monaco Grand Prix | Wednesday, 30 April 2008 |
| 7 | Canadian Grand Prix | Thursday, 15 May 2008 |
| 8 | French Grand Prix | Thursday, 29 May 2008 |
| 9 | British Grand Prix | Thursday, 12 June 2008 |
| 10 | German Grand Prix | Thursday, 26 June 2008 |
| 11 | Hungarian Grand Prix | Thursday, 10 July 2008 |
| 12 | European Grand Prix | Thursday, 31 July 2008 |
| 13 | Belgian Grand Prix | Thursday, 14 August 2008 |
| 14 | Italian Grand Prix | Thursday, 21 August 2008 |
| 15 | Singapore Grand Prix | Thursday, 04 September 2008 |
| 16 | Japanese Grand Prix | Thursday, 18 September 2008 |
| 17 | Chinese Grand Prix * | Thursday, 11 September 2008 |
| 18 | Brazilian Grand Prix | Thursday, 09 October 2008 |
(*) Because of the visa procedure of the People’s Republic of China, we have to impose a five weeks’ deadline and no changes can be accepted after this deadline.
If a decision is disputed an individual application will be referred to the Director of Communications for final approval.
The FIA liaises closely with National Press Offices and National Sporting Authorities to confirm the validity of a given application.
Priority is given to publications intending to publish a report related to the event for which the accreditation is requested.
6. ELECTRONIC MEDIA AND WEBSITES
All applications from web sites and other electronic media should be directed to Formula One Management, as with television, radio and commercial photographer applications.
Formula One Management Ltd.
6 Princes Gate
London SW7
Great Britain
T +44 207 584 66 68
F +44 207 589 03 11
Email: accreditationoffice@fomltd.com (for commercial photographers)
Email: seyre@fomltd.com (for TV, radio and electronic media)
