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ACCREDITATION GUIDELINES FOR
THE 2010 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

SINCE 2009 ALL INTERNATIONAL RACE-BY-RACE REQUESTS FROM PUBLICATIONS OR AGENCIES MUST BE MADE ONLINE.

Applications from publications for their national event must still be addressed to the National Press Office of each circuit.

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). Applicants may be asked for a number of documents by email which need to be supplied in their original form by post. 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. Please note that the FIA reserves the right to refuse access to the online accreditation system.

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.

The online accreditation system will apply for accreditation requests for any event for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. Permanent pass applications for the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship will open in the autumn of 2010. 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 and agencies 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 and agencies:

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 (for publications only);

Internal magazines of companies, trade magazines and newsletters cannot 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 as well as commercial photographers must send their accreditation 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: media@fomltd.com (for TV and radio)
Email: accreditationoffice@fomltd.com (for commercial photographers)

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, etc.) will always be handled by the FIA. Requests from the local offices must be accompanied by a letter from the agency’s main headquarters.

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. (Please see point 4 below for further details.)

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.

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 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 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 240 photographs, per pass issued, must have been published in the print press during the previous year’s championship in the name of the applicant.

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 before the deadline listed below. No application can be made via the system after the deadline. 

All supporting material, as listed in the online application, should be supplied online. In case additional material is required in its original form by post the applicant will be informed accordingly by email.

2. Applications which are late, incomplete or sent by fax may not be considered.

3.  Requests must be made online. The supporting material – usually to be supplied in pdf format via the online accreditation system – 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 (only to be supplied on request or for first-time applicants);

f) pdf files of material published following previous FIA Formula One Grands Prix, particularly those the publication/agency was accredited for (original copies by post may be requested from time to time or from first-time applicants);

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. After the deadline, name changes can only be accepted in cases of force majeure.

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.
 

01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

Bahrain Grand Prix Australian Grand Prix  Malaysian Grand Prix Chinese Grand Prix * Spanish Grand Prix Monaco Grand Prix  Turkish Grand Prix Canadian Grand Prix Grand Prix of Europe British Grand Prix German Grand Prix Hungarian Grand Prix  Belgian Grand Prix  Italian Grand Prix Singapore Grand Prix* Japanese Grand Prix Korean Grand Prix*  Brazilian Grand Prix  Abu Dhabi Grand Prix*

Thursday, 18 February 2010 Thursday, 4 March 2010 Thursday, 11 March 2010 Thursday, 11 March 2010 Thursday, 15 April 2010 Thursday, 22 April 2010 Thursday, 6 May 2010 Thursday, 20 May 2010 Thursday, 3 June 2010 Thursday, 17 June 2010 Thursday, 1 July 2010 Thursday, 8 July 2010 Thursday, 5 August 2010 Thursday, 19 August 2010 Thursday, 19 August 2010 Thursday, 16 September 2010 Thursday, 16 September 2010 Thursday, 14 October 2010 Thursday, 7 October 2010

 
(*) Because of the visa procedures of the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, Korea and Abu Dhabi 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 FIA 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

 

As the pilot programme for the accreditation of web sites in 2009 did not give conclusive results, the programme will be continued for the 2010 season. Accreditation requests will thus be evaluated individually and a limited number of web sites will be eligible for accreditation in 2010.