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Mercedes GP chief Nick Fry has admitted that Formula 1 has been slow to embrace new media channels such as the internet.

Gerard Lopez, the businessman who is looking to buy the Renault team, and Lotus F1 team principal Tony Fernandes said earlier this week that the sport needed to work harder to engage with fans through digital media.

Fry said: “I think the accusation that we have been a bit slow on new media is correct – we could have done a lot more.

“But I think you might find that FOM [Formula One Management] have things they are working on at the moment that will hopefully see the light of day during the course of next year which will hopefully at least partially address that. It is slow, yes, but the point is not lost and I think things are happening.”

Fry believes the need for F1 teams to cut costs in light of the economic downturn will actually help unite the sport.

“We are all in the same boat,” he added. “I think the business model that we all have now is very similar. We have to grow F1. If we grow F1 it is good for FOM, it is good for television companies, good for people in the business, good for the teams. So we have an aligned objective.

“That is very important because in the past, we probably didn’t have that aligned objective, perhaps because the teams were being funded by other sources, maybe a tobacco company or a car company, and maybe the objective was slightly different from what it was today where we have got to run hopefully a break even or even a profitable business. That is something that has changed quite dramatically over the last 18 months.

“The reality of life is that we have to up our game, because our competitors have upped their game. Cricket has gone from something that was as dull as ditchwater to something that is competition for F1. It is not the main competition, but it is example of how people have raised their game. And we have to do likewise. We have to improve.”