Competitive Analysis
Our project team found that we had various competitors to analyze for this part of the assignment. Some of the competitors that we analyzed were: Crash.net, Formula1.com, r/formula1, and more. Our collective competitor analysis identified the strengths and weaknesses of our competitors, in order to understand where our project could fill in possible gaps. Some strengths that we found our competitors had were consistent design and live race updates.
However, we found various weaknesses or gaps that our project could improve upon. One of these gaps is that many of our competitors were missing clean and interesting web designs with pictures, videos, and/or web effects. They lacked web designs that were engaging for users. Another weakness that we found in our collective competitor analysis was that some of our competitors did not offer users verified information. It was possible that the information found on these websites could be misinformation, inaccurate, or not up-to-date. Additionally, we found a majority of our competitors had lagging or loading times that are inconvenient to users. Finally, we found that our competitors were not easy to understand or digest. This means that beginner F1 fans might find it difficult to use their applications. A big part of this was that they use jargon: special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.
Our goal is to design an application that has a clean, interesting, and consistent design, while also providing users with verified information that is easy to understand. In addition, we aim to provide live race updates with little to no lagging/loading times in comparison to our competitors.
User Interviews
As part of our user research for the Forza Ferrari website, each group member conducted a contextual interview with someone who either recently became interested in Formula 1 or had limited prior exposure to the sport. These interviews helped us identify key barriers to understanding F1 and informed our design decisions for making the sport more accessible.
Interview Participants and Approach
We interviewed a diverse group of individuals, including undergraduate students from various majors (e.g., nursing, environmental science, computer science) with varying levels of interest in motorsports. Each participant was assigned a pseudonym, and no identifying information has been shared to preserve anonymity.
All interviews were conducted in casual settings, often with friends or peers, to encourage open conversation. The interview questions were adapted in real-time to match the participant’s familiarity with F1. Our goal was to understand how new or casual fans experience Formula 1, what confuses them, and what features could help them feel more confident and engaged.
Common Findings Across Interviews
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Lack of clarity in rules and terminology: Terms like “undercut,” “virtual safety car,” or “ERS” were frequently cited as confusing. Several participants noted that understanding penalties or race strategies required Googling or watching YouTube explainer videos during the race.
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Information is scattered: Many interviewees expressed frustration at having to “piece together” knowledge from multiple sources, which often disrupted their race experience.
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Long race duration and complexity: Full races were often described as too long or difficult to follow. Most preferred watching highlights or breakdowns.
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Preference for visual and interactive learning: Diagrams, short videos (like TikToks), interactive glossaries, and quick quizzes were all suggested as helpful learning tools.
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Social pressure or exclusion: Some participants felt left out in conversations with more experienced fans and wished there was a space where being new didn’t feel awkward or intimidating.
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Interest in stories and personalities: Beyond the technical side, many were curious about driver rivalries, team drama, and car design — elements that humanize the sport.
Reflections
Across the board, group members reflected that the best insights came from letting the conversation flow naturally rather than rigidly sticking to a script. Challenges included needing to rephrase questions for less knowledgeable participants or recognizing missed opportunities for follow-up. These reflections have helped our team refine our approach to user-centered design and better understand the emotional journey of new F1 fans.
Design Implications & Next Steps
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Newbie Mode Dashboard: a single landing page that bundles
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Bite-sized highlight reels
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Interactive glossary tooltips
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One-sentence “rule cards” for penalties and strategies
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In-Race Chatbot: a simple overlay that answers FAQs (“What’s DRS?”) without leaving the stream.
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Visual Story Modules: mini-stories on team histories, livery changes, and driver rivalries, accessible via swipe cards or short reels.
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“Stay in the Moment” Experience: integrate user-preferred platforms (YouTube, TikTok) within our site so fans never have to tab out.
Key Insights
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The user needs real-time, in-context definitions of F1 terminology.
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New and casual fans repeatedly “Google mid-race” when they hear jargon, which breaks immersion and fosters frustration.
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“During one race, I kept hearing commentators talk about a ‘Virtual Safety Car,’ and I had no clue what it actually meant or how it was different from a regular Safety Car. So I had to look it up.”
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The user wants bite-sized highlight content enriched with strategic context.
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Nearly all participants said full Grand Prix broadcasts feel too long and complex, so they skip to short clips—but those omit the “why” behind key moments.
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“Full races feel too long and confusing unless you really know what's going on.” / “I don’t know if I would sit through 2+ hours of a race but I would watch highlights.”
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The user needs a single, centralized hub for quick, reliable answers.
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Piecing together information from YouTube, Reddit, and scattered sites turns learning into a “research project” rather than a seamless experience.
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“You just want a simple, fast answer, not a research project.”
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The user wants emotional investment through driver and team narratives.
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Understanding rivalries, backstories, and team histories transforms isolated race moments into compelling stories that keep fans coming back.
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“I would be more interested in F1 if I knew about drama/history between teams and racers.”
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The user needs seamless re-engagement tools—a season dashboard and quick recaps—to catch up after missing races.
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Missing one weekend leaves fans feeling out of the loop; they crave a two-click summary and proactive explainers.
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“I don’t have time to follow races … but I try to keep up with the latest F1 news through social media.” / “He would keep coming back to a site if it had ‘constantly updated race explainers’ — a quick breakdown of what just happened after each race.”
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Empathy Map
