Reviewed: New Ferrari Formula 1 smartphone app

Ferrari has launched a new app to give its fans more behind-the-scenes access to Formula 1.

The app, called Scuderia Ferrari All Access, has launched on iOS devices and is free to download.

All Access provides fans with free content simply by signing in and users can gain further access if they unlock levels by liking and sharing posts within the app.

During Grand Prix weekends the app will set challenges and users can earn points towards a ranking classification by taking part.

Ferrari’s social media team will also chose the best fan content from each race weekend and will re-post them “as an incentive to other fans to post content to claim a reward from the Scuderia Ferrari team”, according to the squad’s official statement.

There are four different levels of access within the app – Fan, Press, VIP and Team – and the more points you earn by liking and sharing content the faster you move up to the next level.

Ferrari is not the only team to have recently released an app. McLaren’s official offering is available on both iOS and Android and provides users with “McLaren’s social media stories, McLaren.com content and an all-new range of app-exclusive features and competitions specifically designed for the platform”.

JAonF1 says:

At first glance, Ferrari’s All Access app appears to be an extension of the team’s #ReadySetRed promotion that encouraged users to promote the launch of the team’s 2016 car by using that hashtag as widely as possible in the hope of playing a part in the online launch of the SF16-H.

When you download All Access, the only content is a few images of Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and the SF16-H and a video explaining what the app offers and how to gain access to more content.

After liking a few images of the drivers and collecting my first points I discovered I was in 100th place on the “Best of the Best” ranking classification – only though closer inspection revealed I was in fact in the anonymous ranks of 100+ users…

All Access offers users badges for completing certain actions within the app – “Join In”, is unsurprisingly earned for registering an account, “team supporter” for liking a Ferrari post for the first time and the somewhat inappropriately titled “Know it All” is awarded for watching the intro video that I finished watching with more questions than when I started.

Sharing content from the app on other social media channels, logging in on consecutive days and using it when attending races can unlock more badges.

Ferrari should get credit for offering fans free content in this era of TV paywalls and expensive ticket prices. But so far there appears to be little more than you can already get by following the teams existing social media accounts.

The saying “points mean prizes” doesn’t seem to apply to All Access as there does not appear to be an incentive to move up the app’s leaderboard other than collecting more points.