Everything should look rosy in F1 HQ, but as an early fan I fear the sport has gotten into a bit of a mess, and it could be hard to escape from that.
The sport has done a ‘Dorian Gray’, only in this case the devil is Netflix. Anyone who is even slightly involved in any commercial field of this racing class can hardly believe what an insane boost Drive to Survive the F1 has given.
Just when the sport was barely able to reach more people, especially younger people, the whole soap opera became a huge hit, and suddenly a man from South Tyrol who everyone ‘vanker’ calls more popular than Lewis Hamilton. As an old chap I was happy because it looked like F1 had a future.
The 2021 season was just what F1 needed
I was also concerned, however, because the new audience probably wouldn’t be as forgiving as the people who had followed the sport for years. The 2021 championship was probably the best in an entire generation – scripted by the television gods. Smart young man with tons of talent takes on multiple world champions.
It was the perfect way to reward all those new viewers for their interest in F1. The sport served up a true masterclass in entertainment – Max and Lewis were at each other’s throats every week, Toto and Christian added a sprinkling of homoerotic handbags and we all loved it.
The last race of 2021
Then came Abu Dhabi, where the F1 pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at its own head. Whether you liked the outcome or not, no one can deny that it damaged the sport. If I were such a new spectator of F1 I would probably have thought: ‘This is a preconceived scheme, they are cheating, I’m not going to watch this again.’
The timing was catastrophic, as the change in regulations has meant that Red Bull has delivered such an incredibly good car for this season, that Max is ruling a championship that had lost its suspense early in the summer.
And those who got in on the strength of the Netflix series must also be wondering what’s going on. A lot of people think he’s wrong and still angry about last year, but Lewis was right when he said he felt sorry for the fans because this year is a very poor follow-up to 2021.
Race management fails
The other problem is the FIA. For those who don’t know, the institution that governs the sport is a different entity than the sport itself, and when the sport is in a mess, the FIA breaks down. It increasingly lost control of things last year, resulting in the Rubble of Abu Dhabi, and is now making one mistake after another, like a referee struck by fear early in a match.
We’ve had delayed starts and lost potentially nail-biting-thrilling finishes because the men at racing control made the wrong decisions. And that’s not good for the show. The sport is all about the numbers, and even if Silverstone sells out in 20 minutes, the shine can wear off just as quickly.
Will the new fans stay?
Of course I will try to watch the last few races this year, but Max’s dominance has killed the tension. And again, if I was new to the sport, why should I keep watching? It’s a tricky situation, and the balance of the relationship between the Netflix show and the races themselves is delicate.
Drive to Survive exploded because it was more entertaining than the sport it was about. Then the sport became more fun than the documentary again, attracting new, younger viewers. But if the roles are reversed, F1 may never see them again.
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