#f1 viewership in us

[petit-papillion]

A couple of new entries for this list to be slotted in between the 2023 Miami GP and the 1995 Brazilian GP:

2023 Monaco GP: 1.79M

2023 Canadian GP: 1.76M

Source: ESPN

[coyotecoining]

Hello, my dear friend 🌟

I am Mahmoud Jihad from Gaza, currently living in a flimsy tent after my home and university were completely destroyed, along with my PC and my city. I was studying Information Technology while caring for my sick father and siblings, but now all my hopes seem shattered. 😢

As we face this devastating crisis, I am raising funds to help my family escape from Gaza and to continue my studies abroad 🎓. Every day is a struggle, and your support can make a significant difference in our lives ❤️.

My GoFundMe campaign has been verified by @beesandwatermelons ✅ #190.

Please consider sharing, liking, commenting, or donating, even a small amount 🙏.

Your help could be the turning point that saves my family and helps us survive in this harsh and relentless war 😔.

GoFundMe link: https://gofund.me/463cbf01

Thank you from the bottom of my heart! 🌹

Please help and spread Mahmoud and his family's story and GFM! It will be a major help!

[thelovehypothesis]

Lights, Camera, Flirt

Carlos Sainz  x Fem!actress!reader

From this request!

Summary: On set, Carlos flirts endlessly, and sparks fly—both on camera and off...

a/n’s: This is a recent request!

warning: fluff, fluff, fluff!

The soft hum of the studio lights buzzed as you stood in front of the mirror, fidgeting with the hem of your leather  jacket. It was a polished but casual look—a perfect fit for today’s shoot promoting Formula 1, a new venture for you. Being an actress, you were used to long hours on set, but working in a sports-adjacent environment like this felt different. The idea was to bring more eyes to the sport—broaden its viewership—and someone thought it was a good idea to pair you with one of F1's top drivers, Carlos Sainz.

You weren’t entirely sure what to expect from him. From what you’d heard, Carlos was a total charmer. And while a little flirtation could be fun, you were determined to be as professional as possible. The last thing you needed was to get flustered in front of cameras.

The crew buzzed around you, adjusting lights and preparing equipment as you tried to focus. The director had explained that today’s work would involve some casual interviews, behind-the-scenes shots, and some promo clips where you'd playfully interact with Carlos to showcase the fun side of the sport.

“Alright, ready to go?” the assistant director asked, snapping you out of your thoughts. You nodded, taking a breath. Just a job, you reminded yourself.

Then, Carlos walked in.

He was every bit the picture of a star athlete. Dressed in his red Ferrari team kit, dark hair perfectly tousled, and a confident smile that tugged at the corners of his lips, he exuded a kind of effortless charisma that made it hard to look anywhere else. The energy in the room seemed to shift the moment he stepped on set, all eyes automatically drawn to him.

“Hola,” he greeted warmly, walking over to you, his brown eyes twinkling with mischief. 

“You must be the one and only Y/N Y/LN I’ve been hearing so much about.”

You smiled, offering your hand. “That’s me. I hope I can keep up with a star like you.”

His hand was firm but gentle as he shook yours, holding it just a second longer than necessary.

 “I think I’m the one who’ll need to keep up with you,” he said, his voice a low murmur, his accent making the words seem smoother than they had any right to be.

You let out a polite laugh, already sensing that keeping things professional around him was going to be a challenge. But you were here to do a job, and so was he.

The crew gathered around, making final adjustments as the director explained the shots they'd be filming. The first segment was an interview where you and Carlos would chat about the upcoming F1 season, his team switch,, the thrill of the races, and how someone new to the sport—like you—could get into it.

“So,” Carlos started once the cameras were rolling, “how much do you know about Formula 1?”

You leaned in slightly, a smile tugging at your lips. “I know enough to know you’ve got a pretty packed season ahead of you.”

He raised a brow. “And enough to know I’m probably your favourite driver now, sí?”

You blinked, caught off guard by the flirtatious tone in his voice. But instead of letting it throw you, you tilted your head playfully. “Well, I suppose we’ll have to see how today goes before I make any declarations.”

Carlos grinned, leaning back in his chair, clearly amused by your deflection. “Challenge accepted.”

Throughout the interview, he kept up a steady stream of light banter, occasionally throwing in a playful comment that made it nearly impossible for you to keep a straight face. Every time you tried to steer the conversation back on track, he’d toss in something cheeky, making the crew laugh as you struggled not to break character.

“So, what about driving?” he asked at one point, his expression a little more serious. “Do you like fast cars?”

“I think I could get used to them,” you replied smoothly, knowing full well where he was taking this conversation.

Carlos’ eyes sparkled with a playful glint. “Maybe I’ll take you for a spin sometime. Show you how a real professional handles a car.”

You bit back a laugh, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks. “I’ll hold you to that,” you said, shooting him a knowing look, to which he winked—an actual wink.

The director called cut, giving the crew a short break while the cameras reset for the next segment. As you stood to stretch, Carlos approached you again, his tone a little softer but no less playful.

“You’re good at this,” he said, nodding toward the cameras. “I almost believed you weren’t enjoying my flirting.”

“I’m trying to stay professional,” you teased. “You’re making that a little hard.”

He chuckled, looking far too pleased with himself. “I think you’re doing a fantastic job. It’s not my fault I’m irresistibly charming.”

“Modest, too.”

He grinned, leaning in slightly as if sharing a secret. “I’ve been told it’s one of my better qualities.”

Before you could respond, the director called everyone back to set for the next shoot—a light-hearted promo bit where the two of you would be doing some silly races with miniature cars. As you both knelt on the floor, lining up your tiny cars for the race, Carlos was back to his antics.

“Loser has to buy dinner,” he quipped, positioning his car.

You raised a brow, not missing the suggestiveness in his tone. “What makes you think I’ll lose?”

He flashed that infamous grin again. “Just a feeling.”

“Don’t count me out just yet, Sainz,” you said, focusing on the little car in front of you. “I’m competitive too, you know.”

As the mini-race began, the room was filled with laughter and cheers, the silly nature of the task making it easy to relax and have fun. Carlos, of course, managed to sneak in more playful comments as you battled for first place. Despite your best efforts to ignore him, you found yourself smiling more than you probably should have.

In the end, you did lose by a fraction of an inch.

“So,” Carlos said, standing up and offering you his hand to pull you off the floor. “Where are we going for dinner?”

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help grinning as you took his hand. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

“Si,” he said, laughing softly. “But don’t worry. I’ll make sure it’s a night you won’t forget.”

His tone was teasing, but there was a warmth in his gaze that made you wonder if there was more behind his playful flirting. It was clear that Carlos wasn’t just charming for the sake of the cameras—there was something genuine in the way he looked at you, the way he seemed to enjoy your company.

As the shoot wrapped up, you found yourself lingering on set, chatting with Carlos long after the cameras had stopped rolling. You couldn’t deny it anymore—Carlos Sainz was more than just a flirt. He was kind, funny, and had a way of making you feel completely at ease, even as he teased you relentlessly.

“So,” he said, his voice soft as the two of you walked toward the exit. “About that dinner…”

You smiled up at him, finally giving in to the undeniable chemistry that had been building between you all day. “I think I might be free tonight after all.”

----

Hope you liked it! and let me know if you want to know how take dinner went.....

-Lots of love, Em.

[world0fmadness]

STITCHIN’ UP MY HEART

max verstappen x cosplayer! youtuber! reader

♡ general dating headcanons for max with a cosplayer partner!

୨୧ i’m so crazy excited for lollipop chainsaw repop so you know i just had to include a cosplay of my favourite girl ever, juliet starling! i really hope you guys are liking the headcanons so far, i’m actually finding them easier to work with than smau <3

♡ view my formula 1 masterlist here

reading music recommendations: superhero by hiroaki takahashi - everglow by shift up - snake eater by cynthia harrell

♡ you guys met after he stumbles across one of your videos on youtube!

୨୧ he knows what cosplaying is, obviously, and though he’d never really looked into it that much before there’s just something about your face in the thumbnail and the beautiful smile on your face that makes him click on it…

♡ he watched it all the way through <3

୨୧ he thought you were one of the most creative and passionate people he’d ever came across on the web and loved how softly you explained things to the viewer, speaking into the camera as if he was really there next to you and you’d been friends for years

♡ your videos very quickly became a source of comfort for max, he felt like you were such a well meaning soul and just loved your voice

୨୧ eventually, he gets the courage to send you a message on social media, professing his love for your videos and how passionate you are, offering you a vip paddock pass if you’d ever like to come to a race and chat with him

♡ to say you’re confused would be an understatement… who is this verified guy in your messages? f1? i mean, you know a little about it like how a lot of people watch it and it’s people driving fast cars but you don’t watch it

୨୧ but max’s message is just so sweet and heartfelt, you almost can’t believe it came from someone as famous as him… you thought most famous people were supposed to be snobby?

♡ eventually, you message him back! extending your gratitude for his viewership and kind words, making sure he knows how much they mean to you and you agree to visit the paddock, mainly just to have a conversation with max as you’re now enamoured with how sweet he is

୨୧ max practically screams in happiness when you accept his offer, already thinking over how he’ll greet you in person, and sends all the details over to you

♡ when the day to meet finally comes, you dress casual, not really knowing ( or caring ) about the “ right ” way to dress for an f1 race

୨୧ when you meet him, he’s surprisingly a little shy! having watched your videos, now seeing you in person for the first time, it feels like the roles are reversed, it feels like he’s not famous at all, just an awestruck guy meeting a celebrity

♡ you guys have a casual chat over some hot drinks in the paddock, conversation flowing smoothly and peacefully… yeah… you think this is nice… you think he’s nice… you could get used to this

୨୧ little do you know he’s thinking the same <3

♡ eventually, you have to leave but not before making sure he has your number to call you later, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and bidding him a thank you and goodbye

୨୧ he didn’t want to wash that cheek for a week…

♡ fast forward like, two years and many dates later anddd you’ve been dating for a year and a couple months

୨୧ he’s absolutely your #1 fan, your biggest cheerleader

♡ you make almost all of your costumes by hand, purchasing fabrics and stitching it all

୨୧ so whenever max is out without you and sees some fabric he thinks you’d find useful, he’ll always buy it for you!

♡ sometimes you stream some progress of making your costume and there are SO many fan favourite moments of max popping in and out of the room to check on you

୨୧ him coming to give you some snacks and a drink ( usually a red bull ), asking how the costume is coming along, getting jimmy and sassy out of the room because they keep playing with the threads… even sometimes popping in just for a quick kiss which fans especially love

“ it’s looking good so far liefde, when do you think you’ll be finished with it? ” ( he just admires you with soft eyes and a smile as you tell him how many more days you think it’ll take to be done )

♡ he loves showing people on the grid your latest cosplay photoshoots! he’s like a proud mother, holding his phone up to engineers and other drivers so they can see and telling them all about how long it took you to craft the costume

୨୧ but they don’t mind, max is the happiest they’ve ever seen him with you and some of the drivers ( most of them ) actually think your cosplays are awesome, especially lando! he asks max to pass on recommendations of future cosplays to you and whenever you’re there with max, you and lando are non stop talk machines…

♡ his absolute favourite characters for you to cosplay are really badass girls, he thinks you look especially good in those and your personality fits them so well

୨୧ but he also thinks it’s so fucking cool when you cosplay male characters, keeping your hair the same and just slightly gender-bending the character

♡ one time you cosplayed as john marston from red dead redemption and it just completely rerouted his brain wiring… you think he might have a thing for outlaws now

୨୧ well honestly, you being a cosplayer introduced him to a lot of new attractions that he’d never think of himself having…

♡ when i say he was gagged when you cosplayed as lady dimitrescu from resident evil village, i mean he was fucking gagged

୨୧ he couldn’t get over it, when you walked out of your closet after putting on the costume he was slack jawed for at least two minutes! he almost didn’t want anyone else seeing this one because it just did something so special for him

♡ and don’t even get me started on the time you cosplayed dixie clemets from rumble roses…

୨୧ have you cosplayed aphrodite from god of war III just for max’s eyes before and it ended in your bodies being tangled in the sheets your shared bed, soft lips meeting in a dance of deep love and hushed sounds of pleasure filling the room?

♡ yes, yes you have…

୨୧ and obviously you don’t just cosplay characters because they look cool, you’re a huge gamer and are actually knowledgeable on the characters you’re cosplaying

♡ he absolutely loves when you go on rambles about the character you’re cosplaying! it mainly happens while you’re crafting the costume, you’ll go into a spiel about why this character is so damn good and he’ll just stare at you with his lips turned up in a smile and this look of pure adoration in his eyes ( which is sometimes captured on stream )

୨୧ often times you play games cuddled up on the couch together and he’ll point out characters he thinks would make a great cosplay

“ oh, look at her liefde! that design is pretty, no? i think you’d look pretty in that… ” ( he thinks you’d look pretty in a potato sack )

♡ obviously max streams racing games and what not but you actually get max into playing story games too!

୨୧ though he likes to keep those reserved for just the two of you, very rarely streaming them

♡ one of his favourite types of games to play with you are couch co-op games! brothers: a tale of two sons, unravel, it takes two, overcooked

୨୧ and of course, moving out… oh boy, that game has you guys either laughing so hard and giving yourself stitches or yelling at each other so loud about just going in the right damn direction

“ no! not that way liefde! oh my god, over here, please just come over here and help me with this ” ( you’re never actually angry of course, soft chuckles constantly slipping out in between yells )

♡ whenever you cosplay a character that requires a lot of make-up, he’s always right there waiting for you when you’re done with a make-up wipe in hand, gently helping you remove it all

୨୧ he really helps out a lot with stuff! whatever you need, he’ll try and help… holding down two pieces of fabric while you stitch them together? he’s on it! searching for a very particular patterned fabric? he’ll be looking at online stores every spare second he has! he says it feels good to help you

♡ and what a good helper he is…

yncosplays: this month’s cosplays so far! the latest being my favourite girl, juliet starling ( and a special someone’s head as nick ) this is my favourite one so far… watch how i made it here!

maxynforever: is that max’s head… ?

> f1lover: oh my god, it is 😭

maxverstappen ✔️: beautiful as always liefde! i’m always blown away by your talent to craft these costumes… though i must ask, was making a replica of my head to hang off your hip absolutely necessary?

> yncosplays: yes, yes it was <3

maxverstrapon: i don’t know wether to be impressed or slightly freaked out about seeing a replica of max’s head on her hip…

[sargeantposting]

ARTICLE: The Florida Man of Formula 1 (2023)

Source: Michael M. Grynbaum, The New York Times Series: F1, 2023

Logan Sargeant, the only American driver in Formula 1, is zipping around the narrow streets of Baku, Azerbaijan, at roughly 200 miles an hour. His head bounces inside the cockpit as a wheel shudders over a rumble strip. It’s hard to hear over the banshee shriek of his V6 engine, carrying three times the horsepower of a run-of-the-mill Porsche Carrera.

Then the noise stops, and Baku vanishes. We’re inside a low-slung brick building nestled in the Oxfordshire countryside. The track, projected onto a CinemaScope-sized wraparound screen, was a mirage, part of a sophisticated training simulator. (F1 rules prohibit driving the real cars between races.) Mr. Sargeant climbs out of a replica driver’s seat wearing athletic pants. He won’t need a fireproof suit until later.

In three weeks’ time, Mr. Sargeant will do this for real: wind whipping his visor, G-forces of up to six times his body weight pressing on his neck, the ever-present threat of a catastrophic crash as he is watched by roughly 70 million people around the world. For now, it’s time for lunch. “Is chili bad for you?” he asks, digging into a bowl at his team’s commissary. “I don’t think it’s that bad.”

Williams Racing, in Grove, England. It was founded in Oxfordshire in the 1970s, but it’s now an American subsidiary: a Manhattan private equity firm, Dorilton Capital, bought the company in 2020 for an estimated $200 million.

F1 teams employ hundreds of employees and spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing the world’s most sophisticated racecars.

Reaching Formula 1, the highest level of international motor sport, is a big step for Mr. Sargeant, 22, a South Florida native who began racing rudimentary cars known as karts at 6 years old and this year joined the Williams Racing team as the first full-time American F1 driver since 2007.

For Formula 1 itself, finding a hometown hero for American fans is a giant leap.

Although it is enormously popular in Europe, F1 struggled for decades to break into the United States. That began to change in 2016, when the sport was purchased for $4.4 billion by the Colorado-based Liberty Media, owned by the cable magnate John Malone. Liberty ramped up its social media — F1 had barely kept a YouTube page — and backed a popular Netflix documentary series, “Drive to Survive.” Once geared toward aging white men, F1 now has a younger and more diverse fan base. American TV viewership is up 220 percent from 2018, and the sport made $2.6 billion in revenue last year.

Still, a subset of F1 devotees complain about what they see as an overemphasis on entertainment and ginned-up drama. Under Liberty, they argue, pure racing is taking a back seat to cheap tricks to reel in casual viewers. And they often use a dirty word for it: Americanization. “It is becoming more and more like Formula Hollywood,” Bernie Ecclestone, the 92-year-old Briton who built F1 into a global business, griped last year. “F1 is being made more and more for the American market.”

The backlash reached a crescendo at last week’s Miami Grand Prix, which was added in 2022 as a showpiece for American fans. In a prizefight-style pre-race ceremony, the rapper LL Cool J introduced the 20 drivers one by one amid swirling smoke and a squad of cheerleaders. Nearby, Will.i.am conducted a live orchestra playing the rap song he recently recorded with Lil Wayne as part of a “global music collaboration” with Formula 1. (The lyrics rhyme “Max Verstappen,” the name of the sport’s top driver, with “your champion.”)

“Pandering to the American audience is killing @F1,” wrote one fan on Twitter, echoing criticism that bubbled up across numerous F1 websites. Even the racers complained: “None of the drivers like it,” groused Lando Norris, a Briton who drives for McLaren. Undeterred, Liberty announced that the bombastic pre-race sequence would be featured at several more grands prix this year.

In the United States, F1 has long been associated with a certain European mystique, most famously, the louche glamour of the Monaco Grand Prix.

In the United States, F1 has long been associated with a certain European mystique. Its drivers race across the Ardennes forest (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium), the plains of Lombardy (Italy’s Autodromo Nazionale di Monza) and, most famously, the louche glamour of the Monaco Grand Prix. The sport’s stateside image could be summed up by the 2006 comedy, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” which featured Sacha Baron Cohen as a pretentious French F1 driver named Jean Girard, a snooty Eurotrash foil to Will Ferrell’s macho NASCAR cowboy.

In 2023, F1 can feel a bit more Ricky Bobby than Jean Girard. In Miami, drivers circled a track built in the parking lot of the Dolphins football stadium, past an artificial Monaco-style “harbor”: blue-painted asphalt topped with ersatz yachts. A new Las Vegas race in November will have cars zooming down the Strip past Caesars Palace. Meanwhile, traditional races in France and Germany are gone.

Katy Fairman, a journalist based in Brighton, England, who runs the F1 podcast “Small Torque,” said she was surprised by the spectacle when she attended a race in Austin, Texas. “There were girls with pompoms,” she said. “I remember watching it and thinking, Oh my gosh, this is so different from anything I’d seen F1 do in a long time.”

Ms. Fairman conceded that some Europeans find the American hullabaloo “tacky.” But she added: “When it’s something to do with America, I think Europeans are quite judgmental. I think it’s just a bit of lighthearted fun. You guys like to have a party.”

The arrival of Mr. Sargeant, who grew up about an hour’s drive from the Miami racetrack, has spurred new interest, including a profile and photo shoot in GQ, and he’s happy to play the part. “What’s up America, let’s bring that energy!” he shouted to the cameras after LL Cool J introduced him as “the local boy done good.”

But as with F1, there are growing pains. In Miami, Mr. Sargeant finished last, his race ruined on the first lap when he damaged a front wing. After the checkered flag, he apologized to his team, his voice barely a whisper: “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe it.”

Weeks earlier, in an interview in England, Mr. Sargeant had demurred about the pressure of wearing the stars and stripes. “I try not to get too caught up in the talk of the role of ‘first American,’” he said. “It’s still very early for me, and I have a lot to learn still.”

If Mr. Sargeant doesn’t perform, there are dozens of drivers eager to take his spot. “At the moment,” he said, “I just have to worry about staying here.”

For a globe-trotting athlete, Mr. Sargeant can be soft-spoken and endearingly self-conscious. 

‘I just want to get back in the gym.’

Before his tough Miami weekend, Mr. Sargeant was asked how he would celebrate a top 10 finish. “Honestly, it might sound lame, but probably just go back to my house and get in my bed for another night before I go back to London,” he replied. “That’s all I want to do.”

For a wealthy, handsome, globe-trotting athlete, Mr. Sargeant can be soft-spoken and endearingly self-conscious. It’s not unusual for someone who, like a tennis prodigy or Olympian gymnast, has devoted their life since childhood to a sole pursuit.

Mr. Sargeant was 6 when he and his brother Dalton got a kart from their parents for Christmas. “No one in the family was really even that much into racing,” Logan said. “We just picked it up as a hobby, something to do on the weekend.” He began winning junior races around the country — too easily. To reach the next level and pursue Formula 1, he’d have to leave behind his friends and beloved fishing excursions for life on a different continent: “We just needed a higher level of competition, and at the end of the day, that was in Europe.”

Mr. Sargeant left Florida before his 13th birthday, bouncing between Italy, Switzerland and Britain as he raced on the European junior circuit; in 2015, he became the first American to win the Karting World Championship since 1978. “As a kid, it was tough,” he recalled. “Coming from Florida, being outdoors all the time on the water, great weather — it was literally vice versa.” He eventually settled in London, where he spends most days working out with a trainer. “I get away from a race weekend, and I just want to get back in the gym,” he said. “I hate that feeling of leaving slack on the table.”

It is incredibly difficult to nab a seat in Formula 1. Today’s drivers are physical dynamos trained to optimize their reflexes and performance levels down to how well they can withstand jet lag — critical in a sport that this year will include 23 grands prix spread over five continents. F1 teams employ hundreds of employees and spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing the world’s most sophisticated racecars. But it’s ultimately up to the driver to execute.

It also helps to have money. Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion and F1’s only Black driver, is an exception, having grown up on a London council estate. Many F1 competitors are the sons of multimillionaires (and some billionaires) who can bankroll pricey travel and high-tech cars.

Mr. Sargeant falls into the scion category. He hails from a wealthy Florida asphalt shipping family. His uncle, Harry Sargeant III, is a former fighter pilot and onetime finance chair of Florida’s Republican Party who has been sued by the brother-in-law of King Abdullah II of Jordan and whose name turned up, tangentially, in the 2020 impeachment of former President Donald J. Trump. (Harry was not accused of any wrongdoing.)

Logan’s father, Daniel Sargeant, worked alongside Harry until the brothers had a falling out. In a 2013 lawsuit, Harry accused Daniel of misdirecting $6.5 million in corporate funds “for the purpose of advancing the international cart racing activities” of his sons, Logan and Dalton; that litigation was eventually settled.

In 2019, Daniel Sargeant pleaded guilty in federal court in New York to foreign bribery and money laundering charges related to his business dealings abroad. He is free on a $5 million bond and is awaiting sentencing. A Williams spokesman said that Logan Sargeant was not “in a position to comment” on any of the legal matters involving his family.

In F1, none of this particularly stands out. The mother of Mr. Sargeant’s Williams teammate, Alexander Albon, was jailed in Britain for swindling millions of pounds in fraudulent sales of high-end cars. A Russian racer, Nikita Mazepin, was booted from the sport after his oligarch father, a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin, was sanctioned following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

James Vowles, the Williams team principal, said in an interview that he hired Mr. Sargeant for his speed, not his U.S. passport. “I’m incredibly pleased that the sport is growing in America, but I think it would be anything but disingenuous to say that Logan’s here for any other reason than I think he’s got this pure talent,” he said.

In his F1 debut in Bahrain in March, Mr. Sargeant finished 12th, outpacing this year’s two other rookies. “He has this insatiable desire to be better, to want more,” Mr. Vowles said. “He’s a perfectionist, and I like that in him.”

Tooting around in a Vauxhall Astra

Britain, where Formula 1 originated in 1950, remains the sport’s spiritual home, where most of its 10 teams are based. Williams was founded in Oxfordshire in the 1970s, but it’s now an American subsidiary: a Manhattan private equity firm, Dorilton Capital, bought the company in 2020 for an estimated $200 million.

It was an important cash infusion for a team that had struggled to keep up with rivals. Manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz pour enormous resources into their F1 teams, which double as an elaborate global marketing campaign and an in-house innovation farm; tech developed for F1, like engines that recycle braking energy as an accelerant, can trickle into consumer vehicles.

Formula 1 car simulators at the Williams Racing factory.

Formula 1 drivers practice on sophisticated training simulators.

The Williams campus is a humdrum brick pile that could be mistaken for an office park — a far cry from McLaren’s space-age complex an hour’s drive away. Many F1 teams provide their drivers with a high-end sports car for personal use; Mr. Sargeant commutes in a Vauxhall Astra, a compact.

Even the team’s sponsors are relatively down-market; whereas the official watch of Ferrari is Richard Mille (starting price: $60,000), Williams has a deal with Bremont, whose timepieces retail for significantly less. (On a recent visit, a Williams press aide was quick to extract a spare Bremont watch from his pocket and ensure Mr. Sargeant was wearing it whenever a photographer hovered.)

Given the huge costs, corporate partnerships are crucial to F1, part of the reason the American market, with its abundance of affluent consumers and wealthy brands, has proved so tempting. Gerald Donaldson, a journalist who has covered F1 for 45 years, recalled how cars were gradually taken over by corporate logos starting in the late 1960s.

“Marlboro paid all the Ferrari bills, including the drivers, for many years,” he said in an interview. “There are eager companies who want the publicity.” Mr. Sargeant’s car features ads for Michelob Ultra beer and an American financial firm, Stephens. In Miami last weekend, beachgoers spotted an airborne banner reading “Go Logan!” alongside the image of a Duracell battery.

Last year, the Miami race was viewed on ABC by 2.6 million people, the biggest American audience for a live F1 telecast. Ratings for this year’s race fell about 25 percent, perhaps a result of a duller-than-usual season dominated by one team, Red Bull.

Still, viewing data show that F1 is expanding beyond affluent cities associated with elite sports: In 2022, its top five American TV markets included Asheville, N.C., and Tulsa, Okla. ESPN is clearly betting on more growth. When the sports network renewed its broadcast rights last year, it agreed to pay $90 million annually — up from the $5 million-a-year deal it signed in 2019.

Liam Parker, a former adviser to Boris Johnson who now leads communications at F1, said the sport was intent on rectifying past mistakes. “We were too arrogant,” he said. “We couldn’t understand why the American fan base wasn’t falling in love with us.” But he also pushed back on the complaints that Liberty’s efforts to raise the entertainment factor had stripped F1 of something essential.

“This whole argument of ‘Americanization,’ it’s a very crude way to describe things,” he said. “We shouldn’t ignore things that can improve things for new and core fans. It’s about giving people more choices in the modern era. It’s modernization of access to everyone.”

Mr. Hamilton, arguably the biggest celebrity of the current F1 lineup, has offered his own endorsement of Liberty’s approach. “I mean jeez, I grew up listening to LL Cool J,” he told reporters in Miami. “I thought it was cool, wasn’t an issue to me.”

For all the debates over elitism, good taste and corporate rap collaborations, the core appeal of F1, when you get right down to it, may be something simpler — something Mr. Sargeant got at when asked in the interview if he had loved cars as a kid.

“I absolutely love driving, as you can imagine,” he said. “But to be honest, I’m not one of those people who studies cars and, you know, likes to know every detail of every single car. It doesn’t really interest me.”

“The part that interests me,” he concluded, “is driving them as fast as I can go.”

Eliza Shapiro contributed reporting from Miami. Kitty Bennett contributed research. Michael M. Grynbaum is a media correspondent covering the intersection of business, culture and politics.  A version of this article appears in print on May 14, 2023, Section BU, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: The Florida Man Of Formula 1.

[boxboxblog]

In Depth: Sister Teams

Hello, this post is a response to an ask about F1 sister teams and how they operate. Enjoy!

So, sister teams or junior teams in F1 exist as a smaller team under the same company as a larger, championship-contending one, often called the parent team. They are completely separate with different cars, drivers, team principals, employees, etc. They are often used by the higher level team as a way of getting young drivers F1 experience before entering the 'big leagues'. The parent team also uses the sister team to test new technologies, strategies, employees, and other such things.

The phenomenon of sister teams started in the 2000s, as larger teams and their companies decides to start purchasing smaller, struggling ones. The most famous example is when Red Bull bought Minardi, and eventually turned them into their sister team. Nowadays, what used to be Minardi is referred to as VCARB or RB and is the only official sister team on the grid. Almost all of the Red Bull drivers who drove for the team in the past decade came up through RB (under various names) like Max Verstappen, Daniel Riccardo, Pierre Gasly, and Alex Albon.

Now, some may look at this structure and say it is an unfair system. Why are the richest teams allowed to get the advantage of two teams? To that I would say A) F1 is an undoubtedly unfair sport and B) there are tons of rules and regulations around sister teams to keep it fair. The major ones are as follows:

Independent construction of their cars is required. No working together.

Data sharing is strictly monitored and restricted. They cannot share things like certain performance data, certain designs, and major strategies.

Teams cannot pool resources to get around budget cap.

Not all technical parts can be shared. What this means changes every year, as some parts are declared off limits then the next year allowed, then declared off limits again.

They are absolutely not allowed to help each other during races. No purposely defending for your parent team, no giving advice, no helping with pit stops. They are separate teams and must race separately.

So, the FIA does attempt to keep it fair while allowing sister teams to exist. But why do they even allow it in the first place? Mostly it is because allowing sister teams means that the FIA gets more money from certain companies. For example, Red Bull Racing pays more money to keep both teams on the grid than another team owning a smaller one might. Another major reason is the investment it creates in fans. When a fan sees a young driver in a low level team that sisters a high level one, they might follow that drivers career because they know they are probably destined to drive for a top team. This creates a years-long bond to drivers and helps increase interest and viewership. The final major reason is that sister teams help develop new technology in F1. Parent teams tend to test things out on junior teams just so they don't interrupt their championship-contending teams season. In this way, it has helped keep innovation up. There are other reasons, of course, but these are the ones that seem to keep sister teams in F1 the most.

Current Sister Teams (Official and Non):

VCARB to Red Bull: The only official sister team, VCARB historically has sent all of their successful rookies up to Red Bull. For example, after less than a year, RB sent Alex Albon up to Red Bull as a replacement driver. They are also under the same company and are supplied the same engine.

Haas to Ferrari: Not an official relationship, but Ferrari supplies a lot of their technical aspects and Haas tends to lend out their drivers to Ferrari/send them up. For example, most expect 2025 Haas driver Ollie Bearman to go up to Ferrari eventually. Most Haas drivers are part of the Ferrari Drivers Academy.

Stake Sauber to Ferrari: Used to be a much more official sister team, but in recent years their relationship with Ferrari is more like the Haas one. Too unofficial to really be definite, but too linked to not be something akin.

Williams to Mercedes: In a way, Williams slowly started becoming the Mercedes sister team in recent years. Mercedes provides their engines and often start their rookie drivers in Williams before pulling them up. For example George Russell was a bound-for-Mercedes driver that they kept at Williams until he had gained some experience.

As for the reason why only RB is really called a sister team, it's because by strict definition Haas, Williams, and Stake Sauber are not ones. They are owned by different companies and so cannot be officially a sister team to Ferrari or Mercedes. But the technical links, the engine providing, and the driver connections means that most of what makes a sister team is there already. That's why they are referred to as the unofficial sister teams. As for why the smaller teams allow this relationship even though they don't legally have to, it's because of money, of course. Many of them would not be able to stay afloat without a top team providing engines/tech at a lower price. The big teams basically cut a deal that says 'i'll give this engine for cheaper than anyone else but in return you must let me train my rookie drivers with you'. Small teams really just have to do it. The smallest team without a top team backing is Alpine, and they have support from the French government. Aston Martin is also a smaller one with no parent team, but they have billionaire Lawrence Stroll as an owner.

That is basically it. There is good and there is bad, but ultimately this is why sister teams exist.

I hope this answers any questions.

Cheers,

-B

[yesloulou]

Hi friend.

Actually just today, my friend and I was talking about Daniel after the race. He’s been watching F1 for way longer then me. I expressed my concern over the last two weeks even though this is only the beginning of the szn. He said and I summerised, currently DR can only be in midfield teams is cus while he dose have the skills, he’s too unserious for like SF or MER, but his unseriousness brings great publicity for midfield teams.

I think in some aspects this may be true. But It’s just, like, idk, thought of this hits me. I know this jester aura (?) often surrounded him and people saying it’s great for marketing and stuff, but isn’t that a bit unfair tho? Maybe DR is always DR, way before F1 he is DR, and now all of a sudden his a publicity stun.

(feel sad for millionaires)

Idk what will happen after this szn but I really hope he keeps racing.

You know when you look at someone and look at what they do, you just go like, yeah for sure that’s what they do? I look at Daniel and I have this feeling. He’s a racer, always have been and always will, maybe he’ll go to Indy or some other competitions if this doesn’t work out, but in heart he’s a racer, he belongs to the track and the speed.

That’s just how I feel, and don’t really know who I can say this to, so thank you for letting me vent.

Wish him all the best for home race.

this is so sweet (the way you worry for daniel's prospects) and '(feel sad for millionaires)' got me irl lol 😭 your friend sounds like he's watched f1 for a long time but i would disagree with his conclusion. i provide that:

allegedly ferrari decided to not go for daniel after seeing him dance with daniil kvyat in the pit lane to entertain fans during rain delay at usgp 2015. the situation first of all was fortunately and unfortunately more nuanced than daniel being "unserious". the ferrari at the time was also run by arrivabene during bernie ecclestone's f1 reign. the ferrari today, two team principles later and after liberty media's f1 takeover, has changed in many ways. for example, in 2022 they had charles and carlos do this tiktok trend which definitely, definitely flirted with "the boundaries" (whatever that means) way more. so no, even tho daniel doesn't drive for ferrari, i wouldn't say he is "too unserious" for them.

merc is considered a more "corporate" environment in f1, example is valtteri's change in public image after leaving mercedes. however given that at the end of 2022 toto went as far as literally wearing daniel's merch in an attempt to reserve him for mercedes, i'd say obviously they don't consider daniel "too unserious" either.

publicity in f1 just generally cannot be a bad thing. more people interested in watching a driver means more sponsors willing to pay $$$$ to put their names and logos onto their livery. and more $$$$ means better chances at making a faster car, which is a goal of every team's. one can argue that a successful and financially secure team like red bull or ferrari might not be attracted to the benefit of a driver's popularity as much. but again, sports rely on viewership to sell broadcasting rights and ad spots, and publicity just generally can't be a bad thing.

i know the first two races were not great but this season literally just started. nothing is real yet. and daniel at least ended this week on a positive note so even more reasons to look ahead. the thing about f1 is that there is one winner and nineteen others. so as long as you're watching you're basically guaranteed more bad days than good ones. we can't all be watching bc we all believe our blorbos will be wdc, right? we watch and hope that something good might just happen. like if you think about it even though daniel has been out here causing us stress all these years he still manages to pull off minor to major miracles every year or two. this hopefulness is very precious so i say we watch it for that.

anyways. i hope this made you feel better and more excited about the season ❤️❤️❤️

[seandwalsh]

What do you think that the advertisements in Mario kart indicate for the Mario universe?

I've already talked a little bit about this in my previous post on the lore of the Mario Kart games, but I'd be happy to discuss this specific topic a little more in-depth by going over some highlights of the brands, businesses and sponsors seen throughout the Mario Kart games!

It's likely that given Super Mario Kart was the first tournament, Mario and his friends hadn't amassed enough of a viewership to have sponsors backing the Grand Prix. Mario Kart got its first sponsors in Mario Kart 64 in the form of trackside banners on certain courses.

Most of these sponsors are quite non-specific in what they represent and are associated with a specific character or item, such as Mario Star (Marioro in the Japanese version), Luigi's (Luigip in the Japanese version) or Koopa Air. Mario Star may have originally been a tobacco company, but it appears this has been retconned. Luigi's may have been an oil company, but as of Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart Tour the sponsor merely represents N64 Luigi Raceway. Koopa Air is likely an airline owned or endorsed by Bowser.

Nintendo is also a sponsor, which is interesting given they also sponsored Mario and Formula 1 in Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race, as well as the Mario Bros. in Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally before this.

It seems they were advertising the Famicom through sponsoring Mario. Perhaps it was even a "Famicom Racing Team" of sorts.

Mario can also wear his Mechanic Outfit from Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally in Super Mario Odyssey, where we can see the patches on it feature several brands from the Mario Kart series. This outfit also ends up being depicted in the logo of Mario Motors from Mario Kart 8 onwards. This first appeared in Mario Kart Arcade GP, and it's certainly one of my favourites.

Mario Motors appears to be a chain of garages that likely builds or repairs vehicles, as we can see two locations in Mario Kart 8's renditions of Wii U Mario Circuit and GCN Yoshi Circuit. In the GCN Yoshi Circuit location several Standard 8 karts and a Yoshi Bike can be seen in the shop. They appear to use Mushroom Piston engines and Fuzzy Battery batteries, also having a pair of fuel pumps outside. Fuzzy Batteries also produce primary (disposable) batteries, as we see in Yoshi's Crafted World.

Of course, Mario can't have all the fun. Wario had to go and make his own company, Wario Motors, which presumably acts as a rival. Wario Motors seemingly built the trucks with Dash Panel ramps on the back that can be seen in courses like Mario Kart 8's rendition of N64 Toad's Turnpike.

Speaking of Wario, in Mushroom City from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! we can see a store called Wario Pharmacy. Perhaps this is a chain Wario opened after stealing the Megavitamins from Mario in Dr. Mario 64.

Mario Work Gear is another brand from Mario Kart 8 that presumably sells dungarees, gloves, etc. like the ones Mario and Luigi wear. Perhaps this company is even the supplier of the clothing we see Mario and Luigi buy from the various shops throughout the Mario & Luigi series.

There are so many things to say about all of the sponsors in the Mario Kart games, and I've barely scratched the surface here! I'm sure I'll feature them in many more posts in the future. Thank you for your question!

[erelavent]

F1, and more specifically Liberty Media, is one of the weirdest sporting organizations I've ever seen. Granted, I don't watch a lot of sports, but does anyone else find it weird that they pressure individual teams to keep certain drivers to ensure their bottom line? It may not break the International Sporting Code because the FIA is a joke, but how is that ethically ok? If a team determines that a driver is harming their chances of advancing in the championship, they should be allowed to dismiss them without external pressure. I say this as someone who likes Zhou Guanyu and is neutral on Checo. If you lose your seat, that sucks, but it's also just the way the sport works.

If your extremely White sport has crap viewership in markets outside of Europe, maybe do the work to grow viewership organically rather than using specific drivers as cash cows to sell tickets (don't get me started on how predominantly non-white countries are afterthoughts when it comes to F1 marketing). Teams don't really have the option to say no when the franchise they race in tells them to keep a driver, and Liberty Media knows that. The vibes and power dynamics here are rank. Someone let me know if this happens in other sports.

[keepthedelta]

i feel like testing is an element of f1 that we don't talk about a lot and is one of the major reasons why there's such a huge gap between the leading team(s) and the rest of the pack. you can do as many calculations and simulations as you like, but as many f1 engineers have said over the years, the only way to get accurate data on the cars is to run them on a track. even when you're on the top, simulations are not as helpful as actually running the car. look at lewis hamilton setting a lap faster than mercedes simulated a perfect lap could be in singapore. no matter how good your calculations and simulations are, there is no possible way to account for the realities of the car, the track and the driver.

the reason redbull have been miles ahead the past couple of years is because they got the concept right. i would never say that that's not down to skill because adrian newey is a genius and very very experienced at designing championship winning f1 cars, but one of the reasons why none of the other teams were ever able to compete or even make meaningful improvements is because there's so little testing time. they have to rely on simulations that can't account for everything and hope that the practice sessions are enough to gather reliable data.

f1 used to test much more extensively before and during the season (and if you knew the right people you could get a few extras in) and it allowed engineers to make meaningful changes to the cars which, in turn allowed for closer and more competitive racing. now not only have they removed in-season testing, but bringing and testing upgrades races by race is much harder because of the sprints. it's also one of the reasons why rookies struggle so much when they first hit f1. they just don't have the experience of driving an f1 car, which is massively different to any other single seater they would have driven before. f1 rookies used to get tens of thousands of miles in practice before their first grand prix. now they get a handful of days.

the fia and liberty media are restricting practice and testing (and changing the tracks where they test) because they want to make more money. they want to be able to monetise every aspect of f1 and because realistically people are less likely to watch practice sessions or testing sessions, they want to limit those as they won't make money. but in doing so they are making the racing worse. and ultimately, that's what will drive the audience away. i know we're all insane here, but the normie f1 audience will turn off if they think it's boring. f1 viewership dropped by nearly 50 in 2013 because people found sebastian vettel winning all the time boring. in contrast, viewership was at its highest in 2016 and 2021 when the championship was hard fought right up until the end.

there are so many ways that the f1 moneygrab is making the sport worse, and i feel like the lack of testing is one of the biggest and earliest victims of this

[race-week]

If the argument against Andretti is that they will dilute the prize money pool, wouldn't they increase that same pool enough with entry and licence fees? Not to mention that an established name will undoubtedly bring sponsors as well as even more potential partnerships in the US, and of course fans and viewership/general fan engagement... Surely f1 is missing a chance to capitalize on even more american money (as it looks like that's one of their top priorities atm)

No,

The money in licences and entry fees goes to the FIA and that money is used basically to run F1 from the FIA standpoint as well as being used for other FIA regulated series.

The prize pool money is given by FOM (Liberty Media) and basically that money comes from media/television contracts, circuit contracts and sponsors. They take the profit, 50% of that goes to FOM and then about 50% (or a bit less) goes to the teams for the prize pot/special payouts

I think TV viewership would have to increase significantly in order to cover off Andretti fully and that is unlikely to happen immediately.

More sponsorships and partnerships would help though.

[yesterdayiwrote]

It is a special level of incompetence that means that F1 have agreed to a Las Vegas GP to boost viewership in the US market, and then seemingly forgot about the time difference across the States so scheduled it at a time that means most Americans won't watch it live...

[paddockpr]

Hey, something has been bugging me, and im wondering what the pr perspective is. What on earth is the pr strategy for most of the teams when they decided to publicly state that they hate the idea of Andretti joining? It just comes off as whinning to me

Hey anon, thanks for the question!

What you are seeing here has a lot to do with how teams use or attempt to use their PR positioning. This is also a major example of why PR is so important, which is that you can leverage it for things that go beyond brand image and go into the very nature of profit in sports. I will briefly touch on the PR of F1 for context and then talk about why teams may be behaving this way.

F1 PR

When it comes to F1 there is one thing that is paramount to understanding its business model, which is how exclusive it is, Even if they accept the Andretti bid that is part of the appeal. F1 sells itself as exclusive and luxurious.

Where other motorsports are also expensive and highly exclusive, they may present themselves as somewhat rough and tumble, with a lot of emphasis on ideas of grit and being "hardcore" so to speak. You see it a lot when fans of one motorsport weigh in on which motorsport is the best one in terms of skill and the likes by weighing in on racecraft related skills like endurance, frequency of collision and strategy. The other thing to understand is the luxury aspect and the monetary value of that.

I touched on the association with certain groups on the Charles essay, what with the Monaco GP, and things like high profile guests etc come into it, but another element of that is that luxury in sports also is the means through which teams justify the high price tag to participate in the sport as a fan.

You can also see this in things like the culture around attending Wimbledon (a similar feel to the Monaco GP) or Equestrian Dressage and so on. And whilst generally sports merchandise is expernsive regardless of the sport, and the fans that frequent these sporting events live are not the average fan (hence the importance of things like viewership and social media engagement which are less cost prohibitive than for example going to a La Liga final or the Superbowl in person and has not just merch and tickets, but food, hotels, transport and so on but that is another essay entirely). F1 is a whole other ball park of that.

F1 sells that its luxury and exclusivity is a necessity. If you look at most sports, a big part of sports journalism is about growing the game, even ones considered to be the domain of the rich like tennis. And when teams sell to audiences they are selling their merchandise, yes, but they are also selling the rare opportunity, perhaps the only one to invest in being a participant.

F1 tracks are predominantly in the middle of nowhere and are already logistically difficult to go to, there is emphasis on the heritage of the sport and most of the sponsors outside of gambling companies are also for people who make a lot of money.

Think about the response to a potential Porsche-RBR team versus RBR-Ford, or about the Mercedes team uniform and merch being Tommy Hilfiger. The luxury and prstige with a high price point is part and parcel of how F1 makes its money.

If you participate in the sport outside of social media and TV, the cheapest parts of participation (like a standard issue team cap or a lanyard) are pricier even compared to other motorsports like NASCAR. I remember last year the special pride collection from NASCAR was cheaper than any standard issue F1 merch. And this is actually where (at least I think haha) Andretti comes in.

The Andretti Animosity

Andretti comes from the American (although American motorsports is extremely popular outside the US but once again, another essay) cultural understanding of motorsports which is more laid back, more easily accessible and is understood to be cost prohibitive but not to fans. American motorsports have a host of accessibility issues both in person and through things like TV, and like most sports the fans that can afford to attend are the minority, the kind of pricing around F1 for fans would be considered to be outrageous.

Yes in those spaces F1 is also seen as this high price point product, but if IndyCar for example were to sell at the price point of F1 it wouldn't fly. For F1 with some of the cheaper tickets being (at least when I looked it up) 2000 USD when its expensive to spend 200 USD at IndyCar, the amount that F1 fans pay to attend is steep. And then F1 says, yes but there is only 20 drivers and 10 teams with some of the most expensive engineering in the world and therein lies the disgruntlement re 11th teams and the idea of how much dilution fees should be.

They likely are not refusing Andretti because they think its beneficial PR wise, they are trying to leverage the PR that they have because they perceive any 11th team as a threat to exorbitant pricing and sky high profits. They are also attempting to close the door on further pushes for more teams. As you may have seen people already brought up Haas and that is what they don't want, precedence to add more teams. So from a PR perspective how may you leverage that?

The main things to consider are as follows:

American audiences are viewed as desirable as a profitable group to sell F1 to

The prices and nature of access that American audiences associate with motorsports that they are already familiar with is far cheaper than F1

American audiences would likely invest more with a team that is not just American owned or driven, but feels culturally American

So you as a team see that there is money to be made, in an audience that does not need to be convinced that motorsports can be interesting, but these audiences are not satisfied by your arguments that they should be open to such high price points, their local taxpayers footing the bill to host F1 races, and an audience of non American fans that hold contempt (for both valid and invalid reasons) for anything that they consider "too American".

So, either you let a team, especially an American one like Andretti in, you tell American fans that you have someone truly American for them to root for. You know Andretti already, and now you can support him in the exclusive big leagues. It is more expensive than you are used to, but its a global stage, an exclusive one, imagine being able to support your team every weekend.

To you and me, that is a sweet deal, especially since the bid includes General Motors and the F1 factory being US based. And its so likely that the profits really go into overdrive as a result, and so the other teams don't lose a piece of the pie as the pie gets bigger. If you are familiar with american fan culture with teams then you already know this, but the sports merchandise industry is worth billions, its not loose change, if American fans invest in the sport the numbers are sky high.

But then again, a more Americanized F1 also means other exorbitant prices are pushed to come down, and they don't want fans, American or otherwise to expect to participate in the fandom of the sport, they want fans to pay the high price tag and not challenge it. These record profit and viewership years with a noted larger American audience involved them paying up, but as the entirety of motorsports experiences something of a renaissance, fans are less enthused about the price tag, and every continent (yes, every single continent) has other more viable motorsports options for fans.

Yes its not necessarily the same kind of glamor and prestige as F1, but a lot of what people love in one motorsports, can be found in another. And, with lockdowns gone in most places, audiences are not at home likely spending more, and so to them what went up, must come down. So what do F1 and F1 teams do instead? Try to spin PR in a way that persuades audiences that there is something remarkable that they are paying for.

Andretti brings more profit yes, but he also brings people who do not necessarily view F1 as this novel thing in the way that fans who came in 2020-2021 do. As a result, you may get them to pay a little more, but not thousands more, especially for what (based on the last COTA and Miami race fan experiences depict on social media) seems to them to be a mediocre at best fan experience. So now what you are seeing is an attempt to leverage PR to say that fans ARE paying for something, exclusivity and the best of the best. And its not just about convincing American fans either.

How often are European fans told that they are paying for the exclusivity, history and prestige of F1? How often do European fans speak of being priced out of F1? Sometimes this is attributed to the pursuit of American audiences by fans but thats a clever PR slight of hand which moves discussion away from why F1 is several times more expensive for fans than whatever their local motorsport competitions are, and instead tells them that they need to protect F1 and its exclusivity as fans from the sinister forces that will Americanize the sport, despite the fact that Americans are also priced out, and in the case of Las Vegas, have been negatively impacted by the presence of F1. Lets circle back to Andretti.

There are two things about Andretti that makes the attempt to leverage PR seem strange. Manufactures backing, and a motorsports experience. Incidentally, motorsport experience is part of how Haas found itself in the sport, but the manufacturing backer is a big one. Now there is a lot of money to be made if he gets in, potentially record profits, but how willing will people be to pay how much they have since at least 2022?

From a financial perspective, the prices were always going to need to come down and F1, Liberty Media and Teams should have prepared for that, alas, corporations tend to hope for exponential growth and now what we as audiences view as the logical move is like pulling teeth and there is talk of how high the dilution fee should be to compensate teams for loss in revenue. And that is where, from a PR perspective, I presume this is all coming from.

Teams kick about, talk of an 11th team as a sort of manifestation of this hidden threat to the sport, fans want proof that Andretti isn't going to ruin and Americanize the sport and apply more pressure on the sport to make sure F1 protects its roots, dilution fee is negotiated very high as a result and when its announced, fans debate if its too much or too little, Andretti pays up and expresses that he is happy to and tells the American audiences that want to support his team how it was so worth it to pay x money because F1 is worthy of it, fans that want to support Andretti/a culturally American team begrudgingly take his word for it and pay up for merch or GP tickets or whatever, European fans are assured that the sport will not be dictated by Americans and continue to support it, and then the exponential growth continues.

Of course the locals especially in places where the race track is not far from their homes, where they work etc, still are not happy, and for obvious reasons, residents tend to dislike it when taxpayers foot the bill for sporting events, safety issues and more, but based on the reporting around building the Las Vegas GP, and also what has occurred in the various places F1 has raced in over the years and even historically, how F1 impacts locals does not seem to be a priority in stakeholder analysis, but rather is an afterthought.

So yeah, as usual with F1 its really about the money, and what they think will maximize it. So they will keep up this PR song and dance about exclusivity and luxury as necessity, media will keep contextualizing how exclusive it is, everyone will mention how much Andretti and other interested people paid to go ober their bids because its so exclusive, and then Andretti with General Motors and Cadillac will pay up, parrot these same ideas about being in the most exclusive sport ever, and maybe even do interviews.

Then teams will either welcome them publicly for meeting the stringent standards of the sport and emphasizing how necessary the whole thing was, or ignore the entry to reinforce that they were only logically concerned, media will put out pieces about who Andretti is and maybe even F1 primers for new fans, American broadcasters will be talking about the new American team in the most exclusive sport whilst European broadcasters talk about how if the sport was going to have another team and how now American audiences can enjoy a team in the most exclusive sport, and then similiarly to Haas, people will for the most part stop debating. That is of course until someone says something, or a team leaves, or people or corporations want to come in.

On the flipside, if Andretti doesn't get in, teams will be like "we said that this is an expensive exclusive sport and not everyone can join", Audiences won't like that for the most part, because to most Andretti makes sense for F1 regardless of if you want Andretti specifically or not, and probably won't buy it, especially since audiences are already not very moved either way by Stefano Domenicalli speaking about F1, but it may very well alienate large portions of American (and also Non European in general) audiences especially if they like other motorports.

Already because of the nature of fandom in F1, other motorsports fans don't have a great impression of being engaged in the free ways like social media, so if you want them to now be paying fans be it for a cable package or merch or GP tickets, having a new team that is neither European own nor European funded is one of very few means to persuade people to want to participate in the fanfare of F1 regardless.

And for European fans it will be difficult to tell them that rejecting the Andretti bid is not strange, because for the most part, he doesn't have the PR image of someone who would rock the boat too much in F1, and the fact that his teams do well in other motorsports also creates interest as it is not a given that he will be a back marker.

But ultimately, regardless of what happens from here on out, most teams are publicly against it because of money, and they are hoping that the PR built up so far can be leveraged to defend how the money is made, and also ensures that should they negotiate with Andretti re dilution fee, it will not look good if he or the manufacturers he is teaming with publicly state that they think its too high. You will also probably have noted that drivers don't tend to strongly oppose a new team and tend to be in favor of a new team, or indifferent and that adds another dimension to the song and dance but once again, another essay, for another day.

Thanks for the ask, sorry its so long haha.

[ca77um-ilo77]

i was thinking about the whole andretti joining f1 thing, and here's my take on it. if you have any thoughts please let me know, i'm more that happy to talk about it. tldr at the end. (my more personal/opinionated commentary will be in purple and parentheses)

so to start, for people that only follow f1 and/or non-americans that don't follow american motorsport, the andretti family is a huge deal, especially in indycar. mario andretti is one of the biggest names in american racing, and he's former f1 driver. his son, michael, current team owner, was extremely successful in his motorsport career. michael's son, marco, is a current indycar driver, and isn't doing too bad either.

now. the andretti's are like,,, crazy rich, and they live and breathe motorsport. they've had their hands in basically every big, american motorsport event. so they have the money to join f1. that has never been in question. there's a lot of talk about f1 being a closed sport (i think it is. they way they treat the teams, especially recently, has proved that). the andretti family can pay any cost the fia asks, and it won't be that big of a deal for them. i've seen some whinging about the entry cost and whatever, and like yeah. it's high, but in the interest of not letting the grid get too crowded and unsafe, their reasoning is fair.

there has been a weirdly large amount of pushback from the teams on another competitor joining. but looking to the drivers, not really. there's been a very stagnant grid over the past few years, when very promising f2 drivers are denied for a drive that has been racing well past their prime. (it's whatever, but so many f2 drivers are simply overlooked just to bring someone back) for the current drivers, it's an extra seat that would be available in case of contract changes. bringing andretti into the sport would create more interesting racing in the back of the field until they get on their feet as well. and this kind of move has shown to be good for the drivers, like with alex albon and his move to williams. he has shown himself as a reliable and talented driver, and we would never have been able to see that if it wasn't for williams being open to taking a chance. an extra team would allow for this to happen more if they choose not to take a rookie for any given season.

having andretti join would likely cause a bigger focus on the back of the field to watch the new team, giving us more time to watch the drivers stuck in worse cars that still have great battles. also, allowing such a prestigious racing group would bring in large viewership from older americans that watched andretti race in america. (this would be a good move for f1 since drive to survive brought in a lot of younger viewers, but kinda pushed older ones off to the side) since the indycar and f1 seasons run such different schedules, many indycar fans would be very likely to watch f1 any time it's on outside of an indy race. many of the hardcore indy fans also have the money to travel to see the f1 races when there's no overlap. allowing andretti to compete would drive views up in america and bring in a lot more money. (good news for the capitalism fans in charge of the fia).

tl:dr

i think andretti joining f1 would be a good move, not just for the fia and money making, but for the drivers to have more opportunity to prove themselves.

[myimaginarywonderland]

With the Euros I am once again reminded of how much we as a sport lose as community by not having F1 accessible and not behind the Sky Paywall.

The sense of community especially with the rising ticket prices is truly changing and I wish it wasn't because I do genuinely believe that things such as public viewing strengthen a fan community.

I think it would also be so interesting to analysis how the viewership has changed because I feel like many off us are still young (below 30) and that this demographic in general has increased more and more over the years. Whereas before F1 at least for me was always a sort of "older gentleman" sport, it now feels much more balance in terms of age groups.

And we will never know that sense of community that other sports might have all because F1 is becoming more and more exclusive even to viewers.

I truly think is such a huge loss in F1 in general especially if you see how amazing public viewing or even private backyard meetings can be. How it can introduce new fans, how it brings together all sorts of fans, how it can be a getaway for many people to other sports or to actually sit down with other fans.

[mistressemmedi]

I think it’s technically Saturday night in Vegas, but Sunday morning in all other parts of the US. They probably couldn’t get any other time slots because in November it is allllll football alllll the time on sundays. Those viewership numbers will definitely be interesting that weekend. And I don’t think it will be interesting in a good way

Oooh I forgot about football 🏈 people are definitely more keen on that than F1