Opinion: Will F1 Be The Victim Of Its Own Success

Remember the pre-race driver interactions before lights out at the Miami Grand Prix? And, before that in Austin, Texas a few years back? Well, if rumours are to be believed, we could be seeing the cringey segment several more times over the course of the 2023 season. And, with overall fan reaction being relatively negative; we have to stop and ask, is F1 heading in the completely wrong direction?

It’s no secret that for years Formula One management (FOM) has had ambitions to crack America. And, since the introduction of the hit Netflix show “Drive to Survive” in 2019, the sport’s popularity has soared, especially in the United States. With this in mind, alongside the three US races that appear on the 2023 F1 calendar, Americanisms, such as “driver introductions,” are to be expected. But are the sport’s American bosses trying too hard to make the sport something that it’s not? F1’s heritage lies in Europe after all.

But interest in the sport’s history has become dire and there is a big danger brewing that long-term Formula One fans may start to feel  alienated. Why? Because everything is being tailored to the newer fans. The ones who come from “Drive to Survive,” or the TikTok influencers with thousands of followers. We are no longer F1’s target audience. It’s all about the PR and marketing strategies that generate a large income.

However, as with everything, the current hype surrounding F1 simply won’t last forever. Fans may eventually move on and F1 will be back to square one. And, what about the long-term fans that have been chased away due to Liberty Media’s neglect? Dire times could be on the horizon. Of course, this is hypothetically saying.

We need to remember though that the sport is constantly evolving and changes are always welcome, but they need to be changes that will benefit the sport in the long term. Gimmicks like pre-race driver interactions and random sprint races are just not it. Even drivers themselves have spoken out against it.

So, what do F1 management need to do exactly? It’s pretty simple and it’s starts with listening to the F1 community. Whether you’re a team, driver or fan, the ignorance is evident. If anything, with the likes of social media, communication between sport and fan should be easier than ever. Look at how huge the Twitter and TikTok F1 fan bases have grown. But obviously, with a sarcastic tone, FOM know what’s best and it usually always includes a dollar sign.

I hate being so critical about the sport I love, but at times like these, it’s hard to hold back on my opinion. I don’t want to see F1 shoot itself in the foot because in my eyes that is where we are heading. Things need to change, and not in the way Liberty Media envisions. Unfortunately, I believe that they are heading in completely the wrong direction in improving F1 but until they realise this, we’re just going to have to sit back and watch it all unfold one cringe-worthy idea at a time.

Race Report: Miami Grand Prix 2023

Miami, Florida. Home of the sun, sea, Miami Dolphins and William's driver; Logan Sargeant. This past weekend the city, also known as Vice City, played host to Formula One as it arrived in the States for the first time this season. And, with the weekend back to the normal format that we all know and love, it didn't stop Formula One Management and Liberty Media in

managing to irk many fans across the globe with one of their "clever" ideas. However, that's a conversation for a later date.

Onto the action and qualifying ended with a varied top ten after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc found himself colliding with the barrier on his flying lap. This was perfect for Red Bull's Sergio Perez as he embarks on his championship battle with teammate Max Verstappen. The Mexican was on pole with Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz making up an all Hispanic top three. Verstappen, who never managed to set a time before Leclerc's untimely incident, found himself starting in 9th.

The following day and the drivers were all lined up on the grid ready to go. The formation lap comes to an end it's light's out and away we go!

Perez get's a tidy start and leads Alonso and Sainz into the first corner. Kevin Magnussen, in the Haas, drops down the order after starting in 4th. Alpine driver, Pierre Gasly, is the big winner here as he finds himself in 4th. At the back of the field, Lando Norris goes wide after he's tagged by Nyck de Vries in the Alpha Tauri. Besides that, everyone is through without incident.

Lap 3 and Sargeant is pitting for Williams. He's given a new front wing and a set of hard tyres which suggests he's going long. Magnussen is starting to come back through the field and gets past Leclerc for 6th. However, he's not there for long because with the help of DRS, Verstappen picks of both Magnussen and Leclerc in one impressive swoop. Race stewards decide that the first lap incident involving Norris and De Vries needs no further investigation.

The McLarens of Norris and Oscar Piastri pit on lap 6. Both drivers started on the soft tyres and unfortunately the strategy seems to have failed them. At the front, Perez is pulling away from Alonso in second. However, he's not getting as far ahead as people would expect of the Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton gets on the radio to his Mercedes team and is concerned that the car wont make it to the end of the race. Up and down the field, drivers are starting to complain about tyre wear. More pit stops could be happening soon as tyres are degrading faster than predicted.

Lap 9 and it's now George Russell complaining that his Mercedes has problems. "Big vibration on the brakes" he tells the team. And, it gets worse for Russell when Verstappen gets past him for 5th. Verstappen seems to be on a mission as he quickly disposes of Gasly as well. The Dutchman is up to 4th. Russell follows Verstappen through, demoting Gasly down to 6th. Leclerc and Magnussen are still jostling for position with some excellent racing. Esteban Ocon is waiting in the wings, however. Waiting for a mistake to be made.

Verstappen catches up to Sainz and picks him off quickly. Four seconds now separate the two Red Bulls. On Lap 15, Magnussen dives into the pits, starting off the chain reaction. He switches to hards, as does Gasly, De Vries and Valtteri Bottas. Sainz, now in 4th, is closing in on Alonso who now sits in P3. He's been passed by Verstappen. Ferrari decide to bring Sainz in to try the undercut on Alonso. He come's back out in 7th, in the middle of a DRS train headed by the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg.

There's movement down at Red Bull with Perez entering the pits for a set of hard tyres. Verstappen takes the lead. However, it's not all plain sailing for him as he starts to sound concerned over his upshifts on team radio. Sainz manages to get past Hulkenberg and break away from the DRS train. Unfortunatley, he's being investigated for speeding in the pitlane. Lap 24 and Russell reckons he has damaged his front wing after a battle with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. An incident which gets noted in the stewards room but has no further investigation. Russell's front wing is ok and he passes Stroll with ease. Alonso finally switches onto the hard tyre. Ferrari's undercut has worked as Alonso returns to the track behind Sainz. But only a few laps later, Alonso returns the favour and passes Sainz.

Things are starting to become clear. This race will be a two Bull race between Verstappen and Perez. Perez is currently on fresher hard tyres but Verstappen is yet to pit. He tries to discuss strategy with his team. However, they tell him to focus on driving. He starts to set consistent fastest laps. At Mercedes, Hamilton is told not hold up his teammate and let's him through at Turn 12. Sainz, who has battling with Ocon, is slapped with a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pitlane.

On Lap 37, besides Verstappen, there are still drivers out there who are yet to pit. Yuki Tsunoda dives down the pitlane and makes it one less. Magnussen and Leclerc are still battling it out for the final point paying positions. A battle that has been raging all afternoon. By Lap 39, Leclerc is back in front and starts to pull a gap to the Haas driver. Sainz, in the other Ferrari, is struggling with the hard tyre. He also has his penalty to come at the end of the race. To rub more salt into the wound, he is passed by Russell.

Surprisingly, all twenty cars are still running. There hasn't been a single yellow flag, Virtual Safety Car or Safety Car. Everyone is really behaving themselves this afternoon. We're into Lap 43 and we're still waiting for Verstappen to pit. Perez has lost time to his teammate. Surely this race is now Verstappen's to loose? And, it looks as if Perez knows this as he starts to pump in some fastest laps. Verstappen finally comes in on Lap 46. He switches to the mediums and Perez takes the lead. Verstappen, however, returns to the track 1.5 seconds behind his teammate.

Ten laps to go and Verstappen is right on Perez's tail. He has a look here and there, but decides to make the move on the start/finish straight. He's back in the lead. Alonso, currently in 3rd, has had a relatively lonely race. Russell is behind enough that it shouldn't effect the Spaniard who is on course for another podium this season.

A battle seems to be brewing between Magnussen and Bottas for the last point. However, it hasn't come to fruition. Tsunoda, on fresher tyres, quickly gets involved and passes Bottas for 11th. Leclerc has made some progress and, using DRS, gets past Gasly for 6th. Hamilton follows him through and then challenges Leclerc, himself. He makes the move and demotes Leclerc back to 7th.

On the penultimate lap, Verstappen has stretched his lead to 3 seconds and his trying his hardest to nab the extra point for the fastest lap. A feat which he achieves on the last lap. The chequered flag is waving and Verstappen has done it, from 9th on the grid. Perez finishes 2nd with Alonso making up the podium positions. Russell is 4th and Sainz holds onto 5th as Hamilton, in 6th, couldn't get within 5 seconds to the Spaniard. The final points go to Leclerc, Gasly, Ocon and Magnussen.

I think as F1 fans we understand that not every race will be exciting and, unfortunately, Miami was anything but.

It's now back to Europe for the next round of the Formula One World Championship. Let's hope that once we get back onto proper race tracks, the racing will be all that more exciting. See you then!

Opinion: The New F1 Sprint Format - Was It A Success?

In my own opinion, the simple answer is no. But that can be debatable. As a motorsport fan I want to see as much on track action as I can and, despite this, I really don’t think that the sprint race is well suited to Formula One and it’s needs.

As someone who was never a big fan of the Sprint Qualifying format (qualifying should be qualifying), I was dubious to see how the new format would play out. Click here to see my initial thoughts about it before the recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend. And, now that

the inaugural stand alone sprint race is done and dusted, we have a better understanding of it. My verdict? I don’t think it’s the right direction for the sport that I love so much.

I won’t lie, I was extremely quick to criticise the new format after it was announced. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a fan of F1 for so long and I’m used to the “normal” F1 ways? I don’t know. Regardless of my hesitatuion, on Sprint day, I did have a random wave of excitement. An extra race? Give it to me. And, for the first few laps it lived up to some expectation.

But that didn’t last. After a first lap tussle between Max Verstappen and George Russell, the rest of the race was relatively calm. Simply, drivers didn’t fancy taking any unnecessary risks that could have a detrimental effect on Sunday’s Grand Prix. Why would they? The big awards come then. Ironically, I think it all played out to the complete opposite as to what Formula One management were aiming for.

One issue that seems to have arisen since the sprint race is that some drivers failed to adjust properly to the new format. With only the one practice session before going straight into qualifying for the main grand prix race; car set ups and tyre compound choices were all over the place. Just take a look at the likes of Lando Norris and his soft tyre deg in the sprint. Carlos Sainz has also been relatively vocal on how the sprint format screwed up his weekend saying that he was “on the limit of crashing” due to limited practice and the dreaded parc-ferme rule which came into fruition a lot earlier in the weekend than usual. The overall fact is, this isn’t Formula 2. The sprint works wonders there. But, this is F1 and F1 cars are a more complex machinery and a one hour practice session just isn’t enough for car, team and driver.

But, what about the fans? Well, opinions still seem to be divided. It’s like marmite, I suppose. Some people are for and some are against.

A common dislike seems to be that qualifying, with this new format, is on a Friday and, for the majority of people, life happens. Qualifying is a pivotal part of the F1 weekend and Friday Qualifying just isn’t practical for many people, including myself. (I know there’s catchup TV these days but it just isn’t the same, ok?) Also, did everyone’s focus on the sprint race take away the excitement from the Grand Prix? Honestly, it’s possible.

There are so many factors to consider but are Formula One focusing on the right thing? Do they want better, more competitive racing or do they want better entertainment, to put on a better show? Either way, the sprint didn’t deliver, in that sense.

So, what does F1 need to do next?

Well, if this follows previous trends then the sprint isn’t going anywhere in a hurry, despite the outcry from fans who dislike the idea. I think, however, F1’s main focus needs to be the Grand Prix itself. The current car regulations seem to have made very little difference so, what can they do to give us more intense on-track battles and closer races? It’s been a question that’s been constantly asked for years gone by and it most likely will never get answered if they keep throwing in random sprint races that are honestly pretty unnecessary. It’s not about the quantity but the quality, as many people say.

Until the right changes are made, I suppose we have to accept whatever format F1 management want. One day, our thoughts and opinions will be heard.