Ex-President of the Grand Prix Driver’s Association deems F1’s recent boom a ‘product of marketing, not regulations’

F1 has gone through a major boom in its popularity in recent times.

Ex-President of the Grand Prix Driver’s Association deems F1’s recent boom a ‘product of marketing, not regulations’

Formula 1 (Credits: Mercedes AMG PETRONAS)

F1, in recent times, has witnessed a massive surge in its worldwide popularity. Gone are the days when the pinnacle of motor racing used to attract very few people to tune in to their television sets or watch the Grand Prix events live from the various racing circuits that are spread all across the globe.

Today, F1 is seen as one of the most exciting and ardently followed sports all scores the world. While people have divided opinions on what led to the massive surge in the sport’s popularity, former F1 driver/Grand Prix Driver’s Association President, Alex Wurz has a fascinating opinion on it.

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While talking about the same recently, he told Soymotor the reason why he believes the boom in F1’s popularity has come about.

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[F1's current popularity] is the exclusive product of marketing, not regulations. During Covid, people have been confined to their homes and F1 has been able to connect with them through Netflix and social networks.

Looking at the reaction of Wurz, he has made it quite clear that the main reason behind the pinnacle of motor racing’s massive growth in popularity is because of marketing efforts and not because of the incessant changes the sport has gone through in recent times.

F1 is on an upward trajectory in terms of all its aspects

While Alex Wurz has given the credit for F1’s popularity to the marketing efforts that have been done in recent years, the sport overall, has been on an upward trajectory for quite some years. Liberty Media, since its arrival, has done wonders for the sport in various ways.

Abu Dhabi GP (Credits: F1)
Abu Dhabi GP (Credits: F1)

Libert Media increased the access that the media were able to have to look into the garages of the teams during Grand Prix weekends. This allowed the fans of the sport to develop a better understanding of what actually goes on in the team garages during high-pressure F1 moments.

From then onward, the sport has continued to evolve in all its aspects and this is also one of the key reasons behind the massive success of F1 in recent times. Netflix has also played a key role in introducing the sport, especially to the American fanbase. The US now has three events on the F1 calendar.

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