4 ms·

F1 must be really good at marketing. Every time I look at Google news there is invariably a story about F1 something, also British royalty. This is one of those

F1 must be really good at marketing. Every time I look at Google news there is invariably a story about F1 something, also British royalty. This is one of those times.

Solvency 3y ago
F1 is a sport for billionaires, and even the racers are all incredibly wealthy/fortunate nepo babies. Imagine if every kid in the US had the privilege/fortune to race carts/cars since they were little kids. Imagine the US football equivalent, where hundreds of thousands of kids are gradually filtered out all the way up to college and then the NFL, ensuring the absolute best of the best are ultimately selected. F1 is by comparison the least accessible sporting path in the world. The drivers who make it are great but they represent a rounding error equivalent of a potential candidate pool.
- jakupovic 3y ago
  Interesting. Didn't know this aspect of the sport, will read more. Thanks
- raphaelj 3y ago
  Is it really? A lot of these drivers debuted with karting, which while not being exactly cheap, is accessible to the most of the middle class.
  - dns_snek 3y ago
    According to [1]: > The split is approximately: $2m on karting, $500,000 per season in F4, another $1m on F3 and $3m plus on F2 – without contingencies. Not all of that may come from parents’ pockets, but seven million bucks is still a massive pile, particularly given there are no guarantees of an F1 seat at the end of it. [1] https://www.racefans.net/2021/07/28/is-formula-2s-3-million-admission-price-good-value-for-aspiring-f1-drivers/ https://www.racefans.net/2021/07/28/is-formula-2s-3-million-...
  - Solvency 3y ago
    you're completely disconnected from reality if you think that karting is affordable or accessible to the majority of the middle class.
kmarc 3y ago
They improved a lot in the past 10ish years. The F1 under Bernie Eccleston was criticized a lot by becoming "boring"; not only because a particular pilot's or their team's dominance, but the broadcast itself. When NASCAR had already live pilot tracking widgets and speed estimations on screen, F1 fans still looked at an outdated, pixelated racing car tyre animation, and basically zero "insights" beyond speed trap measurements. Around 10 years ago, Liberty Media took over and now broadcasting and event marketing is "modernized". It became fun to watch races even when you are not cheering for the top pilots, simply because live data is available and better communicated, making the race more interesting to follow.
grecy 3y ago
F1 is massively gaining in popularity around the world in recent years thanks mostly to the Netflix series "Drive to Survive". If you haven't seen it, it's really good. Netflix are going to use the same template to make shows about other forms of sport.

F1 must be really good at marketing. Every time I look at Google news there is invariably a story about F1 something, also British royalty. This is one of those times.

Solvency 3y ago

F1 is a sport for billionaires, and even the racers are all incredibly wealthy/fortunate nepo babies. Imagine if every kid in the US had the privilege/fortune to race carts/cars since they were little kids. Imagine the US football equivalent, where hundreds of thousands of kids are gradually filtered out all the way up to college and then the NFL, ensuring the absolute best of the best are ultimately selected. F1 is by comparison the least accessible sporting path in the world. The drivers who make it are great but they represent a rounding error equivalent of a potential candidate pool.

jakupovic 3y ago
Interesting. Didn't know this aspect of the sport, will read more. Thanks
raphaelj 3y ago
Is it really? A lot of these drivers debuted with karting, which while not being exactly cheap, is accessible to the most of the middle class.
- dns_snek 3y ago
  According to [1]: > The split is approximately: $2m on karting, $500,000 per season in F4, another $1m on F3 and $3m plus on F2 – without contingencies. Not all of that may come from parents’ pockets, but seven million bucks is still a massive pile, particularly given there are no guarantees of an F1 seat at the end of it. [1] https://www.racefans.net/2021/07/28/is-formula-2s-3-million-admission-price-good-value-for-aspiring-f1-drivers/ https://www.racefans.net/2021/07/28/is-formula-2s-3-million-...
- Solvency 3y ago
  you're completely disconnected from reality if you think that karting is affordable or accessible to the majority of the middle class.

kmarc 3y ago

They improved a lot in the past 10ish years. The F1 under Bernie Eccleston was criticized a lot by becoming "boring"; not only because a particular pilot's or their team's dominance, but the broadcast itself. When NASCAR had already live pilot tracking widgets and speed estimations on screen, F1 fans still looked at an outdated, pixelated racing car tyre animation, and basically zero "insights" beyond speed trap measurements. Around 10 years ago, Liberty Media took over and now broadcasting and event marketing is "modernized". It became fun to watch races even when you are not cheering for the top pilots, simply because live data is available and better communicated, making the race more interesting to follow.

grecy 3y ago

F1 is massively gaining in popularity around the world in recent years thanks mostly to the Netflix series "Drive to Survive". If you haven't seen it, it's really good. Netflix are going to use the same template to make shows about other forms of sport.