Americans flocked to Formula One at the height of the pandemic, when a Netflix docuseries showcased the series as the sexiest thing in sports. The new audience was rewarded by an epic 2021 title fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. But Verstappen has won 21 of 31 races since and Red Bull has totally dominated the series. Verstappen's 9.5-second win over Fernando Alonso in Canada on Sunday was the closest race so far this season — and that's not going to hold the attention of a fickle American audience very long.
I have a friend who wanted to get into F1 this year. He was looking forward to supporting Ricciardo as they both support the same football team, so he was pretty sad to hear that he didn’t have a drive. Four races in and he bowed out saying he might watch the highlights, but overall the races are too boring to watch.
I can understand his problem, a lot of the skill is not easily seen given how good the field is. F1 doesn’t (often) have drivers slamming into each other and spinning off. F2/3 deliver much more in that space. Albon’s race craft last Sunday was exceptional, an absolute joy to watch, but I guess not if you’re hoping to see some mad cap overtakes and wild moves