Is America Bored of Formula 1 and Max Verstappen?

MIAMI — The roar of high-octane engines will return to American soil on Sunday for the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix. Backers of the sport hope its return to these shores halts a steady decline in American television viewership.One year ago at Miami Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing began their dominance of the sport when the Dutchman captured the first of a record 10 consecutive races in a year where he won 19 of 22 starts. Since Miami, Mr. Verstappen has won 21 of 23 races, amassing one of the most dominant stretches in Formula 1 history.Yet, despite Mr. Verstappen’s dominance, television viewership is down in America heading into this weekend’s race at the Miami International Autodrome. According to figures provided by ESPN, through five races in 2024, its race telecasts are averaging 728,000 viewers. That’s down from 1.11 million average viewers who watched the 22 races during the 2023 season on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. The 2023 viewership was slightly less than the record average of 1.21 million achieved in 2022.Whether Mr. Verstappen and Red Bull’s dominance is precipitating the ratings decline is hard to measure. Historic sporting feats normally gain, not shed, attention and momentum. Think of the 2007 New England Patriots, the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls, the Olympic Dream Team, and Mike Tyson before he was toppled by Buster Douglas. Watching Mr. Verstappen, a three-time champion, win race after race is failing to hold the average sports fan. F1 analyst Chris Medland of medlandmotorsportmedia.com told the Sun that “it’s certainly not something he or Red Bull can be criticized for, and nor do I think it’s doing serious damage. There’s always going to be more interest globally when there is a true title fight between drivers and rival teams.”There are other factors to consider. With events in Japan and China moved to the early part of the season, three of the five races this year — Japan, China, and Australia — occurred during overnight hours, while races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were held on Saturday instead of Sunday. Bahrain, with an audience of 1.12 million, has attracted the top viewership thus far, while Japan (484,000) had the lowest.That’s why Miami is important. The race begins at 4:00 p.m. EST on Sunday with coverage starting at 2:30 p.m., a more traditional time for F1 and general sports fans to watch races. Now in its third year, the Miami Grand Prix drew 1.96 million viewers last year after attracting 2.6 million during the inaugural event in 2022, the largest live audience ever for a Formula 1 race on U.S. television.The success at Miami created additional excitement for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, held on November 19 last year. It attracted 1.3 million viewers despite a 1:00 a.m. start time.“The growth of Formula 1 television audiences in the United States since the championship returned to ESPN platforms in 2018 remains a sports success story,” a release from ESPN insists. “Average viewership has essentially doubled from 554,000 in 2018 to 1.11 million in 2023, a total increase of nearly 100 percent and an average increase of 15 percent per year.”Formula 1 has created more news off the track than on it this season. The year began with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner embroiled in sexual harassment charges by a former female employee. An internal investigation cleared Mr. Horner of any “coercive behavior” allegations, but the scandal included leaked texts and photos emailed to every other racing team, media outlets, and reportedly Mr. Verstappen’s father, Jos.Mercedes chief executive officer Toto Wolff was among those demanding more transparency with the results of the investigation. “I believe with the aspiration as a global sport, on such critical topics, it needs more transparency and I wonder what the sport’s position is,” he said.A few weeks later, Lewis Hamilton announced he was leaving Mercedes at the end of this season to drive for Ferrari, beginning next year. The most decorated driver in F1 history won six of his seven F1 world championships during his 12 seasons with Mercedes. His championships occurred from 2014 to 2020. But Mr. Hamilton hasn’t won in the two years dominated by Red Bull.Off-the-track news continued this week when Red Bull confirmed Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey is leaving the team in the first quarter of 2025 to “seek new challenges.” Mr. Newey joined Red Bull in 2006 and has been instrumental in delivering six constructor’s championships and seven drivers’ crowns. Red Bull denied Mr. Newey’s departure had anything to do with the scandal involving Mr. Horner.“For almost two decades it has been my great honor to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing’s progress from upstart newcomer to multiple title-winning teams,” Mr. Newey said in a statement. “However, I feel now is an opportune moment to hand that baton over to others and seek new challenges for myself.”Formula 1’s stop at Miami could come at the perfect time to return interest in the sport in America. Ticket sales remain strong, according to organizations, and could exceed race-day figures from last year when Mr. Verstappen dominated the 19-turn, 3.4-mile circuit, beating teammate Sergio Perez by 5.384 seconds. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin was third, 26.305 seconds behind the winner. Mr. Verstappen also won here in 2022.“The opening rounds (of races) are generally on a much worse time zone, so Miami being the first race on North American time really helps to reignite interest as all of the coverage is far more accessible,” Mr. Medland said.The only race Mr. Verstappen hasn’t won this year was in Australia, where he did not finish due to engine failure. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz crossed first, with teammate Charles Leclerc finishing second.The Miami Grand Prix is the first of three Formula 1 races in the United States this year. The U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, is on October 20 and the Las Vegas Grand Prix returns on November 23.

Is America Bored of Formula 1 and Max Verstappen?

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