McLaren racing CEO Zak Brown looks over a bright future for Formula 1 as record-breaking growth continues.
Formula 1 has always been a global sport with a wide reach. However, it has never reached the peak it is at right now. The audience watching F1 as a sport is growing tremendously.
Sky Sports reported 4.3 million new viewers joining the sport this season alone out of which 1.7 million are women.
Shows like ‘Drive to Survive’ are further drawing more and more people to this remarkable sport. With more people being drawn to the sport, it can only be expected that the sport is going to grow from here.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown is not unknown to this as he highlighted the recent growth:
“I have never seen F1 more popular than it is today,”
said Brown.
“I have never seen teams healthier than they are, I have never seen the amount of corporate partners in the sport.”
“TV ratings up, record number for races, record number of attendees, digitals through the roof. It is awesome.”
“What I am most excited about is to think we are only just getting started.”
“The cost cap, over time, we will see a levelling of the playing field so we will go from one or two dominant teams to hopefully five or six that can win races, three or four fighting for the championship.”
“That will make the sport even more exciting, which will draw in more fans.”
F1 is gaining in North America – Brown
Recent figures indicate the growth in audiences specifically from America. This can also be seen in the race calendar with two races being in the USA this year followed by three in 2023. The growing popularity in the USA is further helping the sport to reach that global audience:
“The sport has taken off in North America,”
added Brown.
“We haven’t even been to Las Vegas, yet that is going to be another shot in the arm.”
“They have just announced a very substantial television agreement with ESPN, and ABC will be the broadcast coverage and that is just in America.”
“We have got new races in the Middle East, so the sport is unbelievably healthy and now, with the cost cap, all these teams can afford to be in F1.”
“We were losing £100million when I started, which is a documented number. Now, we are cashflow positive which will turn into profit.”
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