Zak Brown reveals three reasons behind F1’s American struggles

Formula 1 has had an on-and-off presence in the United States since its inaugural season in 1950, but it took a global pandemic and a Netflix docuseries to finally crack the long coveted market.

Why? Well, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown thinks there are a few different reasons.

Zak Brown reveals reasons behind America’s Formula 1 reluctance

Formula 1 has been chasing a dedicated American audience for decades. Back in 1950, when the sport was putting together its first ever World Championship, there was only one non-European event worthy of inclusion on the schedule: The Indianapolis 500.

But that belied an ongoing issues with F1 in the US: It often carried with it major misunderstandings about the American audience, often seeing it more as a token than as a truly engaged fanbase.

Beloved tracks like Watkins Glen and Long Beach went a long way to transforming the way Americans perceived the sport of Formula 1, but unfortunately, those events failed to command the kind of staying power that characterized events at tracks like Spa-Francorchamps or Silverstone.

It wasn’t until Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive helped plenty of Americans while away the time during shutdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic that the sport began to find a genuine foothold in a country it had tried so long to crack.

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But what caused that disconnect? Why were American audiences so hard to engage?

In an appearance on the How Leaders Lead with David Novak podcast, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown pinpointed “three primary reasons” behind the sport’s chronic lack of popularity in America.

“One, we never really found a permanent location, dating back to the ’70s,” Brown explained.

“You were Long Beach, then you were Watkins Glen, then you were Dallas, then you were a parking lot in Vegas for two years, then you were Phoenix.”

The repeated venue changes made it difficult for F1 to find a true foothold in the United States, thereby preventing fans from making major connections to the sport.

But that’s only one issue. Brown pinpointed another: A complete lack of F1 racing in America.

“Then you took five, six, seven, eight years off,” he said. “There was no Formula 1 in North America.

“Then we came back to Indianapolis. Then we had this ‘tiregate,’ as we called it, so we didn’t put on a good show. Then we disappeared again.

“You’re not going to have any sport be popular in North America if you’r not there or you have no date or location equity.”

A lack of a consistent venue and long periods away from America were major logistical challenges, but Brown also identified a more fundamental concern in F1: Its elitism.

“We also were a sport that was very exclusive, or perceived to be very exclusive and not very inclusive,” he admitted.

“That’s where, when Liberty came in and acquired the sport, they went, ‘Wow, the sport’s huge, but it doesn’t really engage with its fan base like the NBA’s, the NFL’s, the MLBs, even the Premier Leagues.’

“I think that was fine for a long time, but now we’re in an era of engagement, not awareness. We weren’t engaging with our fans. We weren’t letting them inside. We were ‘look, don’t touch.'”

That mindset was characterized by a lack of social media usage, which often put ample distance between the drivers and fans. In the US in particular, those behind-the-scenes moments are critical in establishing a dedicated fanbase, and limitations placed on drivers using social media prevented many fans from establishing a connection to the sport.

Brown continued, “When Liberty bought it and you had Netflix come in, we started kind of letting people see behind the curtains, people went, ‘Wow, this sport’s awesome. I’ve never seen that before. I’ve never been close to it before.’

“Then over time, we got three races, starting with Austin, which is one of the best grands prix on our calendar.

“So you went from being not here and exclusive to being here, inclusive, and very focused on engagement.

“I think what Formula 1 has learned, and is continuing to learn, is that sport is entertainment.

“You’ll hear sometimes in Formula 1 where we go, ‘No, we’re not entertainment.’ It’s like, well, as far as I’m concerned, if you buy a ticket to sit in a seat to watch a movie, a motor race, a baseball game, a rock concert, a fireworks show, you’re going to be entertained.

“I think the sport has now embraced that there’s an entertainment aspect to what we do, and the fans are responding accordingly.”

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