With growing fan interest and strong demand, Formula 1 sees vast potential to expand its presence in the competitive American sports market.
Zak Brown believes Formula 1 should not slow down its momentum, especially in the United States. The McLaren F1 CEO is pleased to have a full calendar with total success in every country, and he believes the premier category of motorsport can continue to grow in the U.S. market and compete with major American sports.
“What we are doing is working, so let’s keep getting incrementally better,” Brown said on Bloomberg’s podcast. “Let’s not change the game, because as a sport, we are winning. We have 24 races today. We have demand for more.”
“We can’t do more in a year, so I’m a fan of 20 fixed Grands Prix and eight that rotate every other year. That way, we can achieve some geographical expansion, but not on an annual basis, because those 24 races around the world… we can’t do 25.”
“But at the same time, we should not deprive ourselves of some growth. I think when I look at North America and our television audiences, if you compare them to the major leagues here, there’s a lot of room for growth.”
“I don’t think we need more than three Grands Prix here. I think we could have more than three Grands Prix, but that would come at the expense of India, South Africa, Korea or other regions where I think we need to expand.”
Brown is pleased that growing popularity also has a financial impact: “Sponsorship is incredible — new brands are coming in every day. Google, Goldman; these companies were not historically involved in Formula 1, so it’s very healthy.”
“We have franchise value, which has finally been adopted. If you look at MLB, NBA or NFL teams, Formula 1 teams, as franchise owners, are all in good health.”
“So let’s keep doing what we’re doing, but let’s keep making incremental gains. Netflix has been amazing for our sport. I think the Brad Pitt movie coming out in June will be great. I think it will bring a lot more people into the sport.”
“And if you look at where the sport was headed before Liberty acquired it, we didn’t have the diversity we needed, and we didn’t have the youth we needed. We didn’t have North America, which is arguably, if not the most important sports and commercial market. We didn’t have as many women.”
Brown recalls an anecdote from when Drive to Survive was just starting, and he was in New York with basketball players. While the players went unrecognized and declined autograph requests, some fans came over to see him: “I’m walking them to the front door and three fans pop out of the crowd.”
“They asked if they could have an autograph. The basketball players say they’re sorry, and the fans tell them ‘no, not you! We want Mr. Brown! We love Formula 1!’ And those two guys looked at me wondering who the heck I was.”
“New York was the last place in the world to become a Formula 1 city until a few years ago. So it’s great for the sport. I think we need to keep exposing people to our sport, and I think that’s what Netflix has done, by showing what happens behind the scenes.”