Domination by one team and driver inevitably causes mainstream interest in Formula 1 to sag. In the past it’s led to knee-jerk calls for change. But quick fixes often come with unintended consequences. Matt Kew investigates which tweaks might improve the spectacle, and which ones might actively harm it despite all those good intentions…
WORDS MATT KEW PICTURES
The 2023 Formula 1 season was inescapably unspectacular. That was in no small part thanks to Max Verstappen and Red Bull. The champion repeatedly snared pole position, led into the first corner, then disappeared 20 seconds up the road to complete a damp squib. He humbled his runner-up team-mate Sergio Pérez by 290 points. Meanwhile, second place in the constructors’ standings fell to Mercedes, which failed to muster even half the score of Christian Horner’s clan.
Amid that Red Bull monopoly, there’s reason to believe F1 is on its way down the popularity mountain. With the gripping climax to the 2021 Lewis Hamilton-Verstappen grudge match in the rear-view mirror, TV audience figures that the series readily shared when they were increasing are now no longer disclosed. Instead, social media interactions are the go-to measure of growth. However, recent third-party analysis – rebuffed by F1 – suggests these too are on the wane.
Further back in the pack, all was not well either. Too often the racing was similarly sterile. The success of these ground-effects rules, devised to make it easier for cars to follow to pave the way for passing, was under scrutiny in their second year. Drivers were backing off to find cool air to nurse temperamental tyres and duly formed neat DRS trains, thus establishing a stalemate.
It’s a classic case of unintended consequences. F1 commissioned sensitive tyres to introduce divergent strategies to improve the show. DRS was seen as a quick fix for an overtaking deficiency. Same for ground-effects and sprint races. Arguably, turning to sticking-plaster solutions is responsible for the spectacle shortfall. So, then, where might the championship top brass start should they consider more invasive reconstructive surgery to improve F1’s longer-term health?
KEEP ON KEEPING ON
Is there really a problem to fix?
The starting point is to assess how far F1’s drama deficiency stretches. In an alternative world where Red Bull’s results are wiped, Hamilton theoretically pips Fernando Alonso to the 2023 spoils by 17 points, while Mercedes reclaims the teams’ trophy by seven points over Ferrari. That paints a far more c
