Zak Brown believes there were multiple reasons why Formula 1 struggled to become popular in the United States before Liberty Media’s acquisition and Netflix’s Drive to Survive.
One issue that the McLaren Racing CEO pinpointed was the lack of a permanent race in North America for years before the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin was introduced in 2012. Prior to this, races were held in various locations across America, but none ever stuck.
“Kind of three primary reasons why we hadn’t been popular in North America,” Brown explained on How Leaders Lead With David Novak. “One, we never really found a permanent location, dating back to the ’70s. 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.
“Then you took five, six, seven, eight years off – there was no Formula 1 in North America. Then we came back to Indianapolis. Then we had this ‘Tyregate’ 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’re not there or you have no date or location equity.”
The McLaren chief also acknowledged the change in perceived exclusivity of Formula 1, applauding Liberty Media for bringing the championship closer to the fans.
“We also were a sport that was very exclusive or perceived to be very exclusive and not very inclusive,” he added.
Zak Brown, McLaren CEO
Photo by: Erik Junius
“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.’
“And so, 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.'”
The United States now hosts three different grands prix in Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas.
“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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