{"id":619158,"date":"2026-04-21T16:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/619158\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T16:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:25:14","slug":"jacky-ickx-if-2026-f1-rules-grow-audiences-thats-fine-its-all-that-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/619158\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacky Ickx: If 2026 F1 rules grow audiences “that\u2019s fine, it\u2019s all that matters\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s undeniable that this era of Formula 1 doesn\u2019t appeal to everyone. While television audience data shows increasing viewership in major European countries, many long-term fans continue to criticise the new rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cFormula 1 was better before,\u201d or \u201cF1 used to be much better,\u201d are the kinds of comments heard in some factions. However, it\u2019s worth noting that people tend to view the past through rose-tinted spectacles, and remember only certain things \u2013 generally the more positive aspects of the past.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Max Verstappen: F1 fans who enjoy 2026 rules ‘don’t understand racing’ <\/a><\/p>\n

However, an authoritative opinion has risen to the fore after Jacky Ickx shared his thoughts on the new era of Formula 1.<\/p>\n

Ickx, multiple winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and former Ferrari<\/a> F1 driver, supports the new regulations. In his view, it\u2019s wrong to compare today\u2019s top open-wheel motorsport championship with that of the past.<\/p>\n

Opinions don\u2019t matter, criticism doesn\u2019t matter, and even support doesn\u2019t matter. In his mind, only the audience matters. Formula 1 needs people to follow it, and it is now in the spotlight more than ever.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Jacky Ickx, Genesis Magma Racing\"Jacky<\/p>\n

Jacky Ickx, Genesis Magma Racing<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as F1 is concerned, we must not make the mistake of comparing yesterday\u2019s F1 with today\u2019s,\u201d Ickx told Motorsport.com. \u201cMy opinion doesn\u2019t matter. What matters is looking at how the audience is doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about whether people follow F1 and how much they follow it. The audience is the key to everything. If F1 keeps attention high and generates share, then it\u2019s fine. Without the public, nothing can be done. If the public is there, then it\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Many fans have criticised the overtakes seen in the first three races of the season. But for Ickx, it doesn\u2019t matter how they happen: what matters is whether they create spectacle and attract the public. At least for now, it seems the 2026 regulations have succeeded in achieving this.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my time, we really saw only four parameters on the dashboard. It was a different era compared to this one, where drivers have to think about many more things. But the audience is the key to the success of motorsport.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to follow people\u2019s opinions, of course. But I believe that people don\u2019t really care what\u2019s under the hood. What matters are the battles on track \u2014 whether the fight is good, whether the challenge is intense. That\u2019s what counts. We\u2019ve never seen such high audience figures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How to make F1’s 2026 rules simpler – and why Christian Horner was half-right <\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The one thing Formula 1 can learn from American sports <\/a><\/p>\n

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s undeniable that this era of Formula 1 doesn\u2019t appeal to everyone. While television audience data shows increasing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619159,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,232516,82,232517,232518],"class_list":["post-619158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-jacky-ickx","tag-sports","tag-television-audience-data","tag-what-matters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}