Max Verstappen, who won his first championship in 2021, displayed immense talent and dominance last season. He has continued doing the same this year and is on course to winning his third straight title. In light of this tedious dominance, people have recently been divided into two groups. Some claim that the Dutchman’s dominance on F1 courses has rendered the sport boring. Others have a different view. In the midst of this, on Thursday, a Buzz Radar report that backed this precise notion appeared on Twitter. However, the genuine data, which paints a different picture, was immediately displayed by F1.
Buzz Radar, a social intelligence company, recently revealed in a 23-page report how F1’s recent growth has radically dipped for the season 2023. With the tagline “Have We Reached the Peak in F1?” The research predicted that following the outstanding Abu Dhabi final in 2021, the sport’s popularity in the first five months of 2022 saw a significant increase. However, if we compare the numbers in the same period this year, we can see a decline. According to the study, F1 growth has decreased by 70.2%.
If we look more closely, we can see that 911,150 new fans joined the motorsports last year. The reach went to 61.72 billion fans worldwide. However, the number of followers dropped to as low as 489,370 during the first five months of this year, while the reach was only 22.16 billion. The business noted that the mentions saw a drop of 64.10%, going from 6.14 million in 2022 to just 1.84 million in 2023. They believes Max Verstappen’s alleged supernatural dominance is the sole factor contributing to the decline.
Authorities, however, did not take this lightly. They laid out a set of real numbers that could prove Buzz Radar’s data baseless.
Formula 1 shows the real numbers
F1 gave Racing News 365 statistics with entirely different figures in reaction to these misleading numbers. They claim that compared to the data that the social intelligence company gave, the sport has grown significantly, nearly eight times more (757%). According to the most recent statistics provided by F1, 3.7 million new fans have joined the sport. Likewise, the F1TV was second among the top sports channels in 2023. They trail only La Liga (Spanish Soccer League) at the moment.
Not only that, but the Formula One Management (FOM) continues to report that this season’s active engagement has increased by up to 4% compared to last year. It is on track to reaching 1.5 billion users.
Amidst this chaos, Verstappen is likely going to be declared a three-time champion in the forthcoming race in Qatar. Though some may have complained that his domination made the sports a little boring, the champ himself doesn’t think so. For those fans, Verstappen has a message.
Max Verstappen has a message for those who cannot recognize Red Bull’s power
Max Verstappen has demonstrated the genuine meaning of dominance since 2022. Many claim that due to his success, the sport has become boring. However, the two-time champion, who needs three more points to win his third title, believes that if the spectators can’t appreciate Red Bull’s winning run, they aren’t fans of sports.
Following the season’s first setback in Singapore, the Dutchman was asked if sports needed more events like the one at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. As per ESPNF1 Verstappen said, ” Honestly, I have zero interest in that. We got beaten and in a very clear way. I don’t think about what’s good for Formula One.”
Later the Red Bull ace directed some fiery shots at the critiques and said, “I don’t think it was necessarily bad what was happening to Formula One, because we were just better than everyone else. If people can’t appreciate that, then you are not a real fan.”
The sport is now gradually moving toward commercialization, and now that tracks like Las Vegas have been added, the world of motorsports will undoubtedly gain a lot, in terms of viewership.
