Alex Brundle was asked by Damien Smith in the latest podcast by Motorsport whether the 2023 season was boring. The question is rooted with the fact Max Verstappen had won 19 of the 22 races held this year. However, the F1 presenter didn’t think it was a boring season. On the contrary, he felt it was a very exciting season, and if the fans found it dull then the blame lies on the broadcasters like him as they get plenty of screen time for fans to before and after the Grand Prix events.
“I think if it was, then we have done a bad job of it. Because it was an interesting season. But not an interesting season if you present it in a surface manner over TV,” said Brundle.
Brundle further bolsters his point by claiming that apart from the top spot, the entire grid was engaged in a fierce battle. Millions of dollars were on the line, as the end of the pay disparity depends on where a team finishes in the championship.
So, getting those stories right was the key for Brundle. He claims, “It’s a failure in broadcasting,” if the fans didn’t get to sense that level of excitement across the season. The average US viewership for the races was 1.11 million, an impressive number, but it surely saw a sharp 100,000 decline from the previous year.
Nevertheless, the end of the 2023 season has given some optimism around the next year. But, it’s the level of racing that could determine whether fans would stay or as Brundle said how well the broadcasters manage to pull a good show.
Alex Brundle supported by Mark Hughes
Even veteran journalist Mark Hughes was asked about this question, and he claimed that he finds no season boring. However, his reasons were different than Brundle’s.
Hughes claimed that he found this level of dominance by Verstappen to be fascinating. The championship victory by the Dutchman was unprecedented. On his route to glory, the 26-year-old smashed Sebastian Vettel’s nine wins in a row record which was earlier thought to be unbreakable. Verstappen won 10 in a row until Carlos Sainz stopped his streak in Singapore.
Is Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s 2023 dominance harmful to F1’s overall popularity?
Not according to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who says rival teams simply have to ‘do a better job’ of catching up. pic.twitter.com/OAUrRiwrFo
— Autosport (@autosport) December 20, 2023
He also surpassed his own record which he set in 2022— having the most wins in a season. He registered 19 wins. Therefore, it was something that was never seen before. For Hughes, he was witnessing history being made.
Now, in 2024, Red Bull is once again believed to come out with the strongest car. However, whether Verstappen manages to keep that level of dominance, remains to be seen.
