The Calculated Dismantling of Racing's Old Guard

There's an inherent tension when old money tries to reinvent itself. In 2017, when Liberty Media dropped $4.4 billion on Formula 1, they weren't just buying a racing series – they were acquiring a problem.

F1 was the sporting equivalent of an aristocratic family gone broke: all heritage, no future.

TL;DR

• Liberty Media transformed F1 from a $4.4B acquisition to a $17B empire
• The "Netflix Effect" is largely misunderstood
• F1's real revolution happened through digital democratization
• The sport faces an identity crisis as it chases new audiences

The Cost of Tradition

When Liberty Media took over, Formula 1 was suffering from what we might call "Heritage Dissonance." The sport was built on exclusivity – the kind where teams could burn through $400 million per season while smaller operations teetered on bankruptcy. It was a system that worked brilliantly in the 1990s, terribly in the 2010s, and threatened to become catastrophic in the 2020s.

The numbers tell the story. Three teams – Scuderia Ferrari , Red Bull Racing & Red Bull Technology , and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team – were essentially running their own championship, while the rest of the grid fought for survival. It wasn't just financially unsustainable; it was terrible content strategy.

The Netflix Myth

Many credit Drive to Survive for F1's explosion in popularity. The reality is more nuanced and, frankly, more interesting.

Consider these numbers: While 28% of American adults claim to be F1 fans (approximately 72 million people), ESPN averaged only 1.1 million viewers per race in 2023. Even the record-breaking 2024 Miami Grand Prix, which drew 3.1 million viewers, falls far short of the theoretical fanbase.

And Netflix 's direct impact?

Nielsen analysis shows Drive to Survive added just 360,000 new viewers to F1 races.

This isn't just the Netflix effect. This is something else entirely – a broader transformation in how fans engage with the sport.

Social media (22%) and family influence (21%) had already surpassed Netflix (14%) as primary pathways to F1 fandom.

The real story lies in the changing demographics: female viewership surged from 8% in 2017 to roughly 40% by 2024, while social media engagement during race weekends now reaches 40 million interactions.

Democratizing Access

Liberty Media's true genius wasn't in creating new content – it was in dismantling F1's fortress of exclusivity. They looked at F1's licensing rules, which made sharing content harder than qualifying for Monaco, and systematically demolished them.

The transformation was comprehensive:

1. Teams became content factories ( McLaren Racing 's digital presence became as important as their pit stops)
2. Drivers were unleashed on social media
3. The paddock, once as exclusive as a Medici dinner party, opened its virtual doors

The results upended decades of F1 demographics:

• Female audience grew from 8% to 40%
• Social media became the primary discovery channel (22%)
• Teams evolved into media companies that also happen to race cars

The American Gambit

Liberty's most audacious move wasn't digital – it was geographical. Adding Miami and Las Vegas to the calendar wasn't just expansion; it was a declaration of intent. The $1.5 billion Vegas spectacle, complete with its private jet traffic jams, signaled that F1 was no longer content being Europe's favorite motorsport.

But here's where it gets interesting: The sponsorship values doubled after Vegas not because of the race itself, but because Liberty had finally solved F1's accessibility problem. The sport remained exclusive where it mattered (good luck getting a paddock pass) while becoming inclusive where it counted (content, access, narrative).

The Identity Crisis

This is where we find F1 today – caught between its aristocratic heritage and its populist ambitions. The sport faces legitimate challenges:

• Environmental concerns in a climate-conscious era
• The Andretti Global expansion dispute highlighting old tensions
• Balancing tradition with entertainment

But these aren't just F1's problems. They're the fundamental challenges of modernizing any legacy institution in the digital age.

What F1's transformation reveals isn't just a sports story – it's a blueprint for institutional evolution in the digital age. Liberty Media didn't just buy a racing series; they bought the right to reimagine what a global sport could be in the 21st century.

The question now isn't whether F1 can maintain its growth – it's whether other traditional institutions can learn from its example. Because in the end, F1's story isn't only about racing. It's about the delicate art of evolution without revolution.

And that might be the most valuable lesson of all.

A final note: For those worrying about F1 losing its soul in this transformation, consider this – the sport's core product, wheel-to-wheel racing at 200mph, hasn't changed. What's changed is everything else. And maybe that's exactly how evolution should work.

P.S., here's further testament that everyone wants in on the F1 content parade: CNBC CNBC International 's "Inside Track" provides a deeper look at the business of Formula 1. Check it out, it's good.