[Official] Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023: Grand Prix Weekend Thread - Round 2 of 23

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by morninggents

I can tell you that I was one of those people that totally turned off F1 during the interminably long period of Mercedes domination between 2013 and 2020. The Verstappen/RedBull resurgence in 2021 came as a breath of fresh air and the last two seasons have rekindled my interest. Seems I am not alone.
I don't know what DTS is and it certainly had no part in my new found passion.

I certainly wouldn't expect you to be alone - and resurgence in popularity will be down to many factors.

But - if I may - having totally turned off F1, how far into the 2021 season did you become aware that there was a Verstappen/RedBull resurgence, and how did you become aware of this?

[Aysedasi]

I think we as 'enthusiasts' who inhabit a motorsport-related forum will have different experiences. I wasn't particularly turned off by the Merc dominance although interestingly I'm already struggling with the new RBR version. Perhaps part of me wanted to see a Brit take an eighth WDC. Perhaps I am one of those who has 'issues' (justified or otherwise) with the RBR way of doing things and presenting themselves (team management and sometimes driver(s)). Certainly DTS played no part as I've only watched it once. Teretonga is right though, we've been used to one team or other dominating for periods for a long time now. It also makes a difference if your favoured driver is winning the races. If McLaren were dominant and Lando was winning most races, I'd be pretty pleased about that. It's just the way I am.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by Teretonga

I don't think people came back because Mercedes dominance ended.

I agree with your entire post. I only quoted the above part for brevity and because I strong agree it wasn't driven by the end of Mercedes dominance.

Richard

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Having been interested and involved in motorsport all my life (my father, brother, myself and my son have all competed) and having attended my first GP at Silverstone in 1958 and several times since (last time in 2012) I can tell you that I was one of those people that totally turned off F1 during the interminably long period of Mercedes domination between 2013 and 2020. The Verstappen/RedBull resurgence in 2021 came as a breath of fresh air and the last two seasons have rekindled my interest. Seems I am not alone.
I don't know what DTS is and it certainly had no part in my new found passion.

I tend to agree with you. I've been following F1 avidly since 1972 and I stopped watching and following it closely, partly because of Ferrari and Schumacher's dominance and in particular the fiasco of the 2002 Austrian GP. It was the emergence of Lewis Hamilton that got my interest back, with 2008 being the first F1 season I watched and followed closely since 2002. Ironically, my interest was starting to wain with Hamilton and Mercedes' dominance, so I welcomed Red Bull's resurgence, though I wasn't happy with how the 2021 season ended.

I haven't reached saturation level yet with RBR but if they romp away with the WDC and WCC this season, I'll be getting pretty close to it, so I am hoping to finally see a Ferrari resurgence and I'm thoroughly enjoying Alonso and Aston-Martin being right up there in the mix.

I watched DTS once but that sort of ''reality TV'', if you can call it that, came across as somewhat contrived and I felt it was aimed at the sort of audience who could easily be watching Love Island instead.

[chillibowl]

more than one team dominating (or not dominating as viewership also dropped off after Schumi's years of domination - loss of German and Italian audiences), i would have placed the overall drop in viewership of the late 2000s and onwards as directly tied to the movement behind a paywall in all the major F1 TV markets?

[seanyb505]

I think if there were 10 people at a race pre DTS and 100 people post DTS, DTS is probably responsible for 75 people. The niche fans haven't gone anywhere, and it remains to be seen if new niche fans are created.

One thing DTS did was show there can be demand for the series, and the series I think has worked to capitalize on that and try to improve things. So those remaining 15 people are some version of new fans seeing F1 become popular so they're stopping by to see what all the excitement is, and some version of pre DTS F1 fans that got bored, but are now stopping by to see what all the excitement is about and if it's as good as they remember. Again, long term fan status of those 15 remains to be seen.

Although, peak growth rates only have one way to go, and when the decline happens we'll be left having just watched 3-4 years of Red bull dominance. So 70 people lost interest in F1 as a fad, 15 more people didn't see enough to keep them interested, and now there's 15 niche fans at a track.

Either way, whether watching Netflix brought you to the track or not, it certainly created an environment to bring in a few more people.

[morninggents]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

But - if I may - having totally turned off F1, how far into the 2021 season did you become aware that there was a Verstappen/RedBull resurgence, and how did you become aware of this?

Good question and I should have been more specific. After spending much of my life around paddocks I did not become a hermit and, of course, any mention of 'racing', 'F1' etc would catch my interest so I would be aware of what was happening re RedBull and Verstappen. What was missing (and has now returned) was the need to look at the practice results on the F1 website at each GP; watch the qualifying; watch the C4 highlights.
It's good to be back.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Good question and I should have been more specific. After spending much of my life around paddocks I did not become a hermit and, of course, any mention of 'racing', 'F1' etc would catch my interest so I would be aware of what was happening re RedBull and Verstappen. What was missing (and has now returned) was the need to look at the practice results on the F1 website at each GP; watch the qualifying; watch the C4 highlights.
It's good to be back.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Having been interested and involved in motorsport all my life (my father, brother, myself and my son have all competed) and having attended my first GP at Silverstone in 1958 and several times since (last time in 2012) I can tell you that I was one of those people that totally turned off F1 during the interminably long period of Mercedes domination between 2013 and 2020. The Verstappen/RedBull resurgence in 2021 came as a breath of fresh air and the last two seasons have rekindled my interest. Seems I am not alone.
I don't know what DTS is and it certainly had no part in my new found passion.

I'm not as old as you young fella but similar background and similar outlook by the sound of it. Seeing some genuine competition rather than the Mercedes "cruise & collect" years, definitely rekindled a deeper passion for me.

Originally Posted by morninggents

Good question and I should have been more specific. After spending much of my life around paddocks I did not become a hermit and, of course, any mention of 'racing', 'F1' etc would catch my interest so I would be aware of what was happening re RedBull and Verstappen. What was missing (and has now returned) was the need to look at the practice results on the F1 website at each GP; watch the qualifying; watch the C4 highlights.
It's good to be back.

Similar here too. In Oz, most GPs are late Sunday night or into the wee hours of Monday morning. During the Mercedes domination years, I might watch the first couple of laps (in case there was some actual competition) but almost every race I'd then head off to bed, knowing that the finishing order would be the same as the order at the end of lap 2 and that the gap to the rest of the field would be huge, despite the Mercedes crew turning everything down.

When actual competition returned in 2021, so did I - now watch practice sessions (not all but most), don't miss qualifying and watch the whole race, am heading off to the AGP next weekend and like you it is good to be back.