Oct.28 (GMM) Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang has stirred criticism among traditional Formula 1 fans by suggesting following every Grand Prix is no longer necessary to be considered a fan.
Speaking to Axios correspondent Sara Fischer at a recent event in Austin, Chang said the way supporters consume Formula 1 has fundamentally changed.
“You no longer think about F1 as sort of something that you’ve got to go to every race or watch every race on television to be a fan right now,” he said.
“We would love every person associated with F1 to follow F1 24 hours a day, go to every race or watch every race on TV, but we know that’s not going to happen, right?”
Chang instead pointed to other forms of engagement through social media, highlights, previews and lifestyle content.
“One of the important stats we have is that 60 percent of our fans, and we have hundreds of millions of fans out there, 60 percent of those fans engage with F1 on a daily basis,” he said.
“Obviously we don’t race every day. So, this is content that is sort of whether it’s highlights, whether it’s previews of upcoming races, whether it’s lifestyle things.”
The comments have caused a stir among some long-time fans, with criticism that Liberty’s increasingly entertainment-led approach undervalues the traditional audience that once regarded watching every race as fundamental to following F1.