F1 News: Liberty Media CEO Addresses Max Verstappen And Red Bull Dominance - "Not Sure What We Can Do"

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has spoken out on the current state of Formula One.

Liberty Media CEO, Greg Maffei, has acknowledged the challenges of retaining audience enthusiasm in Formula 1 due to Max Verstappen's recent domination. Verstappen's current streak saw him secure his 10th consecutive Grand Prix victory in Monza, solidifying his and his Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez's, dominance in all races of 2023.

Reflecting on the phenomenon, Maffei shared the perspective of the series' CEO Stefano Domenicali, stating (as quoted by Motorsport.com):

"The challenge obviously is Max Verstappen is having an unbelievable year, or record-setting year.

"Stefano Domenicali is rightly trying to pivot and say, 'Come watch this historic event, you've never seen success like this, you don't want to miss it.' We'll see if that works."

Despite Verstappen's unrivaled success, Maffei pointed out the dynamic action in the rest of the grid: 

"The midfield is quite interesting, and we can show statistically there's more overtaking than has ever occurred." 

But Verstappen's record-breaking year is the elephant in the room. Addressing this, Maffei humorously mentioned the infamous ice-skating saga of 1994 involving Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan: 

"The reality is, we have a very attractive competitive product, other than the fact that Max is that fast. Short of breaking his leg, a la Tonya Harding, I'm not sure what we can do about that!"

He didn't hold back on lauding Verstappen either, saying: 

"But he's a phenom. He's driving what seems to be the fastest car and he's driving it very well. If you look at the lines he's taking, how aggressive those lines are, but how well he's able to navigate them. It is truly stunning. And you can see statistically why he is faster than anybody else."

Maffei also urged a broader outlook when measuring F1's popularity. He commented, "I think you need to look at overall interest in the sport," explaining that occasional circumstances, like conflicting major sports events, could affect a race's viewership. Nevertheless, the growing digital engagement with F1 is undeniable. 

"If you take the totality of interest as measured by growth, not only in linear TV, but how much we've grown Instagram, YouTube views, TikTok views, the amount of interest in the sport has only catapulted greater, much greater than double digits. So I'm convinced our demand is very high."