Domenicali: Red Bull domination not hurting F1

Red Bull’s domination of the 2023 Formula 1 season is not a deterrent to fans according to the sport’s boss, Stefano Domenicali.

Red Bull has won all three of the races held thus far with Max Verstappen victorious twice and Sergio Perez taking honours in Saudi Arabia.

It leaves the Milton Keynes operation with a near-perfect points haul and a commanding position atop the constructors’ championship.

However, Domenicali suggests such domination does not hurt the sport when it comes to attracting new fans or penetrating new markets.

“If you look at the other teams, the bunch of other teams are very close, very, very close,” Domenicali began.

“I’m confident that with the budget cap, the situation will evolve in the best way for better competition.

“What is interesting to see in the new markets when the new audience is coming in, that [Red Bull’s domination] is not a really important factor.

“It’s more for the avid fans that if you see a car that is dominant, they’re creating a level of less interest.

“For new markets, for the new fans that are coming into the business, that is not really very important.”

Formula 1 has been growing into new markets, the United States in particular has witnessed strong increases in television viewership in recent years.

Last year’s cumulative television audience was 1.54 billion globally with growth in the US at 36 percent over 2021.

Globally, there was an increase of 23 percent year on year, while social media following rose 42 percent in the US alone.

“For us, it’s important because we want to make sure that there is a great competition in the ecosystem,” Domenicali said.

“If I look today, in the markets where we are growing, this factor [Red Bull’s domination] is not so relevant as you think.

“This is, in a way, very interesting to share, but that’s the truth.

“For sure we see the first three races [that] Red Bull was very, very competitive.

“I’m expecting the others to catch up.

“We need to wait and see the effects of the penalty that they had last year – with the winter reduction.

“The championship is very long and ideally we could have good surprises before the end.”