Damon Hill shares what Liberty Media have done to F1 that Bernie Ecclestone never ‘understood’

Follow us on Google Discover

Formula 1 is arguably more popular than ever and the racing over the past few Grand Prix certainly wouldn’t have deterred any new fans.

While the Monaco Grand Prix may have been one of the worst sporting events in recent memory, the sight of Charles Leclerc finally winning his home race after years of bad luck still made it a momentous occasion.

The changeable weather conditions in Canada meant nobody knew who was going to win the race until the final few laps, before Max Verstappen once again ran out victorious in Spain with Lando Norris unable to close the gap in his McLaren.

Then the drama reached another level at the Austrian Grand Prix when Verstappen and Norris collided in the closing stages, ending both of their hopes of winning the race and handing victory to George Russell.

All in all, a campaign that was expected to once again be dominated by Red Bull and Verstappen has turned out to be incredibly close.

Former world champion Damon Hill was speaking on the James Allen on F1 Podcast about what’s changed in recent years.

Bernie Ecclestone ran Formula 1 for decades and took the sport mainstream with dozens of brilliantly executed ideas.

However, Hill has noted one aspect of F1’s spike in popularity under Liberty Media that would have never happened under Ecclestone’s watch.

Liberty Media take step forward that Bernie Ecclestone never ‘understood’

Asked how new fans of Formula 1 interact with him compared to traditional fans, Hill said: “Listen, everyone wants to know the drivers who are currently driving, it’s become huge.

“We know what we’re talking about, we’re talking about the effect of Netflix.

“I mean, we mustn’t take anything away from Liberty [Media] because I think Liberty have also allowed more access, availability, social media-wise.

“It was very restricted under Bernie [Ecclestone], I don’t think Bernie understood that if you give a lot of free samples… he should have understood this as they used to do it with cigarettes!

“The opening up of the ability for people to join in and post their own social stuff on Formula 1 has meant the audience has grown massively and it’s all about who’s in the Netflix show right now.”

READ MORE: When did Bernie Ecclestone actually sell Formula 1?

Formula 1 now more accessible than ever to fans

Although in the UK the live races are now behind a paywall, fans from all over the world have more access to their racing heroes than ever before.

Each team is constantly sharing photos, videos and interviews from the paddock and the garage of a race weekend across all of their social channels.

Formula 1 itself streams pre and post-race shows on YouTube for free, allowing fans to interact and discover the latest information from the circuit each weekend.

Not only that, but series like Drive to Survive on Netflix have given people interested in Formula 1 never-before-seen access to what happens on a race day and the personal lives of the biggest protagonists of the sport.

Back in Ecclestone’s day, this amount of information and data would never have been shared, or if it was, it would have been expensive to access.

Series like Drive to Survive has created a spike in F1’s popularity that many would have never thought was possible and judging by the sellout crowds at every race and growing interest in the USA, appears to be having a very positive effect.