Autobayng News Team
Welcome to Saturday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
Comment of the day
Has the ‘Drive to Survive’ effect been more negative than positive for Formula 1?
Since DTS came along it just feels like many of the fans it’s attracted don’t know about or care about the history of the sport, They don’t have much passion for it because they just want to support the people DTS made seem likeable while vehemently hating those DTS presented in a way to make people dislike them. There’s just so much more division now, So much more hatred thrown around after certain incidents by people you can tell have no real understanding of what happened. And the fact you have broadcasters like Sky now presenting things in a black and white way and not always going into the nuance of an incident really isn’t helping that.
Those of us who understand the sport, it’s history and have a passion for it understand the dynamics so are better able to judge certain situations rather than simply screaming at those who disagree. But when your watching because you see it as a shallow show to consume for two hours every other weekend and don’t care about any of the details then is it any wonder F1 is in the state it’s in since they now seem to be the top priority for the Liberty overlords.
Having a documentary show on a service like Netflix is a good idea but the execution of DTS and the effect that’s had with the focus been on turning the sport into more of a show to cater to the ‘for show’ fans has been imp nothing but deeply negative and the short term boom in popularity it’s brought about will likely be followed by a massive decline once the ‘for show’ fans decide not to stick around and the ‘hardcore’ fans have been turned away by the show that replaced the sport they loved.
I mean in a lot of ways that’s what happened to NASCAR and them desperately throwing more gimmicks and ‘show’ elements at it to keep the casuals just pushed the hardcore further and further away while also not retaining the casuals. I guarantee you the same will happen with F1 over the next 5-10 years.
PeterG
Social media and links
Brown: A Formula 1 and IndyCar conversation (Marshall Pruett via YouTube)
‘First of all, I think Christian will be back. I don’t think Helmut will be. I could be wrong, but I think Christian will be back. He’ll be in this year’s episodes, so I think we’ll have a good Netflix this year. I think the sport is a little bit of a nicer pit lane at the moment, but that’s probably temporary, let’s face it. I mean, look at the history of Formula 1 and the characters in Formula 1. So I think no one should be too concerned that we’re all going to become very boring because that’s just not the culture of the sport.’
Palou (Instagram)
Alex Palou: ‘Over the past few months, I’ve had time to reflect on what has been an incredibly challenging period, and I want to address it directly. First, I want to acknowledge both Zak Brown and Chip Ganassi. Both were put in a difficult position, and I regret being in the middle of that. Also, in January, a UK judge ruled in McLaren Racing’s favour regarding my IndyCar contractual breach. I respect that decision. I also recognise that the way events unfolded in the summer of 2023 could have been handled differently. While little of this is publicly known, I found myself pulled in various directions and had the wrong people around me back then who I believe did not have my best interests at heart. I believe back then that I was provided with the wrong advice or no advice at all. In hindsight, had I reached out to Zak directly, perhaps things may have played out differently. McLaren and Zak supported me in many ways, they fulfilled every obligation, went above and beyond, and delivered on everything they said in their contracts. I was never misled by McLaren, and I very much respect their organisation. I also want to thank Chip, my team mates, and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing for their dedication and support throughout this process. I’ve learned a great deal from this experience. I’m delighted this matter has now settled, and I wish to thank all of those involved in reaching an amicable conclusion. My focus now is fully on moving ahead where two great organisations that I respect deeply will compete solely on the racetrack.’
Wheldon makes FIA FREC step with Prema for 2026 (Prema)
‘Son of legendary Indy 500 and IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon, the 17-year-old American made his European debut in 2025 and quickly impressed, becoming a leading contender in the Italian F4 and E4 championships.’
Wharton happy to be ‘back home’ with Prema Racing for the 2026 season (Formula 3)
‘2025, it was very obvious to see that it was the hardest year I’ve had in my career. But I took a lot of positives away from how I approached the year. When you have a tough season, it’s hard to restart and hard to get back on the front foot, but I feel like I can take away the gratitude I had throughout the season to keep pushing and to keep trying to improve even though it was getting tough at points.’
Amazon abandons its open world driving game with Maverick Games (The Game Business)
‘The game is a AAA narrative-led game for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S and X. Maverick is a UK developer formed in 2022 by racing game veterans, including co-founder Mike Brown who was formally creative director on the Forza Horizon series. The studio is run by former Sega Hardlight and Sumo Leamington boss Harinder Sangha.’
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