Formula 1 | Mafi responds to Ecclestone: With him, F1 is only for ‘old rich whites’.

Is it Bernie Ecclestone who never missed the opportunity to criticize the record of Liberty Media, the leader of F1, out of close hope or buried grief?

However, on a recent trip (see our article), F1’s former big money, who in his last years largely ignored digital and youth, criticized F1’s Americanization.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Greg Maffi, CEO of Liberty Media and CEO of Stefano Dominicali, responded to Bernie Ecclestone’s comments in a very hurtful way. He was accused of liking form more than object.

“Bernie has something to say. How it works. ⁇

The Maffei Ecclestone also strikes the bottom of the balance sheet, booting out F1, which, of course, has greatly enhanced the game in the past.

“Bernie deserves great credit for building the game. He made a great product.”

“We did a lot to open the game.”

“But the truth is, it’s not progressing over the last few years, and in our opinion the number of spectators has stagnated. Bernie’s line” I like old rich whites paying for the game “.

“Our opinion is that gender diversity and age diversity have a potential to be very broad. I think it worked well. I’m willing to accept Bernie’s criticism.”

In particular, Mafi recalled Bernie Ecclestone’s comments that the Rolex was not interested in young audiences because it could not be bought.

“At a time when other sports are aging, surveys show that not only are we increasing the number of women, but we have also reduced the average age of spectators from three to four years, which is a huge achievement,” he said. ⁇

“We see a huge increase in the number of viewers in the United States, 50% year on year and another 20% this year. So, at a time when many games on TV are falling, we are experiencing the complete opposite.

Maffei mentions the enormous demand for F1 in the United States on land: Miami welcomed 300,000 people, for example the Grand Prix, but it could have been even higher.

“Obviously, our partners limited the audience, limited the attendance because they wanted to make sure they did it right in the first year; I think it will be more important in the years to come. Clearly there was a high demand.”

“Now we’re excited to introduce Las Vegas, which starts in November 2023.”

“We have invested. We are an American company that may help us, but we have invested time in creating an exceptional experience.”

“We did a lot to open the game. Before, it was a very closed game, with very little transparency, very few products coming out. Today we are the fastest growing game on social media.”

“We had fan experiences. For example, a few years ago, cars drove through Trafalgar Square and 100,000 people came to see them in London. Of course, the riders had to ride nicely around Nelson’s column, they all made donuts, so that kind of thing was natural, and that’s what you want to see. ⁇

“We’ve seen the development of the game by opening up Netflix series like Drive to Survive, which allowed us to expand our audience. All of these things are very positive.”

F1 in Nürburgring has no effect on Maffei

Bernie Ecclestone raises an interesting question: Has the F1 not tilted too much towards the United States in its current expansion? Mafie responds a little shaken …

“I’m a little old school. Of course, I like history, especially some rounds.”

“But as I get older, I realize that people are important. There are very few people, no housing, we can go to the middle of nowhere, and it’s cool to drive a historical tour of us as individuals. But people are important.”

“We experienced the epidemic: no one, it was not the atmosphere we were looking for. It was like a test day. It was not pleasant. Now we see hundreds of thousands of people participating in the race, with full energy, enthusiasm and curiosity.”

“So I think the fans are at the heart of this game, they create it. So for me, it’s about being in cities where we can really engage with communities and make an impact.”

Finally, the Mafia ends up showering hope on a return to the Knurberking calendar.

“For example, I like Nர்பrburging, but there is no community. We do not really affect the space there.”

“In Miami, we can do anything. There I met children from different backgrounds who wanted to be interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”