Written by Tiana Soans, Edited by Meghana Sree
Formula 1 is regarded by many as the ‘pinnacle of Motorsports’, however, over time this name has encouraged the sport to become increasingly more inaccessible.
In the past decade, the sport has seen soaring ticket prices for races and stricter broadcast restrictions. The accumulation of these problems has seen the sport become unattainable for many die hard motorsport fans.
Attending an F1 race live has seemingly become a luxury experience for anyone, motorsports fan or not, with reports suggesting that 99% of F1 fans will never attend a Grand Prix live (everythingF1.com).
Which leaves the question as to why this is the case. One of the major reasons deemed by F1 fans and even some of the drivers happens to be the exorbitant ticket prices.
With ticket prices for coveted races such as the Monaco or British Grands Prix costing up to thousands of dollars, not including travel, accommodation or on-site spending, attending a Grand Prix is close to unachievable during a global cost of living crisis.
Take the British Grand Prix for example. The event that was once considered as an affordable outing for families and motorsport enthusiasts in the late 90s and early 2010s, has since seen ticket prices soar over recent years.
For the 2024 season, ticket prices have reached unprecedented levels, with a four-day General Admission pass costing £429 compared to the most expensive grandstand ticket in 2014 being £430 for three days.
Whilst there have been several economic challenges faced by society, examples such as the Australian Grand Prix have proved that you can have cheaper tickets and have a successful event, with the most expensive grandstand ticket being roughly £360, and the race selling out within hours.
Whilst it is difficult to lower these prices, fans should be able to have greater access to facilities around the track, for example, lower priced or free meals and drinks. This would make the ticket justifiable for many people.
Alongside the outrageous ticket prices, the accessibility of the sport extends to the media coverage. With the majority of coverage and broadcasting rights shifting to subscription-based platforms, access to live races and coverage for many fans is limited.
In the UK, for instance, F1's move from free-to-air channels to Sky Sports has created a paywall, making it challenging for casual viewers to follow the season without incurring substantial costs. This shift not only affects long-time fans but also hampers the sport's ability to attract new audiences.
A possible solution to combat this problem would be to stream select European races on free-to-air TV, globally.
Ultimately, whilst being an insanely popular sport, it is believed that if these problems begin to lead the sport to reach a greater level of inaccessibility, Formula 1 may run the risk of losing its core fan base. Therefore, it’s important for the concerned authorities to address some of these key issues raised by fans imminently.
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