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Verstappen Chases F1 Record and U.S. Fans at Belgian Grand Prix

jim gorant
·4 min read
2

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen arrives at the Belgian Grand Prix chasing his eighth straight win, which would leave him one short of Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record of nine in a row. But he faces obstacles—a grid penalty and a rainy forecast on what’s already one of F1’s riskier tracks. Bigger picture, he’s also fighting for wider recognition stateside.

Despite the near constant chatter about F1’s growing stature in the U.S. and the ongoing reverberations of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, Verstappen’s streak and his overall season remain back-burner topics. Coverage has grown, for sure (current story included), but the circuit and Verstappen, 25, haven’t gotten the play or the reaction that such a run of success would deliver in almost any other sport.

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“He has tremendous upside, especially because he’s so young, and it looks like he can continue to dominate for years to come,” Bob Dorfman, a sports branding consultant at Pinnacle Advertising, said in an interview. “But he’s not there yet in the U.S.”

Attempting to calculate the degree of Verstappen’s penetration the consciousness of the American sports fan almost proves the point. His Q Score, a measure of U.S. celebrity appeal, is nonexistent. Not because no one knows him necessarily, but because he’s such a non-entity that the company hasn’t even attempted to track his profile.

Although the U.S. now officially has more F1 races than any other country (three), the series is still viewed as a European venture. And Verstappen, from the Netherlands, only doubles down on that impression. That doesn’t mean only an American could break through, but it would help if a U.S. citizen were in the race. “There are still no American drivers in the sport,” Dorfman said. “In other global sports, like tennis and golf, there is at least that presence of U.S. athletes that fans can follow.”

The situation isn’t exactly hurting Verstappen financially. He ranked 30th on Sportico’s 2022 list of best-paid athletes, with $39 million in salary and prizes and another $4 million in endorsements. Dorfman thinks his most important deal may be with EA Sports, which will raise his name recognition among young gamers.

So the path to U.S. stardom may simply be patience and performance. Says Dorfman: “It’ll take time and more of these types of seasons.”

Grid Penalty Sets Verstappen Back

Verstappen’s next step to greater things will start at something of a disadvantage after he was docked five spots on Sunday’s starting grid after a penalty for using too many gearbox parts—teams are allowed four of each part in the box and Verstappen went one over the limit.

In actual racing, Verstappen earned the pole, but he’ll start sixth instead, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will take the one spot. Verstappen isn’t likely too worried. Last year he started 14th at Spa-Francorchamps and still won.

Alpine Shake-Up Continues

Alpine finished fourth in the overall standings last season and came into 2023 looking to close the gap on the top three, but July finds the Renault-funded squad going in the wrong direction. Two weeks ago, Bruno Famin took over operations as vice president of Alpine Motorsport, and last week, team CEO Laurent Rossi was reassigned with Renault and replaced by Philippe Krief, previously VP of engineering and performance.

This week brought more change, as the team announced it would cut loose principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane after the Belgian event. Chief technical officer Pat Fry is leaving to join another outfit later this year.

Famin has taken over as team principal, and the head of Alpine’s academy, Julian Rouse, takes over as interim sporting director. On Friday, Famin said the changes came with “the aim of reaching faster the level of performance we are waiting for,” adding that he and his management group “have a different view of the way of doing it.”

Women Get Wheels

Starting next year, each of the 10 Formula 1 teams will back a driver in the all-female F1 Academy. The developmental circuit kicked off this year, but only the U.S. Grand Prix in Texas is hosting one of its races. Next year, the Academy will get a place at more Grand Prix events around the globe, but the number of races is yet to be determined.

The series features five teams of three cars each, meaning that five additional drivers beyond those with direct F1 connections will be in the fields. Sponsorships for those drivers have not yet been made public.

“We created F1 Academy to bring about real and lasting change to ensure young female talent have the right system in place to follow and achieve their dreams” Stefano Domenicali, F1’s president and CEO, said at a press briefing. “Today is a very important moment as it shows the impact the project is having and the support it is receiving from across the F1 community.”

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