The inevitable consequence of the Liberty F1 popularity boom
Sell out crowds at Formula 1 races are the norm rather than the exception these days, as grand prix racing is enjoying a massive boom under Liberty Media. But the Spanish Grand Prix highlighted numerous issues some circuits may face as demand for F1 soars
Where once, just a few years ago, venues were covering up their grandstands with banners to disguise the fact that they were empty through a lack of interest, now things have flipped around and some promoters cannot sell enough tickets. But while the explosion of interest in F1 is great news for promoters who have faced huge losses during the pandemic and sometimes struggled to balance the books beforehand, bigger crowds come with extra headaches.
And last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix proved to be a case in point as organisers were caught on the hop by the combination of an unexpectedly large crowd on the Friday, a heatwave, and a level of interest perhaps not seen for decades. Social media was full of horror stories about traffic chaos, bad organisation around the gates, a lack of food and drink (especially water) availability, and horrendous queues for public transport away from the venue.
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