F1 vs NASCAR | Land of Liberty | 3

0:00Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of Business Wars ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app.

0:21It's March 2017 in Melbourne, Australia, and the final preparations are underway for the opening race of the Formula One season. The buzz of a busy garage floats through the open windows of a sleek hospitality suite. Outside, mechanics in silver uniforms move around a Mercedes Formula One car with military precision. Inside, two men sit across from each other at a small table, the tone quieter but just as intense. A few months ago, U.S. entertainment giant Liberty Media bought Formula One for more than$4 billion. Now, it wants to usher in a new era for the sport. Sean Brachis is the Liberty executive charged with making it happen.

1:04But he can't do it alone. He needs the race teams to buy in as well. Today, he's here to sell his vision to one of Formula One's most powerful figures, the famously competitive Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff. Bratches leans forward. The product on track is phenomenal, but the fan experience? We think it can be bigger. Wolff's expression tightens. How? Pratchett's gestures towards the garage outside. Well, for starters, fans never see this. The paddock, the garages. Why not let people experience it? Absolutely not. Well, that's a clear answer. You see that car? Every millimeter of it is intellectual property.

1:54If rival engineers enter our garage, they can photograph it, copy something, steal our ideas. We cannot allow that. Okay, fair concern, but what if fans don't roam the paddock? What if they're guided through? Uh, guided? Yeah, maybe in golf carts. Golf carts? Yeah, fans ride through the paddock, a quick loop, no stopping, no wandering into restricted areas. We'll keep them moving the whole time, maybe a few carts linked together like a little train. Sean, you're describing something that belongs on a Hollywood studio lot. Come on, is that a bad thing? Of course it is. This is the pinnacle of motorsport, the greatest competition in the world, not entertainment.

2:44Outside, the mechanic step back as the Mercedes fires up. Ratchus glances out the window, then back at Wolf. And he smiles, because the Mercedes boss is dead serious. But he's also completely wrong. Formula One has always been more than a sport. It's a high-tech, high-speed spectacle that oozes drama. For decades, most of that drama has stayed hidden behind closed doors. But Liberty Media is out to change that. They want to bring Formula One into the modern entertainment era. But not everyone in the sport is ready for the show.

3:32I'm Leon Nafok. What happens when OnlyFans becomes more than just a side hustle? OnlyFantasy is an in-depth look at the world's newest profession and how the rules of human intimacy are being rewritten online. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or binge all episodes of OnlyFantasy ad-free only on Audible. Whether you're exploring your fascinations or discovering new ones, Audible has stories that will introduce you to your most fascinating self. Tap into a whole new world of heated conversations with a saucy romantic series. Know how true the latest blockbuster movie stayed to the sci-fi story it was based on.

4:10Or find unexpected reveals through an exclusive true crime podcast. However you listen, Audible keeps you fascinated so you can be just as fascinating. Select any audiobook every month, plus exclusive podcasts. Plans now start at$8.99. Audible. Be fascinated. Be fascinating.

4:36From Audible Originals, I'm David Brown, and this is Business Wars.

5:01In the last episode, NASCAR and Formula One were both facing identity crises as the 20th century gave way to the 21st. Backed by banks and private investors, Formula One supremo Bernie Eccleston transformed the sport into a global big money spectacle. He struck lucrative TV and sponsorship deals and brought races to wealthy new markets across the Middle East and Asia. But Liberty Media has since taken control. It's already forced Eccleston out. Now, it's ready to launch a fresh push into the previously indifferent U.S. market. And NASCAR is watching all of this with growing unease. For decades, it dominated American motorsport.

5:48But its owners, the France family, are facing a twin threat. Formula One's new ambitions, and an aging fan base at home. For years, the two championships coexisted. NASCAR ruled the U.S., Formula One, the rest of the world. But that balance is starting to shift. And now, they're on a collision course. This is Episode 3, Land of Liberty.

6:22By the late 2010s, NASCAR finds itself in increasingly uncomfortable territory. Its television ratings are sliding, track attendance is shrinking, and the sports leadership is struggling to answer a difficult question. How do you grow beyond an aging core audience without alienating the fans who have sustained NASCAR for generations? The problem isn't new. Back in 2004, NASCAR CEO Brian France tried to shake things up by introducing the Chase for the Cup, a 10-race shootout to decide the championship. The change added late-season drama and gave TV ratings a bump. But the boost didn't last. Ten years later, with few fresh ideas circulating, France returns to the same playbook.

7:13He relaunches the chase with a new twist. The lowest-scoring drivers are eliminated as the chase progresses, raising the stakes in every race. The reaction is mixed. Some fans embrace the added drama. Others complain that the format cheapens the value of the full season, allowing a driver who has dominated for months to lose the championship with a single bad race. And for newcomers to the sport, the shifting rules and elimination rounds can be hard to follow. At the same time, NASCAR tries to broaden its appeal. It shines the spotlight on drivers who graduate from Drive for Diversity, a program aimed at supporting talented drivers from underrepresented backgrounds.

8:00But the initiative sparks backlash among some fans, who see it as politics intruding into the sport. Drivers from the program, like Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace, find themselves having to justify their place on the grid. And there's little evidence, at least at first, that a more diverse driver pool translates into a more diverse audience. But while NASCAR tinkers with its product, Formula One is planning a complete overhaul.

8:34Ahead of the 2017 season, F1's new owner, Liberty Media, commissions a global brand study. The results are sobering. Formula One has millions of loyal and passionate fans, but outsiders see the sport as distant, complicated, even intimidating. It's too technical, too obsessed with engine specs, tire compounds, and aerodynamic minutia. To many, F1 fandom is dominated by middle-aged men debating gear ratios and fuel strategies. That image is reinforced by the company Formula One keeps. Race weekends are saturated with luxury brands promoting watches, champagne, private jets, and financial services.

9:22Products that most fans can only dream of affording. For Liberty Media, the brand studies message is clear. Formula One needs to open up. Under Bernie Eccleston, the sport had been tightly controlled. Access to television footage was restricted. Drivers, teams, and broadcasters were warned against sharing clips online. That approach might have worked in the analog era, but it's a disaster in the digital age. So, Formula One rips up its playbook. Instead of limiting content, it floods the Internet with it. Official social media accounts offer fans a look behind the scenes. Teams and drivers are encouraged to interact directly with fans.

10:08And there are no more cease and desist letters every time Lewis Hamilton posts race footage on Instagram. The goal is simple. Make Formula One visible again. And social media is just the beginning.

10:28It's 2017 at Formula One's broadcast center, just outside London, England. Inside a dark screening room, media consultant David Hill lowers himself into a chair. Beside him, the sport's top TV producers are already in their seats, waiting for the giant flat screen to flicker into life. At the front, Formula One's lead producer stands beside a DVD player remote in hand. Hill folds his arms. So, this is your best one? Yes, it's one of our favorites. Good. Let's see what Formula One looks like on TV. Hill is a veteran of sports broadcasting with more than three decades of experience, producing NFL and NASCAR coverage for Fox.

11:12He's just been hired by Liberty Media to improve Formula One's TV ratings. And today, he's here to take a hard look at how the sport appears to viewers at home. The race begins. 20 cars sit on the starting grid. The lights go out, and the pack launches forward in a blur of color. Cars dive into the first corner, jostling for position. The broadcast cuts rapidly between battles across the field. An onboard camera shakes violently as a driver bounces over a curb. Hill leans forward, trying to follow the action. Wait, wait a minute. Who's leading? That's Mercedes. Which one is Mercedes? Before the junior exec can answer, the broadcast exec cuts away to a man in a blue team shirt, headset on, staring at a wall of monitors.

12:04Almost immediately, the feed jumps back to the cars. Hill frowns. Who is that? Christian Horner. Who? He's the team principal of Red Bull. Red Bull? Yes. What is Red Bull? Isn't that an energy drink? The producer stares at him, clearly surprised. It's one of the teams. It's owned by the Energy Drink Company. Okay, but how would anyone watching know that? On screen, the race continues, the commentators excitedly narrating the action. Hill watches for a moment longer before turning back to the producer. There's so much happening. Yeah, that's Formula One all right. Yeah, but you never explain any of it.

12:49The audience understands. Your current audience does. But I thought you wanted new fans. Hill presses his lips together. The problem's worse than he thought. If Formula One wants to grow its audience, viewers first have to understand what they're watching. Within hours of the underwhelming screening, Hill begins sketching out a plan to revolutionize the way Formula One is broadcast in time for the 2018 season. He increases the number of cameras covering each race, but instead of leaving them fixed around the circuit, he sends many of them into the pit lane and garages, capturing the tension behind the scenes.

13:33The focus begins to shift from cars to characters. Drivers, team principals, and pit crews are no longer background figures. They're part of the story. Hill also adds more on-screen graphics to explain who's leading, who's chasing, and what strategies the teams are using, helping new viewers follow the complex tactics unfolding at 200 miles per hour. And he turns up the in-car microphones during the opening laps, so audiences get drawn in by the roar of the engines and the crackle of team radios. But before any of that can reach viewers, there is one last problem to overcome. In the market that Formula One most wants to crack, no one can watch it.

14:23For the past four years, NBC has broadcast F1 in the U.S., but the network decides not to renew the deal beyond the end of 2017, and few other networks are interested. That leaves Formula One without a home in the U.S. So, the new leadership approaches ESPN and proposes an unusual deal. The Sports Network can broadcast every Formula One Grand Prix live in the United States for free. Yep, you heard me right. The world's most prestigious motorsport is giving itself away in the world's most lucrative media market. At first glance, it looks like a terrible business decision. Broadcasters in other countries pay millions to show Formula One.

15:13But Formula One has been here before. Back in the early 80s, Bernie Eccleston sold European TV rights for a pittance because exposure mattered more than revenue. Liberty Media? They're taking the same approach in the U.S. You might call it the Facebook play. Bill the audience first. Worry about monetizing it later. The ESPN deal keeps Formula One on American screens. The revamped broadcast attracts some new viewers, but not many. Compared to the previous year on NBC, ESPN's first year of Formula One coverage goes up by just 3%, far short of what Liberty Media had hoped for. Still, there's no sense of panic, because one major piece of Liberty's media strategy hasn't launched yet.

16:10It's about to open the hood on Formula One and give fans something they've never had before. Unprecedented backstage access.

16:26I'm Leon Nafak, best known as the co-creator of Slow Burn and Fiasco. I had, of course, heard of OnlyFans, but always with a distant and quiet skepticism, A silent judgment, you might say. Who is actually using this platform? Um, I am. Hi, I'm OnlyFans creator and comedian Gracie Kanan. I work from home now. I'm on OnlyFans. And in case you guys don't know what OnlyFans is, ask your husband. My journalistic curiosity got the best of me when I found out that my own sister had started an OnlyFans account. I'm not his sister, just to clarify. It turns out a lot of what I thought I knew about OnlyFans was wrong.

17:04I felt like I wasted 3.5 years for something that wasn't real. What happens when connection comes with a price tag? Listen to OnlyFantasy wherever you get your podcasts. Or binge all episodes of OnlyFantasy ad-free right now, only on Audible. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible app or on Apple Podcasts. Whether you're exploring your current fascinations or discovering new ones, Audible has all the stories that'll introduce you to your most fascinating self. Tap into a whole new world of heated conversations with a saucy romantic series. Become your friend group's sci-fi expert on the latest blockbuster book-to-screen adaptation.

17:44Or find unexpected reveals through the exclusive episodes of a viral true crime podcast. However you choose to listen, Audible keeps you fascinated so you can be just as fascinating. All in one easy app. With plans now starting at$8.99, you'll get access to over 1 million audiobooks and podcasts, including trending bestsellers, the hottest new releases, and exclusive podcasts you won't find anywhere else. Sign up now to become a member and get any audiobook every month, plus exclusive podcasts. Plans now start at$8.99. Audible. Be fascinated. Be fascinating.

18:38It's April 29th, 2018, the day of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Two blue and red Formula One cars rocket down the long main straight in the city of Baku. One is driven by Red Bull veteran Daniel Ricciardo, the other by his young teammate, Max Verstappen. Ricardo tucks into Verstappen's slipstream, the turbulent air pulling him forward at nearly 200 miles per hour. Ricardo darts right, searching for a gap. Verstappen blocks. Ricardo faints left. Verstappen moves again, but at this speed, even the smallest miscalculation has enormous consequences. Ricardo slams into the back of Verstappen's car. Carbon fiber explodes across the track.

19:27The two Red Bull cars spin helplessly down the runoff area. Their race over in a cloud of smoke and shredded bodywork. For Red Bull, it's a catastrophe. Two teammates have taken each other out. But for a small TV crew station nearby, it's the kind of moment they've been waiting for. Within seconds, a camera operator, sound technician and producer are sprinting toward the Red Bull garage. They want to capture the team's reaction, the raw, unfiltered aftermath. Inside the garage, engineers stare at their monitors in disbelief. Team principal Christian Horner curses as he rewatches one of the most embarrassing moments in the team's history.

20:16And the cameras keep rolling. You know, there's a quiet shift happening here, one that many businesses miss. Control is being traded for connection. Back in the Bernie Eccleston days, Formula One treated access as something to guard against, restrict, monetize. But Liberty Media sees that scarcity isn't always an asset. Attention is a real currency. By letting the cameras come in, they're not weakening the brand. They're deepening it. When customers feel like insiders, their investment is emotional. And that's far more valuable. Even as they film, the crew know they've captured something special.

21:03Because this footage isn't for the live broadcast. It's for a completely new kind of F1 show. Almost a year later, just days before the start of the 2019 Formula One season, That series drops on Netflix. It's called Drive to Survive, and it promises to pull back the curtain on the most exclusive sport in the world. The concept isn't groundbreaking. Sports documentaries have been around for years, but Drive to Survive offers something unique. Unlike most sports, a Grand Prix weekend brings every competitor together, all 10 teams, all 20 drivers, every strategist and decision maker. and that gives the film crew access to the entire F1 ecosystem.

21:53Not everyone is thrilled about the idea. The top two teams, Mercedes and Ferrari, refuse to participate, worried that allowing cameras in their garages could be a distraction. But their absence actually helps the show. With Mercedes and Ferrari missing, the spotlight falls on smaller teams with bigger personalities. Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo quickly becomes a fan favorite. His laid-back humor and megawatt smile light up the screen as he wrestles with a career-changing decision, whether to stay at Red Bull or leave for a rival team. Meanwhile, Gunter Steiner, the boss of American-owned team Haas, emerges as an unlikely star, thanks to his brutally honest and frequently profanity-laced assessments of his struggling team.

22:45The combination of high-speed racing and behind-the-scenes human drama proves irresistible. Drive to Survive becomes a surprise hit. And then, in February 2020, just as the COVID pandemic begins to spread, the second season arrives. And with people stuck at home, more people discover the show. Both men and women are drawn in by the mix of high-wire action and juicy interpersonal drama. As Drive to Survive catches fire, Formula One suddenly faces an unexpected problem. Millions of new fans are discovering the sport, just as its races are being shut down. Few sports are less suited to a global pandemic than Formula One.

23:38In a normal year, teams circle the globe multiple times. Thousands of mechanics, engineers, and support staff travel with them. Tons of specialized equipment is shipped around the world in a carefully choreographed logistical ballet. But if Formula One stops racing, it risks losing the momentum created by Drive to Survive. So, Liberty Media makes a bold decision. After delaying the start of the season for four months, F1 returns to action as soon as circumstances allow. Working with governments and health officials, Formula One creates a strict sporting bubble. Teams follow rigorous COVID testing regimes, personnel are divided into isolated groups, and the calendar is rebuilt almost from scratch.

24:28Instead of a globe-spanning tour, races are clustered together to minimize travel. Several countries host two races on back-to-back weekends. It's an enormous gamble, but it works. The 2020 season ultimately delivers 17 races. That's five fewer than originally planned, but enough to keep the championship alive. And with millions of people stuck at home looking for something new, Formula One's audience begins to surge. And it finally makes a breakthrough in the United States. Viewership there almost doubles between 2018 and 2021. Live attendance at the United States Grand Prix climbs at a similar rate.

25:13And with interest rising, Formula One announces its return to Las Vegas. The larger audience soon translates into revenue. In 2022, Formula One renews its TV deal with ESPN. Just a few years earlier, ESPN got the rights for free. This time, it pays an estimated$90 million per year for them. Now, sure, this is a big leap forward for Formula One, but NASCAR's television rights are worth around 10 times that, and a typical NASCAR race still attracts about three times the viewers of a Formula One Grand Prix in the U.S. But it's the trend that matters. Formula One is accelerating. NASCAR? Well, it's coasting.

26:01And its executives are starting to glance in the rearview mirror a little more often. With Formula One coming up fast, NASCAR's bosses don't think they can wait years for a full reinvention. They want faster results. So, they borrow from Formula One's playbook. First, they change where NASCAR races. For decades, the organization has invested heavily in building or buying racetracks. It now controls dozens of speedways across the U.S., many located in rural areas that once formed the heartland of stock car racing. But maintaining those facilities is expensive, and many are located far from the cities and younger audiences that NASCAR hopes to attract.

26:48So, NASCAR looks to reduce its reliance on far-flung tracks and experiment more. The boldest example arrives in 2023, when NASCAR stages a street race through downtown Chicago's Grant Park, where its stock cars thunder past skyscrapers and along the edge of Lake Michigan. For a sport traditionally associated with oval tracks carved into farmland, this is a dramatic shift. At the same time, NASCAR deploys camera crews to capture behind-the-scenes footage of the championship chase, now rebranded as the playoffs for its own documentary series, NASCAR Full Speed, which premieres on Netflix in January 2024.

27:34Like Drive to Survive, NASCAR Full Speed leans into personalities as much as racing. NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney allows cameras into his personal life away from the track. Denny Hamlin embraces his reputation as NASCAR's villain, happily playing the role of the driver fans love to hate. Bubba Wallace speaks candidly about the pressures of competing at the highest level. The stories are there, but the impact isn't. The first season of Full Speed draws about 3.4 million viewers, roughly a third of Drive to Survive. Here's the thing. Execution matters, but timing often matters more. NASCAR didn't get the strategy wrong, it just got there late.

28:22This is the risk of reacting instead of leading. You end up solving yesterday's problem. Following a competitor can feel safe, even smart, but it usually means you'll finish in second place. The real advantage comes from moving early, before a trend hardens into expectations. Right now, what NASCAR really needs is a path of its own. But Formula One is setting the pace.