Liberty Media understand need for “constant entertainment” at races

In brief

Liberty providing “constant entertainment” to fans at races

Steiner is a fan of the efforts F1’s owners have been going to to improve the level of entertainment for fans for attend grands prix, especially in the Untied States.

“I think entertainment here has got a lot better from the old days,” Steiner told media including RaceFans. “In the old days we went ‘cookie cutter’ racing. We’d do one race, we’d do the next one. We do nothing around it – we were racing for the motorsport fan. Therefore I think the sport – before Liberty Media came in – was not successful in the US.

“I came to the US and understood the US more when I moved here, because I didn’t understand it before. But you need to live here to understand. People want constant entertainment – not just sitting out.

“But also the other stuff which is going on – the concerts, the entertainment areas. If you’ve got kids with you, you want to entertain them – not sitting in a grandstand or on a hill, waiting. So I think F1 is doing a very good job in that.”

IndyCar not planning to drop Indy 500 local blackout

Mark Miles, CEO of IndyCar owners Penske Entertainment, says the sport has no plans to remove the live TV blackout of the Indianapolis 500 in the city to encourage local fans to attend the race in person, despite living in the age of internet streams and VPNs.

“We have to get people here as they have been here in growing numbers for many, many years,” Miles said. “We’re really clear-minded about the fact that for us, attendance is first, and this spectacle emanates from the vibe here on race day with 300,000 plus people here. I think that’s unique.

“We also, I think, have demonstrated over the last few years that when getting people here is not an issue, either because it’s covid and we can’t bring anybody here, or because the number of people that could come were limited and we were definitely going to have that total here, then we do open it up. We like the idea that people can take it in, whether it’s linear or streaming. But for now, that’s our rationale, and it’s important to us.”

Norris designs own McLaren road car

McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris has received a personalised McLaren 765LT Spider road car that was built to his own specifications.

Norris, who sits ninth in the…