Written by James Bailey - Business of Motorsport Tutor at the NMA
Liberty Media has undoubtedly done an impressive job of taking Formula 1 to new audiences. Compared to a decade ago, both the broadcast and trackside audience are significantly younger and more diverse. The Drive to Survive generation demands constant content and the appetite appears endless.
So why am I concerned when engagement numbers are soaring and fans can’t stop scrolling?
Because much of the content feels fleeting, sterile and ultimately unsustainable.
Real racing on real circuits, driven by genuine stories and authentic personalities, will always engage audiences. Recently, though, that has often been missing, and the void has increasingly been filled with fluffy, low-value content. In many cases, it feels like content without a purpose.
That’s why the biggest Formula 1 story in May wasn’t even about a Formula 1 race.
Red Bull won the internet (horrible phrase, but accurate) by not only allowing Max Verstappen to compete at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, but by actively supporting and sponsoring the effort.
Now contrast that with what other teams recently asked their drivers to do on social media.
McLaren generated engagement by getting Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to play hide and seek. Ferrari had Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc playing games with ping pong balls and chopsticks.
Which of those approaches created the most engagement and reinforced respect for a world-class driving talent?
The answer is obvious.
Authentic content from one of the toughest endurance races in the world resonated because it aligned perfectly with both the audience and the Red Bull brand itself.
It was credible, exciting and strategically consistent with Red Bull’s long-established extreme sports positioning.
Why does this matter to students on the NMA Business of Motorsport Master’s?
The engagement reports may look excellent in KPI presentations, but this increasingly banal, boyband-style content raises a bigger question:
Are senior leaders even asking for measures around brand tonality, strategic messaging or differentiation versus rivals?
Because “getting likes” is not a marketing strategy.
This matters for students on the NMA Business of Motorsport Master’s programme. At Master’s level, students are taught to apply critical thinking, align every activity with business objectives, and eliminate tactics that fail to add meaningful value.
Marketing starts to fail when the focus becomes the content itself rather than the purpose behind it.
As someone who runs a motorsport and automotive marketing agency, I would never advise a serious brand to lower itself purely in pursuit of engagement metrics. Our first responsibility is always to understand the client’s business goals before creating any content strategy.
The objective should never simply be: “Get more likes.”
It should be: “How does this activity strengthen the brand, grow the audience in the right way, or ultimately help sell more products?”
When Business of Motorsport students move into senior leadership roles, they will be equipped to ask the difficult but necessary questions — ensuring marketing budgets are not wasted chasing meaningless vanity metrics.
Imagine if McLaren had taken the Red Bull approach and entered Norris and Piastri into one of its LMGT3 cars during the Silverstone European Le Mans Series last year.
Two Formula 1 title protagonists sharing a car.
Bringing first-time fans to a full day of endurance racing at Silverstone.
Think about the possibilities:
The social content.
The authenticity.
The intrigue.
The genuine media interest.
That is compelling storytelling rooted in real motorsport culture.
And it certainly beats asking drivers to hide in cupboards for clicks.
Focus on the message, not the likes.
Motorsport is entertainment. Motorsport is a sport. But motorsport is also a business.
That is exactly why our Master’s course continues to produce talented graduates capable of thinking strategically — not simply tactically.
Written by James Bailey
Business of Motorsport Tutor
James Bailey is a tutor for the National Motorsport Academy Business of Motorsport Master’s courses. He is also a director of PitBox91 Communications, a marketing agency that has delivered measurable results for brands such as Dunlop, Kawasaki, Autosport International, Goodyear, Revolution Race Cars and Motorsport Network.
