Ex F1 star fears new fans will switch off if Red Bull star dominated
Max Verstappen is now priced at 20/1 to win every remaining race this season as the Red Bull star won his fourth race in a row and sixth of the season from eight races, according to odds via www.CasinoSiteNL.com.
A Red Bull driver has won all eight races this season and the team are 3/1 to continue that dominant form and have a driver on the top of the podium for every race. With Sergio Perez under the weather heading into the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, it might mean another victory for the reigning world champion.
Verstappen is 66/1 to qualify on pole for every race and 5/2 to finish each race on the podium: he has only finished second twice this year, in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, behind Perez.
Speaking to Casino Site NL, Former F1 star and leading pundit, Johnny Herbert, fears Verstappen and Red Bull’s dominance will turn off new fans that started watching F1 after the Netflix series documented the drama of Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s close title battle.
“There is a threat that people might turn off because it is predictable and Red Bull’s domination could be a problem,” Herbert said. “It is not what I want. I want others to have that chance to take it to Verstappen. We are not seeing that. There is always that being predictable could lead people to switch off.
“If you look at the Netflix and America coming on board we have had a couple of years where we have had a fight on our hands. Ferrari were in the mix last year but then it went awry. This year Red Bull are in complete control.”
America now has three different races on the calendar, as the Netflix show “Drive to Survive” blew up during COVID-19, with the popularity of the sport now at the top of the charts.
However, new fans could be turned off pretty quickly because of the dominance of Red Bull and Verstappen.
“I think when you see one guy winning all the time, or one team in the NFL or MLB, there is a tendency for people that are new to the sport to check out,” Sports Analyst Mark Roe said. “If you look at one sport that has taken over the USA of late–European football (soccer)–there have been different teams winning the Champions League and Europa League over the last six years. Plus, you have all the Premier League teams coming over here all the time, the La Liga teams, and I think Formula 1 needs to quickly figure out something to stop this dominance.
“Many of the races have been boring, to be quite honest with you. There is a real chance the momentum is killed before it starts.”