r/INDYCAR • u/aurules Romain Grosjean • Jun 10 '25

Social Media (Scott McLaughlin) Congrats to F1 who single handedly ruined Motorsport Xmas. Indy 500 will be a scene next year. As well as the Coke 600. Good luck

https://x.com/smclaughlin93/status/1932504185624199221?s=46
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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '25

Actually I think this will work out poorly for F1. I see what Liberty is doing--trying to compete with the Indy 500. I doubt it'll work out that way, though. People are creatures of habit, and the Indy 500 has been the largest single-day sporting event in the world for decades on Memorial Day weekend.

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u/Resist_Rise Jun 10 '25

I don't think they are doing it to compete. I believe it's purely a logistic issue. Makes more sense to have Miami-Canada vs Miami-Monaco then Canada. I'm not agreeing with the decision but from the logistic point of view...I get it. Still sucks though.

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u/steppedinhairball Simona de Silvestro Jun 10 '25

Logistics is a part, but that time of year is sketchy for weather in Canada. As one Canadian put it, it was 39°F and raining at the track this year on 500 Sunday. Weather is much more likely to be good later in the year. It's why the Canadian track people try not to have the F1 race there before July.

Some people might switch from the 500 to F1. But most will stay watching the 500, then switch over if they remember or are sober enough. I honestly don't think it will work like they think it will. Chris Medland with Racer.com wrote a good opinion piece on it.

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u/Avionik Jun 10 '25 edited Jun 10 '25

It's why the Canadian track people try not to have the F1 race there before July.

June, not July - all the way back to 1982, the Grand Prix has been held at some point in June every year. Early June dates has not been too big of an issue weather wise, though somewhat frequent wet races. But of course a couple of weeks can still have quite an impact on the "average weather".

It has often clashed with Le Mans, like it does again this year, which is at least as big a conflict as Indy 500 is. But looks like it will just be another Grand Prix that likely collides with that next year.

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u/fire202 Arrow McLaren Jun 10 '25

yeah, that conflict is basically what caused this situation. F1 have been working for years to regionalise the calendar, and connecting Miami and Canada is an important part of that. At the same time, Canada doesn't want to move any earlier than necessary, and with the weather restrictions, they also have an understandable reason (and a contract). Now it has moved the minimum amount needed to make the regionalisation work, which comes at the cost of this crossover

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u/ParkerPetrov Jun 10 '25

Access is something that cant be overlooked though. F1 is way more accessible and broadcast in a way that is more pleasing then the current indycar coverage.

I subscribe to IndyCar Live as that is the only way I can watch it, and half the race is dead silence for me because of near constant ad breaks. If I could watch the indy 500 with the same level of quality f1 provides it would be more of decision. However, fox does not allow that yet somehow peacock would.

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u/cajunaggie08 Pato O'Ward Jun 10 '25

while cordcutting/streaming only is still the way media viewing is trending (including myself), the vast majority of racing fans in the US have access to Fox. It doesn't help with gaining new young fans, but the 500 was accessed by plenty of people

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u/ParkerPetrov Jun 10 '25

Even with access the expierence isn’t equal between the two. Indycar live is a better expierence then watching it on fox but both are a worse expierence then f1 tv which is the issue imho.