2017 was a monumental year for Formula 1 because it went from being a solely sporting brand to an entertainment brand as well. When American media powerhouse Liberty Media took over F1 that year, it came with a simple goal: “To turn Formula 1 into an entertainment brand and bring it back to the success it deserves.” There isn’t a better example than the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP that could testify to just how much entertainment took precedence over the sport.  With how the season played out—the championship battle coming down to the wire and Max Verstappen clinching it on the final lap—Liberty Media couldn’t have dreamt of a better season. 

While the American owners may have hoped for a 2021 repeat every year thereafter, that’s just not how F1 works. Since then, Red Bull and Verstappen have dominated the sport. But as they rose to the helm of the sport, viewership has steadily declined, forcing Liberty Media to come up with creative solutions, one of which targetted Verstappen in a rather gruesome manner.

Max Verstappen is currently the bane of Liberty Media’s existence

After one of the best seasons F1 has witnessed in recent history, 2022 recorded the highest viewership the sport has ever seen. Because of this, the corporation amassed a whopping year-end revenue of $9 billion. It made sense. The excitement of 2021 compelled audiences to tune in the following season, but Red Bull just didn’t give anyone else any room to shine. With that dominance still going strong, 2023 has seen an even bigger dip in viewership, leaving F1 management to scratch its head. But Liberty Media owner Greg Maffei came up with a solution.

At a recent event where Maffei discussed Verstappen’s dominance over F1, as quoted by Formula Passion, he said, “[Verstappen] is driving what appears to be the fastest car, and he is driving it very well. If he looks at the lines he takes, how aggressive they are, and how he’s able to ride them, it’s truly astounding. And you can see why, statistically, he’s faster than anyone else.” [Translated by Google] That’s old news and, frankly, something every F1 fan (other than the Orange Army) is tired of hearing. So, what was his creative idea to restrict Verstappen?

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Maffei revealed, “Apart from breaking his leg, like Tonya Harding[‘s ex-husband did to Nancy Kerrigan], I don’t know what we can do. But it is a phenomenon.” A few weeks before the 1994 Winter Olympics, figure skater Tonya Harding’s ex-husband hired someone to club her rival Nancy Kerrigan on the knee so she couldn’t compete. As per Maffei, carrying out the same actions on Verstappen is the only way to end his dominance. While his method to stop the two-time champion’s reign is quite gruesome, an F1 mogul suggested a better idea.

“Hope I’m Right”: Despite the Worst 2023 Result, Hamilton Claims to End Verstappen’s Winning Streak by Backing Mercedes’ Strong Suit

Is bringing Verstappen’s weight into the equation a possibility?

F1 mogul Eddie Jordan said on the Formula For Success Podcast: “Max is in an absolute class of his own at the moment, but it doesn’t last forever. It never does.” While the dominance will eventually end, that end doesn’t seem anywhere near. To put into perspective just how dominant the Dutchman has been this season, he won a record-breaking 10th consecutive race last weekend. With that win, he sealed his 12th win of the season, just three short of his 2022 record.

Discussing this dominance, Jordan joked, “Send Max on an extended holiday for about six weeks or six races, and he’d still come back and win [the championship] by four races.” This prompted him to propose the idea of a handicap. Weight is a crucial factor in F1. Just one or two extra kilos here and there can lead to significant time deficits. With this in mind, Jordan explained, “I think that if Max was to win so many races that he maybe should carry three kilos extra for every race he wins just to sort of see if we can even it out.”

Do you think anything can stop Max Verstappen from dominating other than using violence or handicaps?

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