Attention is the scarcest resource, not content.
Shift Happens #3 | Weekly pivots where motorsport collides with tech and culture.
Thank you for being here. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to Idée Fixe, the newsletter for curious minds. I’m Toni Cowan-Brown, a tech and F1 commentator. I’m a former tech executive who has spent the past five years on the floor of way too many F1, FE, and WEC team garages, learning about the business, politics, and technology of motorsports.
⏳ Reading time: 6 minutes
Shift Happens, weekly pivots where motorsport collides with tech and culture. Essentially, a roundup of the headlines in and around motorsport you should be aware of. I’m introducing this alongside my weekly deep dives. I hope you enjoy this new curated format.
The lead lap
Broadcasting sports rights are fascinating me right now. They seem to be happening in a vacuum and with little understanding of how the next generation of fans is actually consuming sports. And there’s an interesting irony unfolding in professional sports: the closer you get to the action, the less you’re allowed to share. As a commentator and creator in F1, I’ve been vocal about the fact that the media accreditation is the most restrictive accreditation and pass - especially for social media creators. We are seeing the same in tennis, and then there is the NBA at the complete other end of the spectrum. I’ll be doing a deep dive into this topic later this week, but in the meantime, here are my ‘back of the napkin’ notes:
Traditional sports thinking (F1/Tennis):
Highlights = are seen as stolen content that competes with paid broadcasts
If people can see highlights for free, they won’t pay for full games
Every piece of content needs to be controlled and monetised directly
Creators posting clips are basically pirates cutting into revenue
NBA’s Thinking:
Highlights = are seen as free advertising that creates demand for the full product
People who watch highlights become more interested in watching full games/matches/races
The more content circulating, the bigger the ecosystem and fanbase grows
Creators are partners who extend reach beyond what the NBA could do alone
The number of the week
2.2km is how high above sea level the Autódrome Hermanos Rodríguez circuit sits. F1statguru put this into perspective for us by explaining that it’s the equivalent of stacking three Burj Khalifa size buildings one on top of each other.
Three stories that need to be on your radar
Fury over unseen marshal near-miss at F1’s Mexican GP. A sight you never want to see during any race - let alone one where the cars are going over 300km/h - a marshal (in this case two) crossing a live track and catching a driver by surprise who’s hurling at them. I’m sure we’ll learn more in the coming days, but this is a nice reminder of all the layers that occur during a race weekend and how crucial clear communication is at all times. Link
So will we be seeing Christian Horner back in the Paddock? In the past couple of weeks, rumours and talk about a Horner comeback have surfaced, and to be honest, it’s not too far-fetched to imagine this happening, and soon. It certainly feels like he has unfinished business and probably still some things to prove. One of the most intriguing possibilities is that Horner could be courted by one of F1’s emerging manufacturers or new entrants looking to establish themselves ahead of the 2026 regulation changes. They could benefit enormously from someone with Horner’s championship-winning experience and ability to build teams from the ground up. While the controversies at Red Bull may give some pause, his track record of eight drivers’ championships and six constructors’ titles speaks for itself. I personally don’t see him re-entering the paddock as a team principal; he clearly has ambitions for more. One possibility could be re-entering as a team owner. Horner possesses both the financial resources and the expertise to establish or acquire a team in Formula 2, Formula 3, or another premier feeder series. His eye for young talent - having helped nurture drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen - would be invaluable in creating a new pathway for aspiring F1 drivers. Link
Lando Norris was booed in Mexico this past weekend. And I’ve witnessed, more times than not, Max Verstappen being booed on the podium. I keep seeing this idea that F1 fans today are more toxic than ever before. It’s completely wrong. There isn’t an ounce of truth or even proof that sports fans are more toxic today. There are, however, three reasons why you might think this to be true: When you expand your sample size from, say 100 to 100 million, you’re gonna see more jerks. That’s just math. Social media amplifies, doesn’t create (1), you are seeing and hearing more from people who don’t think, talk and look like you, which makes you uncomfortable (2) and then there is your selective memory. Every generation thinks the previous era was more “respectful” and “pure”. We forget the actual violence, racism, and genuine danger of past sports culture (3). Link
One video worth your time
Second screen viewing is certainly not new, and it’s the practice of using a secondary device, while simultaneously watching content on a primary screen, such as a TV. This phenomenon has impacted the ways movies and TV shows are produced, written and directed because the audience is multitasking, and most likely not looking at the screen constantly. Meaning that things like obvious visual cues are now said out loud as well. And I’ve been wondering how the second screen viewing is impacting non-scripted live events like sports.
One [event] that caught my eye
Back in January, I shared a few bold predictions with Offball about Formula 1 and one of those predictions was that the Vegas GP would become home to the CES of motorpsorts - i.e. a global conference and gathering of key stakeholders in this space. And it certainly looks like this will happen, a few months ago, the Vegas GP announced “The Business Summit” which will take place on the Thursday ahead of the race weekend at the Wynn. The lineup is impressive and the price point is very affordable for such a business conference. I’m incredibly curious to see who the audience in attendance will be and if this is more of a B2B event or if this will also appeal to broader fans, but I have no doubt it will be a great day.
Rights holders, especially Apple with regards to F1 need to think of their agreement as an ACCESS deal. Reframed as access gives Apple a shift in thinking to broaden their content offering and create a community of F1 creators.