Despite a bit of a rocky time during lock down measures with some iRacing drama, NASCAR has managed to get off to a flying start after a few races have been held successfully – there had been some teething issues, spotters who had been slightly crowded and asked to disperse and broadcasting had the challenge of filling gaps in their schedule with other content. It seems eerie too having a post-race interview with no screaming fans behind the driver and cameras, but so far it seems the formula has been figured out to great success – the next big race in Martinsville is just around the corner, but eyes are now turning to Formula 1 to see if they’re able to continue the strong performance found in NASCAR.
The first eight races in the Formula 1 season are taking place between the start of July and the start of September – the first on July 3rd-5th taking place in Austria. This is set to be an exciting time for fans, not only for the return of F1 racing but also to see some of the changes implemented at the start of the season – the FIA are actively working toward leveling the playing field between the teams to make the entire grid more competitive and the hope was some of these changes would be seen toward the start of the year before the cancellations came through, now many have been adjusted or postponed so all teams have a little more time to prepare.
Much like NASCAR and other sporting events too, there are other challenges to overcome such as those in broadcasting and ensuring there’s content for all the fans watching at home as they’ll be unable to attend the races in person – but this does open the possibility to try new things, perhaps new camera angles on the cars or different content to slot in broadcasting downtime such as the driver content found recently in NASCAR after a driver had to exit the race early and had his Instagram video explaining the situation played on the live broadcast.
This also spells some great news for betting fans as sporting events as a whole are on their way back, something many have missed. There has been a surge in interest in this sector since lock down began and although the Gamstop initiative alongside other measures have tried to slow players from being involved, there are a growing number of sites not on gamstop registered outside of the UK that are still safe for players to use and will cover all of the upcoming sporting events including the full Formula 1 schedule.
The next step is now just for the event to be held – as with NASCAR there may be some initial teething issues to overcome but as this could be the future of spectator sports for the near future there is going to be a little room to improve on – what could be exciting is any successful changes could become a mainstay one we do return to normal, and may offer an exciting change of dynamic.
