Onus is on Perez to keep the 2023 season alive as Verstappen threatens to drive away with it  Premium

Ever since Verstappen ascended to the top, the sport is witnessing one of the most talented drivers to have ever turned a wheel operate at his absolute best

Formula One is going through a period of growth with sky-high interest and popularity across the globe. It is a remarkable change for a sport that was always on the precipice of crisis in the last decade.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, F1 was one of the first sports to feel the pinch, as the Australian Grand Prix had to be cancelled days before the start of the season. For a sport that rides on hundreds of millions of dollars in running costs and where teams seldom make money, it faced a dire future as the world came to a grinding halt.

But, like every cloud has a silver lining, the time when the world was locked up allowed people to learn more about the sport with the ‘Drive to Survive’ series. It also accelerated a much-needed regulatory change in the form of a budget cap to end the arms race that had plagued the sport for the last few decades.

When racing resumed later that year, there was a massive interest in the season despite Lewis Hamilton cruising to his seventh world title as he equalled Michael Schumacher’s record.

The shot in the arm came the following year when the title fight between Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen went down to the wire. The controversy surrounding how the title race was decided on the last lap of the final race in Abu Dhabi only ratcheted up the interest level as the sport crowned a new champion.

Ever since Verstappen ascended to the top, the sport is witnessing one of the most talented drivers to have ever turned a wheel operate at his absolute best.

While watching great masters of sport do their thing at their peak is exciting, the lack of a strong challenger can damage the sport as the buzz could quickly dwindle if results become easily predictable.