There are many factors that contribute to the ever growing snoozefest that most races are becoming. Liberty’s obsession with promoting the glitz and glamour, not to mention the celebrity and influencer involvement that has ended up leaving a sour taste in many fan’s mouths - not only does it lead to awkward moments that blatantly reveal the fact that said influencers and their staff have no idea what is going on or who anyone is (Yes, in particular the likes of Sir Jackie Stewart being pushed around by security in Miami) but there seems to be more of a focus on the organisation of this than the racing itself. While cheerleaders and celebrities welcome drivers onto the grid in front of giant American flags (a surprising and controversial throwback to the grid girls of yesteryear,) the ever growing size and weight of cars gets more unsuitable to the beautiful historic circuits every year, leading to less overtakes - I am biased as a long time fan, but I can’t neglect to mention the newer technical regulations leading to overall less and less intimidating cars, with the rounder and far less serious rear wing as the main example. Red Bull breaking the cost cap with no real punishment, pit stop minimum timing rules, as well as less pit stops, obviously no refuelling, are all physical aspects to the sport that make some races more of a task than a treat to watch.
The coverage of races seems to be getting worse too - with a complete lack of focus on mid-field battles (a serious lack of appreciation for Yuki Tsunoda’s impressive racecraft) leading fans of drivers to catch up with all of their driver’s action after the race through Twitter, making watching the race at all a complete waste of time. In the grand scheme of things, various traits of the modern camera work also leave fans feeling like the modern broadcasts are lacking in comparison to those even a few years ago - the close up zooms, which exist only to allow for a clearer sight of the sponsors on and behind the car, paired with super wide tracks (giving less scenery for the eye to compare against the car) and the advanced cameras placed so far away, but zoomed in mean that there is a smaller depth of field - all these factors combined give the viewer less of a chance at discerning the speed that the driver is actually travelling at.
obsession with promoting the glitz and glamour
A short view back to the past, when F1 was broadcasting in the 4:3 aspect ratio, meant that the car (the visually static part of the scene) took up less of the frame, allowing a viewer to see more moving surroundings and tricking the eye into believing that this was faster. The modern wide view, continuous automatic focus on the cars, paired with the car’s extremely smooth suspension mean that the cars are easier to track and follow with your eyes, also making them appear slower. Onboard cameras are well stabilised with high frame rates, which is technologically impressive, but leaves footage that pales in comparison to the likes of Senna's Monaco 1989 qualifying lap, which still send shivers down your spine after all this time.
Overall, it seems reducing the size of the cars and reconsidering broadcast style would already have formula 1 on the way back to the sport it once felt like. Things are looking up, as smaller cars are already being considered in the next technical regulation overhaul in 2026 - though I can't be sure that we will be seeing older cameras and less sponsor focus any time soon.