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Formula 1: Is having TV coverage on ESPN2 a “slap in the face” of F1?

By Dustin Smith

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - APRIL 29: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes WO9 on track during the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix at Baku City Circuit on April 29, 2018 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - APRIL 29: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes WO9 on track during the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix at Baku City Circuit on April 29, 2018 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
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Last Sunday ESPN had the live Formula 1 racing on ESPN2 while a documentary on Ryan Leaf showed on ESPN. Is ESPN in the wrong for this decision?

Formula 1 produces some of the best auto racing in the world, but ESPN chooses to put live races on ESPN2.

Last Sunday’s Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix had many ups and downs depending on who you root for in the sport. Red Bull Racing had their mishap, Romain Grosjean crashed during a safety car period and Valtteri Bottas had a win squandered by a tire puncture. By and large, Baku gave viewers some of the best racing you will see all year. However, ESPN is showing live races on its secondary channel.

I sat down on Sunday to watch the action on the Baku City Circuit, flipped my television to ESPN and when I saw SportsCenter on TV I didn’t think much of it and flipped to ESPN2. Once the race was five or six laps in I decided to see what ESPN had on that was more important than a live Formula 1 race. SportsCenter was wrapping up its flagship program before E:60’s showing of a Ryan Leaf documentary.

Ryan Leaf, for those who don’t know, is a former NFL player whose career dwindled due to a life of crime. ESPN felt the need to show this during the same time of the live Formula 1 race on Sunday morning. They chose to air a show about a person who had the tools to be successful and chose theft and drugs over his sport. The decision was made to air a show on ESPN about a player who has been called the “third biggest bust in NFL Draft history” over a live Formula 1 race. Unbelievable.

This was when it hit me.  ESPN determined their programming was better off showing a documentary of a failed football player over live Formula 1 racing. For many, this may not be a huge deal. I would like to think for myself and other American Formula 1 fans that it is a big deal. Formula 1 is not nearly as big in the United States as it should be.

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Living so close to Watkins Glen could be the reason I feel so strongly towards Formula 1. I don’t feel like the sport should be on the secondary channel, especially considering what was being shown instead. There is no excuse for why the shows were not swapped. ESPN could easily have put the Ryan Leaf special on ESPN2.

I may be making a big deal about nothing here, but I feel like Formula 1 was wronged. For a sport trying to include itself more in the States, this is not the way to do it. The next live action for Formula 1 is the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, May 13th. Yet again, it will air on ESPN 2, probably so ESPN can air another story about a criminal who couldn’t handle the spotlight.

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Do you think it’s a slap in the face of Formula 1 for ESPN to show live Formula 1 races on ESPN2 as opposed to ESPN? Does it show that ESPN doesn’t really care about Formula 1?

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