Chandhok sees growth in motorsport "because of Hamilton and Verstappen"

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen's Formula 1 World Championship battle gripped the motorsport world in 2021. By the time the sport reached the finale in Abu Dhabi, fans and participants from other sports started to weigh in on the debate. As a result of this, Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok believes the title fight has left a legacy that will fuel the growth of motorsport at all levels. 

It was a story even Hollywood wouldn't have been able to write: the whole 22-race World Championship went down until the final lap of the season and beyond given Mercedes protest against the FIA. Chandhok, who worked with Sky Sports throughout the 2021 season, loved that the battle for racing’s top crown went all the way to a final-lap shootout last season.

The viewing numbers for Formula 1 went through the roof as the interest reached new levels. In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 hosted the race on free-to-air TV as Formula 1 became the talk of the globe. Chandhok believes the knock-on effect and benefits will be felt by the whole of motorsport, not just Formula 1. 

Benefiting the whole of motorsport

“It has a trickle-down effect to everyone in the sport. It doesn’t matter whether it’s touring cars or Formula 3 - it doesn’t matter what category it is. If people are interested in F1 they suddenly become interested in motor racing. It starts with F1," Chandhok explained to British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) legend Jason Plato and Dave Vitty on their smash-hit motoring podcast Fuelling Around available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube and AudioBoom as well as several other podcast outlets.

"You saw it in the 90s. When you had the era of big Nige[l Mansell] and Damon [Hill], the UK went mad for it and therefore you guys in the touring car world benefited I think. You had big crowds and manufacturers because there’s a hunger for motor racing. I think we’re seeing that because of Lewis and Max."

The World Championship title fight included a cross-generational battle. British driver Lewis Hamilton bid to become the first eight-time World Champion, whilst Max Verstappen hunted for his first World title. Chandhok continued to supply further evidence of the benefits felt around the world. 

"When we went to Austin, the guy from ESPN said their viewership was up by nearly 30%. Our viewership at Sky was double what it was in 2018," Chandhok said on the podcast powered by Adrian Flux, one of the UK’s largest specialist motor insurance brokers.