WEC star Menezes: 'That's what Americanised television has done to F1'

Although for most motorsport fans the focus is on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit is hosting the third round of the World Endurance Championship (WEC). Unlike Formula 1, WEC cannot count on a huge influx of spectators (anymore). Unjustified: "Formula 1 is more of a show, WEC is enthusiasm for cars."

Gustavo Menezes, Peugeot factory driver, slides forward in his seat, in his team's hot hospitality room. "This is the most prestigious sports car championship in the world. The most competitive one in the world. We are in the golden era of sports car racing. There is going to be four, five years of peak, with quality manufacturers," said the enthusiastic American in conversation with GPblog, before listing: "Porsche, Toyota, Peugeot, Ferrari has joined, Lamborghini is coming. That’s three times what we had before."

WEC wants to chase F1

Yet WEC cannot yet count on the same attendance as Formula 1. According to Menezes, there are several reasons for this. He names the most important: "Netflix changed Formula 1 completely. Obviously, the main races in Europe always had a big fanbase. But America, they could only get half of the audience, while bringing in Taylor Swift, Kanye West. And today, the American races are some of biggest live audiences in history. That's what Americanised television has done to F1."

"My friends have never watched a Formula one race in their life and suddenly they are buying tickets for Formula one races. They don’t care about Formula one. But they know everything about it, but it is the characters. Here it is the manufacturers. Verstappen won Spa, for an example. You know, we have 60 cars all with three drivers, that is 180 drivers. It is not so easy to follow in that aspect. So, it’s more manufacture racing. Formula one is more a show, this is pure car enthusiasm," said Menezes.

A Netflix show of its own?

The American expects a huge increase in interest in WEC in the near future. Having its own Netflix show for the championship could be an extra push: "I think it would help. But at the end of the day, the entries coming in, it starts to migrate people. It will take time. We will only see it go up now. It’s only the beginning, the sweet introduction. The taste of what it is going to like. Next year, there will be over 20 hypercars. It will be amazing. People will tell others how amazing it was, and they bring new people."

At the WEC, that new class of hypercars stands out, which Peugeot has been competing in since the middle of last season. The French team is still in a learning phase, but its ultimate goal is clear: to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. "Being 100 percent honest, I don’t think we are there today. I think: we will get there. We have a goal, to win. And hopefully it will be Le Mans. That is the main objective for every program in this championship at the moment. I can’t say whether that will be today or tomorrow. I know the plan is the future."