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Booming Business of F1 Explored in Documentary Airing Ahead of Las Vegas Grand Prix 

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen races during the 2023 United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 22, 2023. (AFP)
Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen races during the 2023 United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 22, 2023. (AFP)
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Booming Business of F1 Explored in Documentary Airing Ahead of Las Vegas Grand Prix 

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen races during the 2023 United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 22, 2023. (AFP)
Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen races during the 2023 United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 22, 2023. (AFP)

Formula One fanatics will get more behind-the-scenes access to the global motorsports series through a new CNBC documentary that explores the business aspects of the highest form of racing in the world.

The documentary "Inside Track: The Business of Formula 1" will debut Nov. 16 on CNBC ahead of the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Las Vegas race is a third stop in the United States this season as F1 has expanded through North America behind a burst of popularity sparked by Netflix’s own docudrama on the series.

While the "Drive To Survive" series on Netflix focuses on the competitors and the drama of F1, the CNBC one-hour documentary will analyze the finances, revenue, and expansion of the series, as well as the role of sponsors.

CNBC anchor and documentary host Sara Eisen said the program is a "true passion project for me."

"I was initially drawn to F1 because my two young children love the sport, but once we started watching the races together, I realized there was something undeniably fascinating from a business perspective that demanded a full exploration of the sport as it reaches new heights in America," Eisen said.

She said the program will explore how the business of F1 "stands firmly at the intersection of sports, technology and culture."

Eisen will take a closer look at attendance, viewership, and market value, as well as next month’s Las Vegas race that is being promoted by F1. Eisen reports from four different F1 venues and had access to Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, who discusses the series’ growth since Liberty took over the commercial rights in 2017.

Eisen also interviewed F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, as well as team leaders from Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Haas, and drivers Lewis Hamilton, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg. She delves into engineering, revenue sharing agreements and Red Bull’s recent domination and its effect on competition and viewership.

The program also examines the fan experience with a look at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which is expected to be the most expensive event for spectators on this year’s F1 schedule. Eisen also interviews F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff with a focus on female drivers.

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Entertainment

British Actor Maggie Smith Dies Aged 89

Actress Dame Maggie Smith arrives at the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of the film, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", at Leicester Square, London February 17, 2015. (Reuters)
Actress Dame Maggie Smith arrives at the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of the film, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", at Leicester Square, London February 17, 2015. (Reuters)
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British Actor Maggie Smith Dies Aged 89

Actress Dame Maggie Smith arrives at the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of the film, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", at Leicester Square, London February 17, 2015. (Reuters)
Actress Dame Maggie Smith arrives at the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of the film, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", at Leicester Square, London February 17, 2015. (Reuters)

Britain's Maggie Smith, one of the most acclaimed actors of her generation with a career ranging from Shakespeare to Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died aged 89, her family said on Friday.

Smith was one of a select few to win the treble of an Oscar, Emmy and Tony during seven decades on stage and screen, becoming a star known for her sharp intelligence and waspish wit.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Smith "introduced us to new worlds with the countless stories she acted over her long career".

"She was beloved by so many for her great talent, becoming a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come," he said.

After starting on stage in the 1950s, Smith became a fixture at Britain's new National Theatre in the 1960s, working alongside Laurence Olivier, before winning her first Oscar at the end of the decade.

But for many younger fans in the 21st century, she was best-known as Professor McGonagall in all seven "Harry Potter" movies, and the Dowager Countess in the hit TV series "Downton Abbey," a role that seemed tailor-made for an actor known for purse-lipped asides and malicious cracks.

She died in hospital in London early on Friday, her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said.

"An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end," they said in a statement.

Smith's first Academy Award nomination was for her turn playing Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier's "Othello" in 1965, before winning the Oscar for her role as an Edinburgh schoolmistress in 1969's "“The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."

She won her second Oscar for her supporting role in the 1978 comedy "“California Suite".

Other critically acclaimed roles included Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's “"The Importance of Being Earnest" on the West End stage, a 92-year-old bitterly fighting senility in Edward Albee's play "“Three Tall Women," and her part in 2001 black comedy movie "Gosford Park."

In 1990 Smith was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and became a Dame.