Business of Speed Podcast

Business of Speed
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Business of Speed is the definitive, deep-dive into the money, power, and technology driving modern racing. We don't report the race, we pull back the curtain on the strategy behind it. This show treats global racing as the ultimate laboratory for competitive advantage, focusing on the high-level business decisions that shape the sports. We move past passive sponsorships to explore how teams, brands, and executives leverage racing for technology transfer, cultural relevance, and operational impact. This is where the C-suite goes to learn how to harness velocity into a sustainable business advantage.

  1. Aug 26

    IndyCar’s 3.3 Million Viewers and F1’s Apple Math

    Show Notes In the first live edition of Business of Speed, Vincenzo Landino and Lali Michelsen follow the money behind a busy week in racing. IndyCar’s Freedom 250 averaged 3.282 million viewers on FOX, its largest audience outside the Indianapolis 500 since before the 2008 unification. The broadcast peaked at 3.482 million, while IndyCar’s season average through 15 races is up 32 percent from 2025. The result provides series-long proof that national promotion, accessible broadcast distribution, and a well-produced event can pull casual viewers into the product. INDYCAR confirmed the full audience figures. The conversation moves to Formula 1’s first season on Apple TV. Early third-party estimates show steep audience declines, though the measurement cannot capture Apple’s full strategy across Apple TV, News, Maps, Music, Fitness+, and its hardware. Apple wants subscribers, repeat usage, and a deeper relationship with F1 fans. Formula 1 must still determine whether that system can introduce the sport to Americans who would never buy a racing subscription. Vincenzo and Lali also discuss Formula E’s move to Disney+, the growing subscription burden on fans, and the role live sports play in keeping streaming customers from canceling. Elsewhere, they examine the federal investigation surrounding insurers connected to Mark Walter, TWG’s exposure across five racing properties, Graeme Lowdon’s abrupt departure from Cadillac F1, and Dan Towriss’s decision to appoint Marcin Budkowski during the team’s first season. The episode closes with the economics that keep racing accessible. Sponsors fund far more than logos. They pay for networks, emergency communications, hospitality, staffing, and the infrastructure needed to stage a modern race. The T-Mobile operation behind the Las Vegas Grand Prix shows how much sits beneath the visible product. Highlights Why Markham’s opening problems should not obscure the race’s strong fan access, transit links, paddock experience, and commercial potential.How city circuits turn races into tourism and hospitality products.Why the Freedom 250 gives IndyCar a repeatable marketing case study.The driver recognition problem created by changing liveries, regional sponsors, and number-first promotion.What the investigation surrounding Mark Walter could mean for Cadillac F1, Andretti Global, Spire Motorsports, Wayne Taylor Racing, and Walkinshaw TWG Racing.Why Cadillac’s midseason leadership change raises questions about authority, timing, and internal stability.Where Samba TV’s estimates fall short in measuring F1 audiences on Apple TV.How streaming services use live motorsport to reduce subscriber churn.Why sponsors subsidize the infrastructure and access fans expect at race weekends.How Stefano Domenicali’s comments risk alienating the educated fans who will remain after the current cultural cycle cools.What Formula 1’s Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system means for Mercedes, Audi, Ferrari, Honda, and Red Bull.Timestamps 00:33 Going live and meeting the LinkedIn audience04:07 What is coming on the first Business of Speed Live05:53 Lali’s report from IndyCar’s first Markham weekend10:49 What Markham can teach Formula 1’s Madring project16:34 The next market for premium race hospitality20:10 Inside The Concours Club’s Miami Grand Prix experience24:29 The Freedom 250 delivers 3.282 million viewers30:12 IndyCar’s marketing and driver-recognition problem39:15 TWG, Mark Walter, and the pressure around its racing assets50:21 What Formula 1 cafeterias say about team culture55:07 Why Cadillac replaced Graeme Lowdon midseason1:05:17 Reading F1’s early Apple TV audience data1:13:14 Formula E, Disney+, and subscription fatigue1:25:32 Who pays for the infrastructure behind a race1:34:17 Stefano Domenicali’s growing fan problem1:43:31 Attention spans, sprint races, and the quality of the product1:51:28 Milwaukee, Laguna Seca, and Monza1:53:26 Formula 1’s ADUO engine catch-up system Related Business of Speed Reading “I Thought It Was an F1 Event”Apple’s New F1 OSWhat the Walter Investigation Does to MotorsportsNobody Is Interested in How You Drive Your Car

  2. Aug 22

    Dutch Grand Prix Preview

    Business of Speed Podcast

  3. Aug 7

    Chip Ganassi: Nobody Puts Up Ten Bricks at a Time

    Business of Speed Podcast

    Chip Ganassi: Nobody Puts Up Ten Bricks at a Time

  4. Jul 24

    Hungarian Grand Prix Preivew

    Business of Speed Podcast

  5. Jul 17

    Belgian Grand Prix Preview and the Verstappen Clause

    The day before the Belgian Grand Prix, Vincenzo and Lali talk silly season: the rumor sending Max Verstappen to McLaren, the exit clause that could free him at the summer break, and the domino it triggers across a grid where half the drivers are out of contract. They close with podium picks and split on the winner. Vincenzo backs a Mercedes one-two. Lali takes Max.

  6. Jul 4

    The Godfather of Porsche Racing: Alwin Springer

    Alwin Springer arrived in Toronto in 1965, planning to spend a couple of years before heading to the United States. He never really left racing again. On this episode, Vincenzo and Lali talk with the man Porsche calls the Godfather: a former mechanic, co-founder of Andial, and past President and CEO of Porsche Motorsport North America. Springer explains how three broken Porsche engines became his ticket into Vasek Polak's shop, how a confiscated Rolodex pushed him to start his own business in 1975, and how Andial's 935 won the 1983 24 Hours of Daytona before the 962 took over the decade. He also talks about running Jody Scheckter's Can-Am program in 1973, the seven months his team spent cracking the 962's engine computer with the help of a Silicon Valley engineer, and why he's advised Porsche Motorsport for more than two decades without signing a contract. Ask him about Balance of Performance, and he'll tell you the same thing he's told IMSA for years: he wouldn't take that job for a million dollars.

    The Godfather of Porsche Racing: Alwin Springer

  7. Jul 3

    British GP 2026 Predictions: Can Lewis Hamilton Do It Again?

    Business of Speed Podcast

  8. Jun 27

    Austrian GP 2026 Preview: Is Max Verstappen About to Switch On?

    World Cup fever meets Austrian GP week. Vincenzo and Lali preview the Red Bull Ring: the qualifying knife-edge, the heat and cooling battle, whether Verstappen is about to come alive at home, and the upgrade gap squeezing Alonso. Then two very different podium predictions, with the title fight and Hamilton's resurgence hanging over all of it.

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About

Business of Speed is the definitive, deep-dive into the money, power, and technology driving modern racing. We don't report the race, we pull back the curtain on the strategy behind it. This show treats global racing as the ultimate laboratory for competitive advantage, focusing on the high-level business decisions that shape the sports. We move past passive sponsorships to explore how teams, brands, and executives leverage racing for technology transfer, cultural relevance, and operational impact. This is where the C-suite goes to learn how to harness velocity into a sustainable business advantage.

Information

  • Creator
    Business of Speed
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    ©2025 Business of Speed
  • Show Website
    Business of Speed Podcast