Relevant links for this episode:

• Source article on the Vaucher Analytics website
• Sign up for the Return On Racing newsletter

The Cosworth–iRacing partnership announced today is far more than just a feature update for sim racers. 

By integrating Cosworth's Pi Toolbox, the same data analysis software used in professional racing series, iRacing is shifting from being “just a game” to becoming motorsport’s operating system. 

This move could reshape motorsport by 2030 across five dimensions: 

1. Education
2. Professional race team workflows
3. Data monetization
4. Credentialing
5. Sponsorship activation 

The key idea is that iRacing is no longer competing with other sims like ACC or Le Mans Ultimate .

It’s becoming infrastructure for motorsport itself. 

This is the story behind the headlines: how a single partnership might change how engineers train, how teams collaborate, how fans engage, and even how sponsors activate inside racing.

And this could only be the beginning...

Contact the show: [email protected]

Brought to you by the Motorsports Sponsorship Accelerator, the most cutting-edge resource to help you learn how to develop meaningful sponsorship relationships.

To contact Return On Racing, please send an email to [email protected]

Relevant links for this episode:

• Source article on the Vaucher Analytics website
• F1 Global Fan Survey 2025
• Sign up for the Return On Racing newsletter

Among established F1 fans, a common "hot take" is that F1 (the film) is inaccurate and therefore not worth anyone's time.

This is a lazy opinion that risks keeping new fans away from F1, so for anyone truly interested seeing the sport grow, it's alarming such an ice cold take has gotten so much traction.

 In this episode, I break down why the film isn’t about getting every technical detail right; it’s about creating hype, drawing in new fans, and fueling F1's growth engine. 

I cover:

• Why nitpicking the details misses the point
• How the film taps into the same growth playbook as Drive to Survive
• What the 2025 Global Fan Survey tells us about new fans, women, and Gen Z audiences
• The sponsorship goldmine behind the movie
• Where the movie stumbles on safety and representation, and why that matters for F1’s future
• The other real “inaccuracy” worth noting (that has nothing to do with engineering...)

Contact the show: [email protected]

Brought to you by the Motorsports Sponsorship Accelerator, the most cutting-edge resource to help you learn how to develop meaningful sponsorship relationships.

To contact Return On Racing, please send an email to [email protected]

Relevant links for the show:

• The Vaucher Analytics State of Motorsport 2025: IndyCar
• Source article on the Vaucher Analytics website
• Sign up for the Return On Racing newsletter

Rumors are swirling: Red Bull Racing is interested in four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou for a Formula 1 seat alongside Max Verstappen in 2026. 

Some see this as a threat to IndyCar, but I see it as the biggest opportunity the series has had in years. 

In this episode, I lay out why IndyCar, backed by Penske and Fox, should fund Palou’s move to Red Bull, and how everyone could come out richer if it happens: 

• Flip the narrative: Instead of losing Palou, IndyCar gains a global ambassador in the most visible motorsport series in the world.
• The perfect profile: Palou is European, multilingual, and credible at the elite level: the ideal bridge for IndyCar to new audiences.
• The Avengers effect: Palou and Verstappen as teammates is a storyline bigger than any campaign or sponsorship deal could buy.
• Follow the money: Buyouts and settlements cost tens of millions, but the return in exposure, sponsors, and international credibility could be worth hundreds of millions.
• Everyone gets paid: Ganassi, McLaren, Red Bull, IndyCar, and Palou himself all potentially set themselves up to come out ahead.

This isn’t just rumor-watching. It’s out-of-the-box strategy: how IndyCar can turn a potential loss into the boldest marketing investment in its history.

In fact, this could be one of the boldest moves in the history of sports.

Contact the show: [email protected]

Brought to you by the Motorsports Sponsorship Accelerator, the most cutting-edge resource to help you learn how to develop meaningful sponsorship relationships.

To contact Return On Racing, please send an email to [email protected]

Relevant links for this episode:

• Sign up for the Return On Racing newsletter
• Source article on the Vaucher Analytics website
• The Demographic Blind Spot In the Fox Corporation-Penske Entertainment (IndyCar) Transaction
• The $3,000 Helmet: An IndyCar Case Study In Compliance-Driven Cost Inflation

IndyCar is wrapping up its 2025 season, and the fact that a “State of” retrospective can be written in mid-August is itself part of the problems facing the historic series.

The season flashes by, then disappears into a six-month void. On track, the racing delivers. Off track, the structural cracks are getting harder to ignore. 

In this episode, I give my direct thoughts on the key storylines shaping IndyCar’s future: 

• The "Palou Paradox" 
• Fox's big bet 
• Politics & perception 
• Governance under pressure 
• Technical fragility 
• The identity crisis 
• How high is IndyCar's ceiling?

Contact the show: [email protected]

Brought to you by the Motorsports Sponsorship Accelerator, the most cutting-edge resource to help you learn how to develop meaningful sponsorship relationships.

To contact Return On Racing, please send an email to [email protected]

Relevant links for this episode:

• Sign up for the Return On Racing newsletter
• Source article on the Vaucher Analytics website
• The Demographic Blind Spot In the Fox Corporation-Penske Entertainment (IndyCar) Transaction
• The $3,000 Helmet: An IndyCar Case Study In Compliance-Driven Cost Inflation

IndyCar is wrapping up its 2025 season, and the fact that a “State of” retrospective can be written in mid-August is itself part of the problems facing the historic series.

The season flashes by, then disappears into a six-month void. On track, the racing delivers. Off track, the structural cracks are getting harder to ignore. 

In this episode, I give my direct thoughts on the key storylines shaping IndyCar’s future: 

• The "Palou Paradox" 
• Fox's big bet 
• Politics & perception 
• Governance under pressure 
• Technical fragility 
• The identity crisis 
• How high is IndyCar's ceiling?

Contact the show: [email protected]

Brought to you by the Motorsports Sponsorship Accelerator, the most cutting-edge resource to help you learn how to develop meaningful sponsorship relationships.

To contact Return On Racing, please send an email to [email protected]

Link to the source article on the Vaucher Analytics website.

In this episode of Return On Racing, we unpack Fox Corporation’s newly announced one-third stake in Penske Entertainment and what it could mean for IndyCar’s future. 

Topics covered include: 

• Why the current IndyCar audience poses a major challenge to growth
• How the driver lineup and fanbase are misaligned
• What F1 did to attract new fans
• Why expanding the calendar or production won’t matter without audience clarity
• The strategic risk of ignoring demographic trends

We also highlight the key question:

Can Fox and IndyCar define and reach a new generation of fans, or will this investment stall like previous efforts?

Contact the show: [email protected]

Brought to you by the Motorsports Sponsorship Accelerator, the most cutting-edge resource to help you learn how to develop meaningful sponsorship relationships.

To contact Return On Racing, please send an email to [email protected]

Relevant links for this episode:

• Source article on the Vaucher Analytics website
• F1 teams interpreted as football kits

In this episode of Return On Racing, we break down one of the most overlooked revenue and branding opportunities in motorsport: merchandise. 

From Formula 1 to WEC to grassroots teams, most merch is still uninspired, poorly made, and culturally out of touch. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

We lay out why merchandise, when done well, is about identity, storytelling, and strategic leverage. 

This episode of Return On Racing covers:

• Highlights how bootleggers are beating official channels on design
• Examples of teams and drivers who got it right
• How even the smallest teams can hack their way to attention with better merch

If you're part of a racing team, a sponsor, or anyone trying to turn motorsport passion into commercial momentum, this episode is a blueprint.

Contact the show: [email protected]

Brought to you by the Motorsports Sponsorship Accelerator, the most cutting-edge resource to help you learn how to develop meaningful sponsorship relationships.

To contact Return On Racing, please send an email to [email protected]

Relevant links for this episode:

• The source article on the Vaucher Analytics website
• Ron Dennis YouTube interview
• Forever Forward: The Inside Story of McLaren Formula 1, Ben Hunt
• The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 Into the World's Fast-Growing Sport, Joshua Robinson & Jonathan Clegg

In this episode, I explore why Ron Dennis was more than just a team principal; he was Formula 1’s original commercial visionary. 

Topics covered include: 

• How Dennis turned McLaren into a sponsor magnet long before F1 was a global brand
• Why the McLaren Technology Centre was motorsport’s Apple Park, beating Steve Jobs!
• What “The Book of Sponsorship” was, and how it still shapes F1 liveries today
• Why discipline, precision, and even sterile pit lanes were all part of a bigger plan
• How his legacy lives on in modern F1 team branding, operations, and hospitality

If you care about the business of motorsport, this is essential listening.

Contact the show: [email protected]

Brought to you by the Motorsports Sponsorship Accelerator, the most cutting-edge resource to help you learn how to develop meaningful sponsorship relationships.

To contact Return On Racing, please send an email to [email protected]

Relevant links for this episode:

1. Source article on the Vaucher Analytics website
2. Original interview on David Land's YouTube channel
3. Addressing Cost Escalations In IndyCar Via Growth
4. The $3,000 Helmet: An IndyCar Case Study In Compliance-Driven Cost Inflation
5. Platform Wars: What Videogames Can Teach Us About Regulations In the WRC and WEC

In this episode, we unpack Zak Brown’s recent comments about IndyCar’s future and how they align nearly word-for-word with insights Vaucher Analytics published months ago. 

Zak says the balance in IndyCar is off: 75% focus on cost-cutting, only 25% on growth. He wants to flip that.

And we agree.

We break down: 

• Why cost containment alone won’t save IndyCar
• How rising inflation is pressuring team budgets
• Why the real solution lies in revenue growth, fan engagement, and long-term vision

Contact the show: [email protected]

Brought to you by the Motorsports Sponsorship Accelerator, the most cutting-edge resource to help you learn how to develop meaningful sponsorship relationships.

To contact Return On Racing, please send an email to [email protected]

Link to the original article on the Vaucher Analytics website.

Formula 1 is riding a wave of commercial growth, cultural relevance, and global visibility. But underneath the surface lies a set of high-stakes contradictions that could derail the sport’s trajectory if left unresolved.

In this episode of Return on Racing, we dive into the seven most critical strategic tensions shaping F1’s future.

Drawing from the latest Vaucher Analytics insights, we explore what’s at stake for team principals, series executives, OEMs, and sponsors, and why managing these contradictions is now as important as winning on track.

Contact the show: [email protected]

Brought to you by the Motorsports Sponsorship Accelerator, the most cutting-edge resource to help you learn how to develop meaningful sponsorship relationships.

To contact Return On Racing, please send an email to [email protected]