Star Wars creator George Lucas was at the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend, and F1 boss Stefano Domenicali is now using a conversation with the iconic filmmaker to defend why broadcasts do not show cars' battery-charge data during races.

"I had an interesting discussion with George Lucas in Hungary, and he was giving me an incredible view on how the new fans are watching F1," Domenicali said. According to the F1 CEO, Lucas told him new fans have no interest in the process of driving or overtaking, and are instead "fascinated" by the increases in overtakes and action on track. To Domenicali, that was validation for keeping F1 broadcasts simple.

In The Athletic's Prime Tire newsletter, Patrick Iversen concedes the filmmaker may have a point — even as he wrestles with his own reverence for Lucas.

"'Star Wars' is my religion, I think? I could go on for days about my reverence for Lucas and how he sees the world. And … dang it, I think his gut instinct is right here, too... I like the Star War when it does Star War things and makes Star War sounds. And I like when the F1 cars do that fun racing stuff, even when I know, intellectually, there are flaws underneath the hood."

Iversen admits Lucas' view of the sport sits alongside the inevitable purist grumblings — "and agree when the drivers grumble about Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side being written with too much interior subtext and thus coming off rushed on-screen the batteries." His bottom line: "There is not one single type of fan consuming F1 these days."