Both have their appeal, but I feel Indy produces better actual racing for the spectator despite being slower and less refined technically. I do watch both.
The whole race was constant jostling for position. There was almost always someone within a car length/width, and zero room for error. From what I've seen on TV and YT, it seemed pretty spot on.
Unfortunately I was also bad at driving with a PS2 controller so I was the danger on the track.
People complain a lot that the TV coverage spends too long on the driver's girlfriends. For me I think it spends too long looking at the cars (from the outside)!
I guess part of this is just that the image quality from onboards is not so sleek. But if it was up to me I think like 60-70% of the airtime would be from onboard.
I think VR would make most people sick as it's a very bumpy view.
I don't think F1 cars have overtaken each other since the 1990's.
If you want to see overtaking, stick to watching the Superbikes instead.
At the 2025 Indy 500 they had Tom Brady driving laps in an Indy car engaged in banter witb the broadcast team up before the race started. Then a US military propaganda moment flying Blackhawk helos over the track to titillate their target audience.
OP had to have been referring to the "peripheral" parts of the race, as it's the only time celebs are trotted out.
They don't have Ja Rule calling the action during F1 races; they aren't getting Ja Rules input when there is a crash.
The celebrities are nowhere to be found during the actual F1 race.