[Edit]Maybe the contracts are written that way, but I don't think the assertion as such is necessarily correct [/edit], and it's the same fallacy as the music industry committed. Study after study has come to the conclusion that people who illegally download stuff also spend more on music than the average person. Which is only to be expected because people who download are obviously interested in music, and if they can download stuff in addition to what they can purchase, it keeps them interested. And as the success of iTunes and other online shops has shown, people are willing to buy if the offer is somewhat reasonable.
iTunes just about breaks even, and that's a big fail given the lock Apple has on users and the marketing budget they spunk.
People who regularly download illegally spend more on music, yes. People who might decide to become involved in a paid service may not if their irregular need for content is met by a free provider. I don't actually think that music and F1 have much crossover in this regard anyway, but even for music you can't make a cast iron case for open content driving sales. The balance of free to paid has to be managed very carefully for it to work, and nobody is really on top of it. And that's not for want of trying.
Wel, apart from me, obviously
In the same way, if I am able to watch F1 footage on Youtube (historic stuff, recent controversial events, comparisons between cars/drivers), why would that make me not watch a race on TV? On the contrary, it makes me more knowledgeable and more interested. I can then discuss this stuff on BBs, again involving myself more, and therefore more likely to watch.
That's pretty much why F1 and music don't stack up from a free content perspective. Talking about illegal downloads rather than streaming, if I can obtain all of an act's recorded music for free, where's the incentive to buy it?
Beyond a desire to own a collection, which you can't actually do with digital stuff anyway, you only have usage rights.
Unless you transfer them to a trust, which may offer up some comedic court cases soon.