BREAKING: America for F1? - Here’s how Formula 1’s tectonic plates are moving (1 of 2)

Last weekend‘s Miami Grand Prix was a tremendous success. However, there is more than meets the eye. Celebrities, sold-out grandstands, pants and jewellery were the talk of the weekend. On the surface, these are silly topics. However, they signify tectonic plates move in the F1 world.

BREAKING: America for F1?

F1 in the United States. It’s a topic that I am invested in a little more than most because I studied it for my dissertation. Since my dissertation, which I wrote in 2021, Formula One has exploded in the States and continues to expand.

The Miami Grand Prix, with the Las Vegas Grand Prix scheduled for next year, symbolised the arrival of F1 in the American mainstream. Just shy of 250,000 attended the event over the weekend, which saw the track wrap around the Miami Dolphins American Football stadium.

The Super Bowl got 99.2 million US TV viewers and F1, 2.6 million for context. So there is more room for growth. That said, the Dolphins get 65,000 turn up when they fill the stadium for a football game. So commercially, the stadium owner Stephen Ross won’t be short of a bob or two with F1 rocking up for the next decade.

“Stefano Domenicali will have had a few phone calls on Monday morning”

The thing is, Ross isn’t the only American Football franchise owner in the United States. Others will be looking on. Especially if they can charge hundreds if not thousands for tickets. The success of Las Vagas in 2023 will be defining. Still, it’s safe to say that Stefano Domenicali will have had a few phone calls on Monday morning asking for a chat about F1 coming to a new part of America.

There is no doubt then that F1 is booming in the United States like never before. But the sport needs to be careful. It is equally vital that F1 maintains its global fanbase.

The Americas North, Central and South seem covered by three US races, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Although, you might argue another South American race would be good in a region that has historically embraced F1. Perhaps Chile - we know Santiago welcomed Formula E.

Asia and Oceania is a market that F1, particularly under Bernie Ecclestone, targeted for a while. We still have Singapore, Japan and Australia - races that F1 needs to stay on the calendar. I wonder whether the Asian market may be left behind, despite it being arguably as commercially important as the US. Toto Wolff has made comments suggesting that he feels similarly.”

The gaping hole on the F1 schedule is, of course, Africa”

The gaping hole on the F1 schedule is, of course, Africa. It’s the continent set for the most growth in the next century, and it has an audience interested in F1. South Africa is an obvious destination, but ideally, more races would occur. I can imagine Nigeria being an incredible atmosphere for a race.

Europe is the traditional heartland and will more than likely remain engaged, with drivers, teams and legendary tracks all heralding from that neck of the woods. However, if F1 is going to expand globally, it will need to drop some races in Europe.

“Monaco is under threat as a race”

The most troubling thing here is that Monaco is under threat as a race. The streets of Monte Carlo are part of the fabric of F1; we need a solution to ensure it remains. The two obvious ones are that Monaco pays more than the discounted fee that it currently does for a Grand Prix (it's the only one that doesn't) or widens the track to allow better racing. Although, the latter is a logistical nightmare. You could make the cars smaller and lighter, akin to the early 2000s. Yet that doesn’t seem likely with heavy hybrid power units and chassis the size of boats the order of the decade.

As F1’s success continues, the decisions made by Liberty Media will become ever-pertinent. We keep seeing long, multi-year contracts with countries. Perhaps, the best decision is to have core races in each continent that remain on the calendar but to rotate all of these other brilliant races year by year.

This would keep things exciting and engaging, balancing F1’s value without over-saturating the audience with too much of a good thing.

Let me know what races you think should stay on the calendar every season.

Part 2 coming soon.

4 Reasons to Watch Formula E

Since its birth in 2014, Formula E has grown into a fully-fledged sport on the world stage. I spoke recently about the way in which Formula E has been successful in engaging the spectators in a new and more effective way. Some have dismissed the all-electric motorsport - not everyone will enjoy everything. However, a growing number of sports fans are embracing Formula E for multiple rationales. Here are four reasons that you should join these people and explore what Formula E has to offer.

It is easy to watch (in a lot of places):

The past decade or so has seen many sports heading from free-to-view to pay-TV. There is a lot of money to made in sport, not least in television money. Unfortunately, this transition has determined for many people what sports they can watch and how they can watch it. For Formula E fans, this is less of a problem as things stand. 

Some TV networks do charge their audience to view Formula E. However, e-Prix are streamed on social media sites, such as YouTube, making it is free to watch in most territories - especially if you have a VPN. Airing the sport on social media opens up the options for audiences to tune in, making it easier to watch a race on the go without the need to applications that you don’t already have and know. 

What is more, is that Formula E races are easier to attend. They are in a city, qualifying and the race occur on the same day, and the prices won’t exactly break the bank - an issue with attending races from other categories. Formula E have created not just a racing series, but an event in which the whole family can have fun, learn and enjoy racing affordably. 

Close racing:

In the final qualifying of the 2019/20 Formula E season, twenty-three of the twenty 24 drivers were separated by less than a second. During this season, eight Drivers from six teams won during the eleven rounds of the season. Such statistics epitomise the highly competitive nature of Formula E as a racing series.

Formula E saves costs by nature of all chassis and batteries being equal up and down the grid. As a result, there is no gulf in performance between teams due to contracting funds. Less predictable racing keeps us guessing, therefore, coming back for more. It also means that the actions of the driver have a greater weighting - mistakes are punished, as are moments of brilliance be rewarded. So the Drivers Championship means that little bit more - after all, they are the heroes that we come to see.

You can affect the race:

Formula E is just as much about those watching as those in the cockpit. Naturally then, spectators are involved in the race. With the innovative ‘fan boost’, those drivers most mentioned on social media gain extra power for a period during the race. 

In motorsport fans sometimes struggle to see the human below the helmet. Fan Boost encourages the drivers and the fans to engage with one another, making it a more accessible sport of which to be a part.

We, as the fans, feel a part of our driver’s journey, while social media will see an increase in Formula E activity during race weeks. Everyone wins - but if you get involved, your driver might just win more often.

Formula E is the future:

As an all-electric sport, Formula E uses the technology that we will all move towards in the coming years. The exciting thing about motorsport is that teams are always searching for performance, and with that comes innovation. The technology that comes to the track will eventually be on your road car if it is successful. So when you watch an e-Prix, you see into the future. Cool? I thought so too. 

So there are your four reasons to start watching Formula E. As a competitive, interactive and accessible racing series that looks into the future, you might as well watch it, or risk being overtaken. 

Last year, there was a big discussion between two of my flatmates - Formula E: is it worth watching? 

One of my flatmates, a fan of Formula One, Cricket and criticising VAR in Football, isn’t excited by Formula E. To him, it just seemed fake compared to Formula One. 

My other flatmate enjoys almost all sports. Formula E is no exception. He has taken to watching e-Prix with his brothers or friends.

These are two contrasting attitudes towards Formula E. You are always going to find those who are happy with how things are, but others are open to what is next. There are few certainties in life. One, though, is that change will always come. If that is the case, you might as well embrace it.