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.