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Another race in the USA would benefit F1 - Steiner

Published on 13 Oct 2018 13:15
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By: Fergal Walsh

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has said that he believes a second race in the US would benefit Formula 1. It would also help to promote the current US GP, and strengthen the fanbase in America - somewhere that F1 has struggled to really catch on.

A second race in Miami was to be on the cards for 2019, with the proposed circuit being released to quite a negative response, even from current world champion Lewis Hamilton. However it was pushed back a year, and is now unlikely to feature on the calendar at all going forward.

Steiner said: “I think it’s very important for Formula 1 to have a race in the United States. For a long time, until COTA came on the scene, there wasn’t one. I think the fan base is growing. It’s important for Formula 1, but also for us because it’s our home Grand Prix.

"We’re all looking forward to it. It would be fantastic to have a second Formula 1 race in America. I think we will get there. It takes a little bit of time, but it will happen. I think it would accentuate (the race at COTA). There are enough fans, we could get attention for two races. I think it would add to the presence of Formula 1 in the United States and not take anything away from COTA.”

Romain Grosjean also supported the idea of more races in the US but went a step further to say that it needs more than just two: “It’s our home race. To have more recognition in the United States, we need more than one Grand Prix, just because the time zones don’t always work. It’s not easy to follow Formula 1 in America. It’s different from NASCAR or IndyCar. We would probably need another two or three races to get more of an audience there.”

2GRX7

Posts: 108

Yeah, I'd have to agree with RAM on this one! The F-1 fan base is quite different than the base in Europe.

One could basically equate the European F-1 fan base to that of the NASCAR fan base here in America where people are willing to drive several hours in the middle of nowhere to watch a race... [Read more]

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Oct 14 2018 - 19:43

F1 News Romain Grosjean Lewis Hamilton

Replies (7)

Ram Samartha

Posts: 1,172
He's right. In a country the size of the US which is similar to the size of Europe there could easily be 3 or 4 races. Miami, New York, Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Indy among others could be great venues. Unfortunately, most of the races are at 5 or 6 in the morning, so if you really want a bigger US audience then some of the times of the races would have to change. People complain that Liberty is "Americanizing" the sport, but until the majority of the races are broadcast live at 5 or 6 in the morning in the UK and Europe, I say, quit your whinging.
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- Oct 13 2018 - 14:30
- f1dave
  
  Posts: 782
  Non of those places have racetracks. Street circuits may be all right for series like Formula E that rely on people who live nearby but race fans need real tracks not ones that look like a hot wheels track with walls on both sides. There are tracks like Road America, Watkins Glen, Laguna Seca, etc that would be worth watching. This does not apply to America only.
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  Oct 13 2018 - 16:59
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  @RAM Im fine with them moving the races one, two or three hours ahead, to me it seems weird that they dont have the races as evening events though it should be noted that what benefits the American audience would harm the Asian audience, thus it might make sense to retain the times as is.
  
  I agree with Dave that I wont mind another US GP as long as it is hosted on a proper track. I get that they wanna capture an American Monaco, but they wont have that unless they get really lucky. Meanwhile, a race at Laguna Seca or Watkins Glen is a surefire way to make me interested.
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  Oct 13 2018 - 17:35
- Ram Samartha
  
  Posts: 1,172
  The problem with those "racetracks" is that they are out in the middle of nowhere and they don't have any audience capacity. The Glen only has 35k seating capacity. That may have been ok in the old days but COTA can host almost 4 times as many and is still a relatively small venue, because not many people in the US want to go to some field somewhere in Texas to see a race. If they can take the race to a major city and create a decent road track/street circuit, they can get hundreds instead of tens of thousands of fans to attend the race weekends. Not all street circuits are bad, they just need to be designed better to allow for more overtaking and wheel to wheel racing.
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  Oct 14 2018 - 17:48
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Fair points, however I'd dare say such complications are easily fixable. The base is there, just build on it. The U.S know how to make a party out of quite literally anything, surely they could make something out of W.G, a track that isnt all that far from N.Y?
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  Oct 14 2018 - 18:27
2GRX7

Posts: 108
Yeah, I'd have to agree with RAM on this one! The F-1 fan base is quite different than the base in Europe.

One could basically equate the European F-1 fan base to that of the NASCAR fan base here in America where people are willing to drive several hours in the middle of nowhere to watch a race, heck, so many of them (F1, or NASCAR) live in those locations.

The F-1 base in America is still coast-based. The Tracks you've brought up (with Laguna maaaaaybee an exception) are in the middle of nowhere!

There are many large cities in America with parks that have excellent infrastructure for the creation of an F-1 track. The audience is craving such events.

The main road blocks, though, tend to be when public city roads are utilized. That's when those few complainers come out and ruin it for the rest of us, which is why I'd go for the park scenario, a la Albert Park.
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- Oct 14 2018 - 19:43
mcbhargav

Posts: 1,332
F1 is at the moment, too european! Lets see if the newly interested cities to host an F1 race break even.
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- Oct 15 2018 - 03:54