33 Formula 1 Gains Traction

By: Cosme Lozano Staff Writer

“It’s lights out and away we go!” is a phrase that is becoming quite familiar for Americans across the country. Over the span of the last few years, America has been bit by the racing bug. With the events of COVID-19 shutting down large parts of the world, many major sports have been operating at half or completely empty capacities. As we get closer to 2022, sports appear to be approaching full strength once again.

Americans and the sports world alike celebrated this recently, at the United States Grand Prix in Formula One (F1). With nearly 380,000 people in attendance, Americans showed everyone that other forms of racing can thrive in this country, besides NASCAR or IndyCar.

However, it wasn't always like this. Formula One has a long and confusing history in America, which goes all the way back to 1950. Americans would have mild interest in Formula One throughout the mid twentieth century. It saw new highs in the 70s and 80s, but the interest created could never stay.

This spilled over into the 90s, where the sport would not visit America again after the 1991 season. Racing action would return in 2005 at the Indianapolis speedway, but this Grand Prix would be a major stain on an already dirty resume for racing in America. The track would be taken off the calendar after the 2008 season. In 2010, the United States and the city of Austin were awarded with a ten-year contract to host Formula One races again. All US Grand Prix’s would take place at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). This track first saw racing in 2012 and has seen some slight face lifts over the years. For a majority of its history, the average fan attendance has fluctuated from 190,000-250,000 attendees. Formula One in America would take a two-year gap after 2019.

The sport made its triumphant return very recently with the US Grand Prix taking place the weekend of October 22-24, 2021. As mentioned earlier, the fan attendance skyrocketed to 380,000 this year, and there is one large reason why.

If you are an avid Netflix browser, the title, “Drive to Survive,” might ring a bell. This is a docuseries that focuses on the drivers and teams involved in F1 racing. It has been very successful at drawing in new audiences, and it has developed some genuine fans of the sport, beyond the TV show. The show focuses on some of the more dramatic aspects of the sport, and with high profile characters like Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, the show has struck gold in North America. It has helped expand the sport’s demographic, which is largely European.

Talking with amateur race car driver Jordan Missig, he said, “I think a lot of F1’s rapid growth in America has been due

US Grand Prix crowd celebrates Max Verstappen's championship win

to the ‘Drive to Survive’ documentary series on Netflix. It gives the average viewer an inside look at what an F1 driver goes through to prepare himself and what happens in the middle of a race. From an average viewer you wouldn’t see that in an average Grand Prix, but now I think it gives viewers an incentive to watch the Grand Prix, to see what it's all about.”

In his online article, writer Jason Dachman says, “Through the first 15 races of 2021, F1 races on ESPN and ESPN2 are averaging 916,000 viewers, up 51% over the entire 2020 season average of 608,000 viewers and 39% higher vs. the average of 660,000 viewers for the first 15 comparable races in 2019.” These numbers might not seem real, but I can assure you that they are.

This situation has been a real joy to watch as a fan of the sport for the last four years. You can almost feel the energy building in the country, and you certainly can see the hype on social media. Christopher Brito writes in his article for CBS, “The sport appears to be resonating with those fans online. Formula One in 2020 had the greatest growth of any professional sporting entity in engagements across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, showing a 99% increase” (Brito, 2021).

The success of the US Grand Prix weekend has prompted some to believe that a third race could be added, in addition to Miami being added in 2022. A third race somewhere on the east coast or Midwest would only help build an already thriving fandom throughout the rest of the country.

Formula One has a long and winding history in the United States. Americans should all enjoy this moment as we might be living through a golden season in the sport. While competitors such as NASCAR or IndyCar are great alternatives, it is hard to deny that Formula One has stolen a lot of the spotlight recently here in this country. But, can you really blame people?

This season's championship battle between Mercedes and Red Bull has not disappointed, and the Drivers’ Championship between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton is shaping up to be an all-time classic. Lewis is fighting for his eighth Drivers’ Championship (seven is the record, for which he has tied Michael Schumacher for), while Max leads him in the series and seeks his first Drivers’ Championship in the sport.

Regardless of the outcome, this has been a special year for the sport in America. Americans have made it clear to Formula One executives that there is a demand for quality racing here. Let’s hope they continue to develop and foster the sport to even greater heights!

Shaquille O'Neal passes the US Grand Prix trophy to Max Verstappen