15 years ago there wasn’t a single US race in Formula 1, now there are three. The drivers are happy about this positive development in the States, where the Las Vegas Grand Prix is taking place this weekend.
This weekend Formula 1 will return to Las Vegas for the first time in 41 years. But while back then it was just a car park, this time the premier class brought out the big guns.
While the Caesars Palace Grand Prix Circuit remained a marginal note in the history books of the premier class with only two races held there, the new Las Vegas Grand Prix is to be developed into one of the absolute flagship events of Formula 1.
A certainly brave step, because after the races in Austin (on the calendar since 2012) and Miami (since 2022), Las Vegas is already the third US race on the calendar. Formula 1 had previously found it difficult to even hold a race in the USA for years.
After the Grand Prix in Indianapolis disappeared from the calendar after the 2007 season, no race at all took place in the United States until the Austin premiere five years later. But since then Formula 1 has experienced enormous growth in the USA.
Lewis Hamilton took part in the last Indianapolis race in 2007 and explains that the premier class has become much more accessible to fans since then. In the past, every time Formula 1 visited the US, you had to start from the beginning to explain the sport.
Hamilton: More races help Formula 1 in the USA
“When I went to NFL and NBA games and saw how passionate Americans were about sports, I couldn’t understand why they hadn’t yet [Formel-1-]virus that many of us grew up with when we were younger,” Hamilton recalls.
Things are completely different today. “People have simulators, everyone wants to be a driver,” he reports and explains: “I think it’s very helpful to have three races in such a big nation.” Austin is even one of his favorite routes on the calendar.
The race at the Circuit of The Americas is already a “classic” that provides “great racing,” said Hamilton, who emphasized that the Vegas premiere will now also “be in a big spotlight.” And they’re also doing a good job in Miami.
“We have these great cities here with an incredible fan base in each of them, each offering a different atmosphere. I’ve always been of the opinion that we need more than one race here,” reveals the Mercedes driver.
“People always complained about having to get up at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning to watch a Grand Prix [in Europa] to see,” said Hamilton. That’s why it’s good to now have more races in more comfortable time zones for the American population.
The record world champion does not believe that three races in the USA are too many – on the contrary. He emphasizes that Formula 1 can still “grow” in the United States. The reigning champion Max Verstappen sees it very similarly.
Leclerc on Formula 1 races in the USA: Nobody used to recognize us
For him it is “pretty normal that we have two or three races in the USA,” emphasizes the Dutchman and explains: “It’s a huge country, even if you compare it to the European continent and all the races we have there have.”
“As far as Miami is concerned, I think it has more to do with the area and the surroundings than the track. The track itself is okay, but not my favorite,” he admits.
However, Austin is a “great route” and he is now also looking forward to Las Vegas.
Verstappen himself was on the track in Austin for the first time in 2014, when he was still a test driver. He remembers: “A few years ago you could drive back to the hotel within 20, 25 minutes, […] whereas now it takes 40, 45 minutes to drive back to the hotel.”
“There are [inzwischen] “So many fans in the city,” reports the Dutchman, and Charles Leclerc, who drove in Austin for the first time as a test pilot in 2017, also confirms: “In Austin we were able to walk around and no one recognized us. Now it’s a little more difficult.”
Formula 1 is currently growing “everywhere,” said Leclerc, but in the USA it is most noticeable, at least for the drivers. McLaren boss Zak Brown is even of the opinion that the USA could do with a fourth race, “but I think the Formula 1 calendar can’t do it,” he emphasizes.
Are the USA races causing a lack of space on the Formula 1 calendar?
Because it’s already bursting at the seams in 2024 with 24 races planned.
“I would still like to see us in India, in South Africa and another race in Asia etc., so I don’t think we need a fourth race here,” Brown explains.
In any case, in addition to the three US races, there are also races in Canada, Mexico and Brazil, which is why Formula 1 is well positioned in America, says Brown. And Daniel Ricciardo hopes that the premier class will continue to hold on to the race in Austin.
The Grands Prix in Miami and Las Vegas are the new “babies” of Liberty Media. But according to Ricciardo, Austin still deserves a place on the calendar. “I feel like it built the identity of the American Grand Prix,” he explains.
Everything there feels “very American,” which makes the race “special.” Ricciardo explains that he also appreciates the proximity to the city. “We can all stay overnight in the city center and experience a little of the city’s culture,” he emphasizes.
This is different than at some other racetracks, “where we spend the night in motorhomes in a paddock and don’t really see anything,” said Ricciardo. You shouldn’t have this problem at the new race in Las Vegas either…