Only the badly faked Miami trackside marina looks odd on Formula 1’s latest glossy product.
The images of stranded boats on the floor painted sea blue caused some mockery before the Grand Prix premiere in Florida, which is intended to serve as a milestone for the racing series in the promised US market. Amid the unmistakable boom of Formula 1 in the States, comparisons are already being drawn to the Super Bowl, which was celebrated in 2020 at Hard Rock Stadium right next door. “It’s exciting to see that Formula 1 is getting bigger and bigger in the USA,” said world champion Max Verstappen before his Miami debut.
The business with the horsepower spectacle is booming in the USA like never before. Miami is the second US location after Austin on the racing calendar. Next year there will even be a third Grand Prix in Las Vegas in the land of opportunity. The ratings for Formula 1 on US television have increased significantly, and the demand for tickets was huge in Austin.
Great interest in Formula 1
The tills are ringing in Miami too. “I’ve never seen a race where there was so much demand from sponsors and so much interest from celebrity guests,” said McLaren boss Zak Brown, who can look back on 20 years in motorsport. “It feels like the Super Bowl to me, the biggest event of the year,” said the 50-year-old American.
Nobody would have drawn comparisons with American football in most of the previous Formula 1 guest appearances in the USA. For many years, chief marketer Bernie Ecclestone tried in vain to win a larger US audience for the sport, which was shaped in Europe. The two races in the parking lot of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas were a fiasco. When Formula 1 was in Phoenix, an ostrich race that was held in the city at the same time is said to have attracted more spectators.
The scandal in Indianapolis 2005 was also very bad publicity. Only six drivers around Michael Schumacher started because the rest were afraid of bursting tires because of the steep curve.
US fan base is growing
Miami is already the eleventh Formula 1 host in the USA. The fan base has grown enormously recently. “In the final phase of the Bernie Ecclestone era, important decisions were not made. Digitization was missed and the communication bridge to the next generation was cut,” said industry expert Lars Stegelmann, Head of Marketing at Motorsport Network, the “German Press Agency”. Formula 1 has now escaped this impasse.
The successful PR strategy of the American Formula 1 owner Liberty Media, the use of social networks and the increased show factor around the races appeal to spoiled US sports fans. The most important driver for the new enthusiasm is probably the Netflix series “Drive to survive”. With its dramatic narrative style and behind-the-scenes look, the streaming hit fully meets the taste of a younger audience.
“With the series, Formula 1 produces and conveys stories, communicates with a new target group and thus also overlaps with a large number of fans,” said Stegelmann.
This has not escaped the attention of Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess. “Formula 1 is developing extremely positively worldwide. Netflix has led to a significant increase in the number of followers in the USA,” said Diess at the beginning of the week. This is one of the reasons why the group has agreed that the subsidiaries Porsche and Audi can push ahead with their plans for entering Formula 1 in 2026.
Andretti wants a Formula 1 team
The US racing team operator Michael Andretti is also very interested in a place on the starting grid. The son of former world champion Mario Andretti failed to take over the Sauber team last year and now wants to start his own team in Formula 1 in 2024. “Money is not a problem,” assured the 59-year-old.
An application for a starting license has already been submitted to the world association Fia. However, the current ten teams are still slowing down, because each additional competitor would reduce the amount of the others’ share of the income from the racing series. In any case, Mick Schumacher’s employer Haas already has a team from the USA.
Formula 1, on the other hand, has not seen a regular driver from the States for a long time. Most recently, Alexander Rossi followed in 2015 for five races in the Marussia. Before that, Scott Speed was equally unsuccessful in his 28 grands prix for Toro Rosso, despite the illustrious name. The young racer who replaced Speed in 2007 did far better. Sebastian Vettel has been world champion four times and is starting his 283rd Grand Prix in Miami.