The 2022 United States Grand Prix breaks record for most attended race this year having 200,000 more than 2018
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The United States has had a massive increase in F1 fans
Formula 1 has always eyed the United States as a potentially significant market. The sport had previously struggled to gain its foothold compared to its American rivals, NASCAR and IndyCar which dominate US viewership. Over the years F1 has held races in the US at a variety of circuits, from renowned speedways in Indiana and Daytona to street circuits in Miami and even in a car parking lot in Las Vegas. All in a bid to gain the favor of American viewers.
Despite such efforts, the pinnacle of motorsport has had a hard time in the past with several hiccups along the way even leading to the sport having no races in the US. The 2005 United States Grand Prix serves as the elephant of the room for what damaged the image of Formula 1 in the eyes of Americans for years, with the country not holding a race between 2007-2011 due to this fiasco.
Things took a turn in 2016, when an American company, Liberty Media acquired Formula 1 for $4.4 billion. At the time of the takeover, the sport was witnessing a decline in viewership of 40% in just 8 years. Liberty Media aimed at turning this around with a new strategy where the emphasis was on attracting new, younger audiences while focusing on the United States as a key market for growth.
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70% of United States Grand Prix attendees in 2021 were attending their first ever F1 Grand Prix
As the sport shifted its focus on America, we saw the start of an F1 Docuseries, “Drive to Survive” on Netflix released in 2019. This series was extremely successful at attracting younger audiences towards the sport, making it one of the most popular Netflix shows in the United States. This opened the door for Liberty Media to expand the sport, signing deals with Miami and Las Vegas for holding races from 2022 and 2023 respectively.
The success in gaining new fans is clear. Looking at the figures of attendance at the Circuit of the Americas for the 2022 US grand prix, we see a 200,000-person increase over 2018, with a whopping 440,000 fans attending the 3-day weekend at Austin, making it the most attended race this season – a signal that the efforts put in the US market are bearing fruit. The numbers also being a 40,000 increase over 2021.
F1 is ready to keep growing in the United States
The 2021 race had 70% of its 400,000 attendees witnessing a Grand Prix for the first time in their lives. An indication of the growing popularity of the sport. F1 currently has one American-owned team on the grid, the Haas F1 team. This has certainly helped the sport’s prospects in attracting new crowds, with the interest of Andretti Autosport to join the grid as the second American team.
As we can see, the position of F1 in the United States in 2022 is nothing like it used to be decades or even a couple of years ago. The sport has managed to solidify its place in America. With Two street races in two iconic cities, Las Vegas and Miami, Formula One is the talk of the town, the viewership increases being just a sign of what’s more to come.
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