Formula One’s momentum in America right now feels unstoppable, with Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix the next big step forward in a country that for so long felt closed off to Formula One.
Last year’s U.S. Grand Prix saw a record 400,000 crowd and a carnival atmosphere unseen before at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Everyone involved in the event agreed it had felt like a seismic moment in F1’s growing relationship with America.
Miami has joined Austin on the F1 schedule. Next year, a third U.S. event — the Las Vegas Grand Prix featuring the city’s famous Strip — will join in what could become one of F1’s most iconic events.
Cracking America in this way has been a long time coming.
Ahead of F1’s last race at Imola, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said: “Growing up knowing how amazing this sport is and seeing there was still quite a disconnect between the U.S. and the rest of the world in terms of the passion for this sport … it’s really amazing to see we’ve finally cracked it and there’s a growing love in the States.”
It’s hard to downplay how big that disconnect used to feel. F1 legend Michael Schumacher, who shares the record of seven championships with Hamilton, famously used to enjoy holidaying in America as he was so rarely recognised at a time when he was the face of Formula One in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Things couldn’t be more different now. Netflix’s blockbuster “Drive to Survive” series, which premiered in 2019, has been a game-changer, taking a series which was for so long a closed shop and shining a light on the characters, politicking and personal animosity that underpin the drama behind motor racing’s premier championship.
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It also came at a time F1 is seeing the rise of a golden generation of supremely talented youngsters, led by reigning world champion Max Verstappen and 2022 championship leader Charles Leclerc, as well as the hugely popular Lando Norris and…
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