The team principal of Formula 1’s only American squad says the series has chosen the right time to add a third race in the country.
The 2023 F1 calendar, which was published by the FIA last week, includes three rounds in the USA.
A new night race on a street circuit in Las Vegas will join the Miami Grand Prix, which was this year’s addition to the schedule, and the round in Austin, Texas which has been part of the F1 calendar since 2012.
The addition of a third US round comes as the schedule swells to a record 24 races. Steiner says the sport’s popularity has grown enough to sustain the extra events.
“I think obviously 24 races is a lot of races but the demand is there, the fans want to see what we are doing which is the biggest compliment they can give us and we need to work hard to make them happy,” he said. “Three races in America, I think it comes at the right time. The sport is already popular and it’s getting even more so, as we speak, in America.”
F1 has never run more than three rounds in the same country in a single season. This previously happened during the Covid-hit 2020 championship, when Italy held races at Monza, Imola And Mugello.
Three races were also held in America during the 1982 season. These included the last edition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix at its previous venue, Caesar’s Palace. F1 also held its penultimate Long Beach Grand Prix that year, before the series split from the promoter and the race became an IndyCar round. The 1982 season saw the first edition of the Detroit Grand Prix but the race only lasted until 1988 and is also an IndyCar event today.
The other additions to next year’s calendar are the returning Chinese and Qatar grands prix, both of which will take place on permanent circuits. Despite the record number of rounds, Steiner believes F1’s new calendar is sufficiently varied and there is enough interest to sustain three races in America.
“More races are good and each of these races has got their own little thing that stands out, they’re not a copycat of each other,” he said. “I think it’s very good and America is a very big country, and they will not get in the way of each other. Two of the races I already know are very good and I think Las Vegas will put a good show on.”
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2023 F1 season
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