How Austin has gone from lagging ticket sales to potentially breaking F1’s sprint race record

With the post-Covid bounce over, and household budgets ever tighter, Formula 1 race promoters know that sellouts are not guaranteed if they do not go the extra mile.

This is why F1 weekend music concerts and added family entertainment have become an essential element in attracting the big crowds these days to what have become, in effect, motor racing festivals.

But there is one element that is just as important in drawing in spectators – yet is completely outside the control of those selling the tickets. That is the state of the show on track.

So it is perhaps no surprise to hear that, after a 2024 season that began with fears of complete Red Bull dominance but has transformed into an epic title battle, there has been a notable change of trend in fan interest.

And, as Circuit of the Americas executive chairman Bobby Epstein has revealed, even F1’s booming interest in the United States has not been immune to ticket sales being influenced by how competitive things are on Sunday afternoons.

“I think we’re in good shape coming up to this grand prix, although the route to get here was a little bit different this year from a fan standpoint,” explained Epstein about preparations for this month’s USA GP.

“Our ticket sales really took off when Max [Verstappen] stopped winning and it got more competitive.

“So I give a lot of credit to our fan base and the audience. They are tuned in; they are educated and they’re paying attention. And I think it’s exciting to see the season shape up the way it is.”

Epstein says that before McLaren’s resurgence helped ignite the F1 2024 campaign, ticket sales had not looked too great.

“I think it would have been our weakest year in four, since the pandemic,” he admitted.

“But I do think we are seeing a bit of a trend overall in ticket sales for all events. It’s what they call the hockey stick – it [the sales] just goes up at the end.

“It used to be more of a steady climb throughout, whereas we’ve seen it in concerts also where there’s more last minute buying than there used to be.

“It seems to be an across the board thing, not just unique to F1 phenomenon, but it was definitely lagging to prior years.”

The Eminem effect

Whatever the reasons for the change in ticket-buying behaviour, Epstein is predicting another bumper crowd.

Things have been further helped by…