How Formula One Finally Hooked America | Next in Sports

Not so long ago it was the circuits of Monaco and Monza that epitomized Formula 1. Its modern ambitions, however, are more Miami. This year, not only will the US have more races than any other country, but with Las Vegas joining the circuit, the balance of power in F1 might be shifting across the Atlantic.
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[@vgrin7307]

Correction: Andretti in '78 was not the first American champion, Phill Hill in '61 was

[@Robboooo28]

I just knew that an American video on F1 would get at least one thing wrong 😂

[@blackmag17]

A person doesn't need to follow F1 to know who the first American to win a championship was, all he had to do was Google it!!!!

[@blakebarone1809]

Jesus. So the guy who is supposed to be the expert thinks Mario Andretti was the first American Driver’s World Champion and said the phrase “Grand Preeze”.

[@BM-yc8eg]

As someone who started watching F1 in the early 2010s, then sort of dropped off during the turbo-hybrid era, coming back to the sport now is very surreal. The amount of media the drivers now have to do - from Netflix, to media appearances, to silly little KZbin challenges - is not something I could've anticipated. As a fan, I admit to enjoying a lot of that. But you can't say that it hasn't somewhat diminished the prestige.

[@harrisonwest4032]

how has it diminished the prestige? isn't fame and attention towards the sport only increasing the prestige around it?

[@BM-yc8eg]

@@harrisonwest4032 Well, those things don't always equate in the sense that many things can be popular, but not prestigious. Bernie kept the sport rarefied. I'm not saying that's a better, way of going about things it's just what it was.

[@randywatson341]

@@BM-yc8egAgree completely. I enjoyed sharing the sport with people who are really into cars and technology. It was a social proof point because if someone is into F1 I can make assumptions that we’d similar in many ways. Now it just feels like a fad. I hope the casual fans find their next circus soon

[@pentu7738]

as someone that started in 2010s you never watched F1

[@BM-yc8eg]

Don't be ridiculous@@pentu7738

[@TracksideViews]

I’m happy to see motorsports on the rise in general. NASCAR has a car running in the LeMans 24 this weekend which is awesome.

[@MrGlockshna]

Like an actual Nascar? Or a Nascar team is also running a LeMans car?

[@romoc0p]

@@MrGlockshna It's heavily modified, but it is an actual stock car and it looks sick. It has added canards, carbon brakes, paddle shifting; I'm not sure what else.

[@Querientje]

@@MrGlockshna actual nascar run by hendrick motorsports

[@sylv_ain]

« drivers of colour” blabla. There’s only in the US where they alway bring everything back to colour. Hamilton has been at the top of the sport for 10 years and he’s black. You know what, I’d like to see more diversity in the NFL too

[@akyhne]

He isn't the only of color though, in F1.

[@dagobert1234321]

Joe Burrow is not black. He’s exciting

[@ClintCook666]

First American that won the championship was Phil Hill. Cmon.

[@PaulWRPerez]

ya that's about as basic as it gets...

[@ArtstradaMagazine]

the critical and ground breaking Circuit of the Americas track in Texas was a HUGE introduction of F1 to America. Game changing. Everyone wanted some after that

[@Turdfergusen382]

Europe is more Rally and F1. US is more Dirt Track and NASCAR.

[@martinhami3]

I've been watching since 97... I'm not enjoying some of the trends I'm seeing. Edit - It's not all bad, there have been some great improvements. They just need to remember the DNA of the sport

[@Kevinschart]

and you know the DNA better than them? get over yourself

[@martinhami3]

@@Kevinschart Why so triggered by my opinion? It is just an opinion, but I'm am far from the only one who feels this sentiment. You disagree - fair enough.

[@accent1666]

What is the "F1 DNA" then? That sounds so vague, you don't even sound like you know what you're talking about.

[@martinhami3]

@@accent1666 ""But all the old classics like Hungary, Silverstone, Zandvoort and Monza they will always be special and I think it's important that we continue to have those in the DNA of F1. " - Lewis Hamiltoin "I don't find that it's the DNA of F1 to do these kind of Sprint races. F1 is about getting the most out of it in qualifying and then having an amazing Sunday," - Max Verstappen "Noise of a Formula One car is part of the DNA of Formula One." Christian Horner, 2013 Indian Grand Prix "Everyone knows Williams’ position on customer cars - we think it goes completely against the DNA of our sport." Claire Williams, 2014 Monaco Grand Prix " Formula One has a DNA and a race like Monza, I guess they’re extremely important." Marco Mattiacci, 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix

[@nutsackmania]

Gotta love the drive to survive fans with insecure defensiveness loaded in both barrels that go out looking for comments that lament some of the racing-for-retards changes that finally made F1 accessible to them.

[@kemosabe8313]

I love how they bring "color" into this... like all Europeans are white?

[@TKTheoKay]

Uh, the term is Grands Prix, not Grand Prixes, and Phil Hill was the first American - and the only American-born - Formula One Drivers Champion, winning the World Championship in 1961 with Scuderia Ferrari, which won the Manufacturers' World Championships, then known as the International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It would be prudent for commissioning editors, editors and producers to ensure that statements are factual and correct.

[@pentu7738]

i miss F1. RIP 1950-2002

[@dagobert1234321]

🤡

[@romoc0p]

COTA helped immensely.

[@aidand6638]

We are undoubtedly going to start seeing a decline in the ‘new’ amount of fans, the hype has died down considerably and unfortunately what this is going to lead to is greed to the point where attending a f1 race is unreachable for a fan and even internally with the preposterous new entry cost for a team raising to 1 billion because nobody wants to have another competitor.

[@samirshah5411]

I live near the Miami track, the F1 labeled coffee Tumbler was $120. Makes NFL an NBA look like a bargain as a fan. I wish the races were more affordable, instead ticket pricing is like monthly rent.

[@randywatson341]

This is what happens when it’s treated as more of a party than a sport.

[@TYAC_TPE_SF-Bay]

The core of any economy is people. I'm glad you include this in the report.

[@VicharB]

F1 has been great, always. Watching since 1994, every single qual and race. Just can't wait to see WilliamsF1 coming back to top 3.

[@sidharthcs2110]

Every team having social media presence really helps

[@Drrolfski]

People who expect that the amount of F1 races in the US will increase significantly in the coming years, as this video is suggesting, should hold their horses and be aware that the DNA and appeal of this sport is actually truly global. Like football, F1 really wants to reach out to fans all over the world. That in itself puts a natural limit to the number of F1 races you can have in the US, even if that is a very attractive market atm. About 24 F1 races a year is widely regarded as the absolute maximum you can have if you have to travel this massive circus all over the world. So adding any new F1 race means axing another race, which is already causing huge problems. No less because of its historic roots. You can't just delete an unprofitable race (Spa) or less exciting race (Monaco) from the calendar and put a US race in its place. Fans and teams simply won't accept that and especially the teams are very powerful in this sport.

[@dutchcod1003]

I think the basis that made it succeed was the 2021 season that was the most insane and close season the past 30 years. It was just really thrilling every race.

[@user-gd9xf9zs9r]

America will never give the same support as fans do in Europe. I've been watching f1 for 40yrs.

[@MrDragon1968]

"Balance of power away from Europe toward the Americas". Rofl! There are around 9-10 races in Europe every year. It will always be the home of F1. F1 has been expanding into different global markets for over 30 years now. The US is just the latest.

[@Timeforspas12]

Not for long though, people kinda dropped this season with Verstappen winning everything and everyonelse playing catch up with his teammate. Oh boring days of dominance, I hate it so much.

[@markvanderknoop131]

I think if there is a American car builder joining helps a lot.

[@thodorosxanthopoulos]

3:05 its a quali and a race each or every other week, thats 4 hours a week at most....

[@BilTheGalacticHero]

I've watched every single F1 race for the last 20+ years. In the past, hardly anyone in the United States knew what F1 was. Since Liberty Media bought Formula One Management and unshackled the sport the awareness in the States has grown massively. Drive to Survive was a HUGE part of that happening. Having Logan Sergeant on the grid now is great but don't expect that to drive a lot of interest. He's a rookie driver for a team that's sadly fallen to the back of the grid and is unlikely to be competitive for several years (and that's being optimistic). That said, don't expect more than three races in the States. Circuit of the Americas in Texas is an amazing track that produces great racing. Miami, not so much. We'll see about Las Vegas but a 10pm race in November could be flirting with disaster due to the low air and track temperatures, especially if a cold snap comes through. Regardless, I'm looking forward to it.

[@sjefhendrickx2257]

Drive to survive is soooo fake and only made that way for the usa! Drama drama drama

[@salkdhfpoahergpoahre1534]

F1 is just the personality du jour

[@TheTororist]

yeah, she didnt drive that f1 car. nice double

[@joelmatthews3453]

At 3:40, what is she talking about, "lots of drivers of colour!?". There's literally only ever been one black driver in F1 as far as I'm aware. Has she only heard of Lewis and now she's a huge F1 "fan".

[@blakebarone1809]

Lolol. Gotta sneak some culture cred in there. That was my favorite bit. One lady says women like F1 because there are lots of women starting to like F1, the other… because all the “drivers of color”. Btw, Pascal Wuhrlein was also black. Lastly, just look at all the bobbing heads of approval whenever somebody uses a woke term. People can give a complete non sequitur of an answer, but as soon as a buzzword is stated, the seals smile and bob their heads. It’s Pavlovian.

[@joelmatthews3453]

@@blakebarone1809 Ah yes, Pascal Wuhrlein is German/Mauritian apparently (thank you google), I wasn't sure if Lewis was the only one. But yeah, you've got to shoehorn in that identity politics somehow so your sycophantic friends can nod along in approval.

[@musicplaylists59]

@@blakebarone1809 you have to remember that Americans are obsessed with dividing people into categories of 'race' so to them anyone who is Mexican, south American, Asian, even certain kinds of European all count as people of colour and stand out to them.

[@jahs4209]

wait til she hears about Indycar lol

[@akyhne]

There are several drivers of color, in F1. A Chinese, a Japanese, and a British-Thai driver. In recent years, there have been others. Like an Indian driver. People of color aren't just black people.

[@Klovar]

Why are all of the Es so long 😭

[@matthewbarry376]

Women got into it because of F1 Drive to Survive. They loved the Drama and politics inherent to F1. Unfortunately they'll play it up for US fans turning old fans off

[@wimtheeuwen7315]

Get some race insiders do the hosting and not a "grand preez" guy and a scary tiger domina.

[@lagh84]

Miami was the worst thing that can happen to F1. They are a joke and F1 deserves much better. Sky sports has turning F1 into a joke.

[@lagh84]

SORRY ment to say Liberty Media, miss bernie.

[@NotKimiRaikkonen]

​@@lagh84Bernie was hellbent on mismanaging F1 into the ground to focus on octogenarians.

[@bulelanibotman]

3:55, when she says "drivers of colour" i assume they mean "black" in american terms but if that's so then its only lewis though, so what is she saying?

[@rickaroony3419]

Well, I guess she meant non-white (Mexican, Japanese, Chinese off the top of my head)... and then the Bloomers added in female in future... who will probably be a T... 🤨

[@akyhne]

No, there are lots of drivers of color, in F1. There's a Japanese, a Chinese, a black British (Hamilton), British-Thai (Albon), and if you look at the last 10 years, there have been others, like an Indian driver.

[@langatkevin]

4:05 Someone should follow up with her after a couple of races. Would like to hear from her again.

[@DhruvaDevOnline]

There could have been so many better journalists than her for this segment, guess that's what forced inclusivity gets you, it'll tick a box but it doesn't deliver.

[@trent1984]

Umm, ever heard of Phil Hill?

[@claytonroitenberg1935]

I love F1 now just got into it the past year after being obsessed with NFL, MLB, NBA, & NHL my whole life. Those are still my first loves but Formula racing is right in there now too. Even keeping an eye on F2 & F1 as well as FE

[@markvanderknoop131]

3 of the top 5 races are in the US?

[@dhirajgawande007]

Wanted to watched Spanish GP but it was available only on PPV😅

[@rubens4318]

Ok? I pay 60 bucks for F1 a month

[@johan.mp4]

@@rubens4318 why? F1 TV Pro is much cheaper than that.

[@fphayzz]

If you live in the US, pay for F1 TV pro... It has a lot of perks

[@johan.mp4]

@@fphayzz why just US?

[@oness1334]

I paid $60 for the whole season on F1 TV

[@MrLefty27]

American’s became more tech savvy, that’s the big increase in viewership.

[@jonathandsouza7592]

USA entered the server.

[@Seethus]

So, they are watching because of racial coulor and tribalism, not the sport? Right.

[@Jabberstax]

The women are. That's all they know to talk about.

[@Re_RAM]

I miss F1 under Bernie Eccleston, now it’s lost it’s aspirational quality. It’s untrue that nobody knew who the drivers then, F1 just wasn’t as commodified and you had to have a genuine interest in the sport to know what was happening. The drivers and teams were not “brands” unlike today. Eccleston had his issues but he understood the intangible value of the sport, Liberty Media and the petro-billionaires have destroyed that.

[@Kevinschart]

You're wrong. I spent a couple sundays watching races with my mom and no she's asking me about Lewis and Max. The F1 marketing team has knocked it out the park. My mom may be unique though. She's always said if she could do anything she wanted she would be a race car driver.

[@Re_RAM]

@@Kevinschart so what exactly am I wrong about?

[@brodcaster14]

Just sounds like a whole lot of gatekeeping to me. You don't want others to know about "your" sport till they've earned it. I raced karts and single seaters, I love racing, the more people that I can share my passion with the better.

[@timopint1125]

F1 lost its soul many years ago RIP

[@yulyndon1825]

Can liberty media make Motogp more popular?

[@barracuda008l4]

Ridiculous journalism.... a bar with with people looking english made cars racing.... whoaaa

[@RohrFelix]

You guys are a bit late to the party, but glad you finally joined!

[@andrewfeldmann4524]

I have been watching motorsports since the 1970's. I don't believe Formula 1 will last in America. This has happened before. Americans lost interest in the late 70's / early 80's. Then we went through a long period of indifference to Formula 1 for decades. We just did'nt care about it. It rose in popularity ( some what ) in the early 2000's. Then we lost interest again after the 2005 fiasco. Now we seem to like it again in the early 2020's. For now. But it will change . Americans have always been turned off by the elitist, country club, atmosphere of F1.Only , these days there seems to be even more of it than ever before. This is not the F1 that i remember from the 70's and 80's. It was a people's sport back then. (Or at least, it felt that way.) Today, the hype is bigger than the race itself !

[@sjefhendrickx2257]

.circuit, the balance of power in F1 might be shifting across the Atlantic. Why does Americans always think they ate better than the rest of the world? The balance of power? What power? Disneyland shows! Fo!

[@F1Fanatic76]

You sound triggered

[@justins6412]

Sadly F1 is being dumbed down to accommodate the US market.

[@claudiodiez55]

The Best Track in America is Road America Next Stop ???????????????

[@mandelleli]

I still cant believe Fellie is literally the ky spot to regularly screen the F1 races there SO MUCH cash left on the table for other sports bars they are always packed to capacities and theres certainly lits of fans who would fill out atlnother bar or five! For the most part the schedule of the races in EST wont comepete with any other us sport so just pure gains!

[@randywatson341]

I’m at Feile every week. It’s tough to get staff at that hour, and the bar needs to be packed to justify it. So if you’re another bar looking to join in the action, you take the risk that you’re now second fiddle and need to spend money to attract those fans. Feile has a sister bar next door that absorbs the overflow as well. I don’t disagree with you, just explaining why it’s a gamble. Need to be willing to suffer some losses. Ultimately I tend to agree with you, it’s worth a shot.

[@pgr3290]

They had to ruin the sport to get Americans to like it. I haven't watched a race in two years after watching nearly every single one the previous 35 years.

[@nutsackmania]

i agree its gone more mcdonalds amerifat, but its not fully wrecked yet

[@jasoncampbell7765]

F1 has turned into a mega dollar media machine... The racing is poor and non-competitive but F1 brings the dollars!

[@lehutjomaja1173]

How can the world's most technologically advanced sport be poor and non-competitive? Let me guess your american?😂😂😂

[@residentfelon]

fans of colour hahahaha

[@AM-tu1rc]

IndyCar >>>

[@ciscosebanes]

Long live motor racing😎

[@armandothiagodasilva4704]

Americans think that pitstops score points. And celebrate about it. Something all-American: take one thing and turn it into an over-the-top, obsessive show.

[@harryhill-es5jk]

Listen f1 is European. The USA will never be able to take it way from Europe like of Monza and Monaco and the history

[@rubens4318]

Wish we hadnt

[@100c0c]

Why

[@ScottWhiteSr]

I love F1 but these people are so corny. F1 is so diverse? Your parents have to be rich to compete. Definitely can’t be poor.

[@akyhne]

Ehhh, what?? NO, you have to be the best. Wealth has nothing to do with it. Sure, in many cases, you need a sponsor, and there's always one or two rich man's son in a team of lower level. But if you think you can buy yourself a seat in a top team, in F1, think again!

[@NotKimiRaikkonen]

​@@akyhne karting competitively costs north of $10,000 year. You're not going to find any lower-middle class kids in it. Even the 'poor' guys in F1 still had relatively comfortable childhoods with parents who worked in IT (Hamilton) and Ocon (who's dad owned an auto shop).

[@akyhne]

@@NotKimiRaikkonen You're not rich, because your father owns an auto shop. Yes, you need sponsors. I once knew a semi pro Speedway racer. He used almost a hundred grand a year. It was all sponsors, his family wasn't rich. He was just talented. Kevin Magnussens father is probably not poor, but they both had a career in motorsports, via sponsors. For example, for Kevin to get into the Haas team, he had the Danish company, Jack & Jones as a sponsor, with many millions in sponsorship per year. And I know for a fact, thst Jan Magnussen came from an ordinary family, with no money.

[@NotKimiRaikkonen]

@@akyhne Ocon wouldn't be racing in F1 if his dad made half as much working at the shop, instead of owning it... And the argument that because 'one driver grew up poor' is circumstancial evidence. Idk anything about Jan's life and it doesn't negate that no one in F1 grew up anywhere close to poor.

[@akyhne]

@@NotKimiRaikkonen I already stated in my first comment, that there are always one or two rich persons sons in F1. Lance Stroll is a great example - rich father, not a lot if talent. Bottas father had a small cleaning company, and Wikipedia sats This about Hamiltons father: "To support his son, Hamilton's father took redundancy from his position as an IT manager and became a contractor, sometimes working up to four jobs at a time including employment as a double glazing salesman, dishwasher, and putting up signs for estate agents" We can discuss this all day, and you can find examples of rich people racing, and I can find the opposite. It doesn't change the fact, that you don't have to be rich, to race professionally.

[@hughnique7717]

Since Max Verstappen started racing in F1 in 2015, the global enthusiasm for the sport went up and up and up. He's the one who really put Formula 1 on the map!

[@cynicalexpat]

I would suggest Lewis Hamilton has a big part in F1's global popularity, I'm willing to bet if you did a poll of 'new' F1 fans (and certainly ones in the US), other than their 'own' national drivers, Hamilton would be the first they name.

[@First1ToComment]

Women following the money

[@Keji839]

Old heads complaining about new blood in the sport like they are going to pay f1 bills

[@jahs4209]

they will when F1 reaches its point of over saturation and America moves on to the next thing. F1 would be smart to not follow the NASCAR playbook of selling out and then wondering why their TV ratings and attendance have plummeted a decade later.

[@Sniper21361]

F1 is better then NASCAR

[@hatetheplayerhatethegame1932]

you mean TRASHCAR 😏

[@mandelleli]

*GO* 4️⃣4️⃣❤ Sr. Lewis makes the sport majestic