The USA is to host three Grands Prix in 2023 in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas - the most of any country on the calendar; F1 has had record attendances and viewing figures in America after surge of interest; watch the Miami GP exclusively live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend
Saturday 6 May 2023 16:54, UK
Formula 1 heads to America this weekend for the Miami GP with its popularity in the United States bigger than ever.
Three Grands Prix will be held in the States this year with Las Vegas joining Miami and Austin on the calendar - the first time since 1982 that the USA has hosted three races and only the third time in F1 history that three GPs have been in one country in the same season.
It is a far cry from the mid-2000s when the future of F1 in the USA appeared in severe doubt. For much of its existence, the sport had failed to crack the American market. Despite having two world champions - Phil Hill and Mario Andretti - F1 had failed to truly capture the American audience, with NASCAR and Indycar the preferred motorsports.
The 2005 US GP, when 14 of the 20 cars retired to the pit lane on the formation lap, severely damaged the sport's reputation in the country and by 2008 an American race was absent from the calendar.
It would not return until 2012 and even as recently as 2015 a US GP was shrouded in uncertainty with the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) facing funding issues and then-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone having little enthusiasm to expand the sport Stateside.
But all that has changed since Liberty Media took over the sport in January 2017.
"F1 has huge potential with multiple untapped opportunities," then-CEO Chase Carey said after replacing Ecclestone. "We will work…to enhance the racing experience and add new dimensions to the sport."
From the outset, Liberty Media made it their intention to add "destination cities" to the calendar. And America was a key target for the sport's US owners.
The first US GP of Liberty's tenure immediately saw an addition of razzmatazz as legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer introduced each driver to the grid in Austin.
But taking a race to Miami soon became a leading priority. After an initial proposal in 2019 met opposition, a deal was finally agreed in 2021. It joined the calendar last year and was immediately the hottest ticket in town.
Among the celebrities at the sell-out event were David Beckham, Serena and Venus Williams, DJ Khaled, Paris Hilton, Michael Jordan, Pharrell Williams and many more. "I've never known so much hype and excitement before a Grand Prix," Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle said at the time.
Miami Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel expects this year's race to be even more of a spectacle, telling Sky Sports News: "It's probably bigger than last year.
"People come out here because it's a great event, it's Miami and there's food and wine and all these wonderful things, but ultimately they come out here to watch the best motorsports in the world and the best drivers in the most impressive machinery."
In addition to creating Super Bowl-esque events, Liberty had also sought to bring in a new, younger audience by "telling the story of Formula 1".
Immediately they tried to make the drivers and teams more accessible by removing social media bans that the previous regime had implemented in the paddock.
While America had a small core F1 fan base, the Netflix series brought Formula 1 to the masses.
The behind-the-scenes following of the season opened the F1 paddock to a whole new audience like never before. The storytelling, drama and showcasing of the drivers and team principals' true personalities has helped to create cult heroes in the sport for the more casual observer.
A study last year found that for over half of F1 fans in America, Drive to Survive had played an impact in them now following Formula 1.
"We had no idea that it was going to land in the way that it did and it was going to find this audience in the US and suddenly drive all this interest in Formula 1," Drive to Survive executive producer Paul Martin told The Hook earlier this year.
"I don't think we expected it. I don't think Netflix or Formula 1 expected it. It is amazing that it's happened, and long may it continue, but I don't think it was anyone's master plan."
That interest is translating to growing numbers watching the sport live in the USA. In addition to Miami selling out, last year's US GP had a record 440,000 attendees - beating the previous season's record by 40,000.
Meanwhile ESPN had record viewing figures for the 2022 season and the race average of 1.21m viewers was well over double the average viewers for the 2018 season, the year before Drive to Survive premiered.
F1 returns to the 'Entertainment Capital of the World' in 2023 after a 41-year absence. The previous two Vegas GPs were held in the car park of Ceasars Palace. This year's will be quite different!
The race is taking place on the famous Las Vegas Strip and the 3.8-mile track sweeps past some of the city's most legendary landmarks, hotels and casinos.
And in a break from tradition, the race will start at 10pm on Saturday night local time in a bid to capture the American prime-time TV audience.
November's race may well prove to be the glitziest F1 race in history.
Lewis Hamilton speaking to Sky Sports News…
"I remember our first race at Indianapolis I had out here. We'd been coming out here quite a lot but always having to educate people. No one was even hearing what this sport was about.
"I've always known how great this sport is so to see us now finally having three Grands Prix in this huge country, the excitement there is for this sport - not only here but everywhere around the world. To see people embracing it and having real love is really, really nice to see."
Logan Sargeant speaking to Sky Sports News...
"It's really gone for it that's for sure. I was at (the Miami GP) last year and I can already see how much it's been improved from last year. The circuit looks a lot better, how everything is set up seems a lot more sensible and much nicer.
"All three US Grands Prix are super special for me and to have three of them is insane. I'm going to enjoy every second of them and I love how committed the GPs are to making them as good as they can for the fans."
Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle...
"For so many decades we span our wheels trying to get our foothold here and we've done it now.
"It's great. America is making a big show of it and I love it."
Sky Sports F1's Natalie Pinkham…
"Americans just do sport better, bigger, louder, brighter. They put on such a fanfare.
"What's brilliant about the three venues chosen for this year - Miami, Texas and Vegas - is that while they're all in the States, they're all very different culturally. The music is different, the vibe is totally different but they encapsulate everything that is great about the US and US sport.
"Drive to Survive has been crucial for the exponential growth in America and beyond. We've been trying to crack America and it's finally happened.
"Miami had such a buzz about it last year and I expect the sport to build on that. Americans have fallen in love with Formula 1."
"I'm pretty convinced we are just scratching the surface of this market," F1 president Stefano Domenicali says in the latest season of Drive to Survive.
"We are looking into the future. I'm very excited."
F1's growth in America is not just been seen with increasing races, attendances and viewing figures - this year Red Bull conducted their car launch in New York while they, Aston Martin and Haas have American title sponsors.
The lack of an American driver on the grid during Liberty's tenure has ended this year with Sargeant driving for Williams and while Haas are currently the only American team on the grid, an Andretti-Cadillac proposal is the most high-profile of new teams seeking to join the grid from 2025.
And the three American GPs are here to stay for the long-term. Last year, COTA signed a new five-year contract to keep the US GP in Texas until at least 2026. Miami joined the F1 calendar on a 10-year deal through to 2031.
Meanwhile Clark County officials have already approved plans to shut the Las Vegas Strip for F1 races until 2032 as they already target an extension and "lifetime in partnership" with Formula 1.
There is also interest from more promoters to add more American races to the calendar in the future.
While Domenicali has told Sky Sports F1 the intention "for the next couple of years" is to stick to three Grands Prix in the USA, it's clear that the growth of F1 in America is only set to continue.
Saturday
5.15pm: Miami GP Practice Three (session starts 5.30pm)
8pm: Miami GP Qualifying build-up
9pm: Miami GP Qualifying
10.45pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook
Sunday
7pm: Grand Prix Sunday Miami GP build-up
8.30pm: THE MIAMI GRAND PRIX
10.30pm: Chequered Flag Miami GP reaction
11.30pm: Ted's Notebook
The Formula 1 season continues with the Miami GP this weekend. Watch qualifying at 9pm on Saturday with lights out at 8.30pm on Sunday. Get Sky Sports
