OPINION Sports: Resurgence: Formula One rising again in US
By Rodrigo Rendon Cuevas
Sports Writer
Published Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024
Ever since Liberty Media took controlling interest in Formula One, it has moved the pinnacle of motorsport to heights never before thought possible.
Liberty Media purchased the Formula One Group for $4.4 billion, giving them the rights to Formula One and other motorsports. Liberty Media wasted no time in trying to expand the reach of Formula One. It was purchased in 2017 and in 2018, Liberty Media began producing the hit reality TV series “Drive to Survive.”
“Drive to Survive” alone managed to bring in many new viewers to the sport, especially U.S. viewers. It is no secret that Formula One is a European-focused sport, which originated in England. The sport hit peak viewership in the U.S. when native driver Mario Andretti won the Driver’s Championship back in 1982, but it has seen a decline ever since. Since the introduction of “Drive to Survive,” slowly but surely, the sport gained traction across the sea.
Within the last three years, the Formula One calendar added two new U.S. tracks for a total of three U.S. races. The Austin track is a staple of the sport, with fans and drivers loving the track. In accordance with the rising popularity of Formula One in the U.S., Liberty Media added the Miami Grand Prix in 2022 and the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023. While these are not the only Grand Prix that took place in the U.S., they are the only ones currently in the Formula One calendar and have contracts for 10 years and two years, respectively.
Although Formula One reached its peak viewership in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Liberty Media has done a great job of bringing the sport back to its former glory. The Miami Grand Prix in 2024 had 3.1 million viewers, breaking the record previously held by the coveted Monaco Grand Prix back in 2002. Formula One in the U.S. is starting to gain traction; in a few years, it will be its biggest ever.
There are 10 teams on the current grid, most are European based with the exception of the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team—the only team headquartered in the U.S. Haas team owner Gene Haas is already familiar with the motorsport scene. He also owns a successful NASCAR team, which currently has 65 wins and two Driver’s Championships. In 2016, Haas expanded his motorsport ambitions into the “pinnacle of motorsport.”
Having a team to root for has historically raised spirits and a shared feeling of belonging, so fans from the U.S. will not feel unrepresented when getting into the sport for the first time.
