In a country where motorsport is very established, with the home disciplines IndyCar and Nascar, Formula 1 has long played "I love you, me neither" with America.

But in recent years, the honeymoon is confirmed.

On the Formula 1 program since 1959, the United States have been absent from the calendar on several occasions.

Back since 2012 in Austin, Texas (October 23 this year), F1 will experience a new playground in Miami (Florida) with, as a result, a commercial success: the places have all been sold (at high prices )...in less than an hour!

And the discipline does not intend to stop there: destination Las Vegas in 2023, for a third race on the calendar.

"It's really amazing to see that we have succeeded and that there is a growing love in the United States", rejoiced Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), seven-time world champion, who saw at the start of his career a "gap between the United States and the rest of the world, in terms of passion".

Audience boom

The turning point dates back to 2017, when the American group Liberty Media acquired the commercial rights to F1, making the United States one of its priority markets.

The sport has been modernized, rejuvenated, via social networks and Netflix with the "Drive to Survive" series.

As a result, audiences in the land of Uncle Sam reached a historic record in 2021. The season gathered an average of 934,000 viewers per race, i.e. 54% more than in 2020 and well above the previous record (748,000 in 1995).

Former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal presents Dutchman Max Verstappen with the winner's trophy after the United States Grand Prix on October 24, 2021 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas Jim WATSON AFP/Archives

The United States GP welcomed a record 400,000 spectators in 2021 and recorded the best audience of the year, with an average of 1.2 million viewers on ABC, despite the time difference (early morning broadcast).

For the epic finale of the duel between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi, nearly a million Americans were there, compared to 523,000 in 2020 for the same race.

This growth "has had more significant consequences than an increase in the number of fans", notes on SportBusiness.com Lizzie Isherwood, of the agency CSM Sport&Entertainment, specialized in marketing.

“From a business perspective, we are seeing a proliferation of American brands in F1,” she explains, estimating that of the 127 sponsorship deals across the F1 landscape last year, nearly 40 % were concluded with brands based in the United States.

European races under threat

The calendar colonized, the public won over, all that remains is to have actors "made in the USA".

Because currently, Formula 1 has only one American team – the modest Haas, last in 2021 – and no driver.

The last titled American dates back to 1978 with Mario Andretti.

Only one American team is currently registered in Formula One, aligning the Danish Kevin Magnussen and the German Mick Schumacher, here in action on April 24, 2022 during the GP of Emilia-Romagna on the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari of Imola , in Italy ANDREJ ISAKOVIC AFP/Archives

The Andretti dynasty also intends to make its name shine again in F1 since the son, Michael Andretti, a short-lived former F1 driver and owner of the eponymous IndyCar team, is seeking to join the championship with a new team.

With potentially an American driver, Colton Herta, who in 2019 became the youngest winner of an IndyCar race.

But this conquest of the west is not without turmoil.

Some historic European circuits are under threat.

The GP of France, Monaco or Belgium have not yet signed with F1 for 2023.

Competing with newcomers from America, Asia and the Middle East - who are paying a high price for their arrival ($55 million a year for Saudi Arabia against only $15 for Monaco, according to the specialized press) - these circuits see emerge the idea of ​​a work-study program, every other year, so as not to disappear completely.

“Obviously, there are financial interests in going to new places, in the end F1 is a business. But for us (…) it is our passion”, recently regretted the experienced driver Sebastian Vettel.

"It would be horrible to lose some of the circuits," said the four-time world champion, calling for "a mix of exploration, but also preservation of places that have a history".

© 2022 AFP