Popularity of F1 in the United States: the end of the honeymoon?

The state of grace which carried the Formula 1 in the United States for several years is it already over? Owner of the premier discipline of motorsport since 2017, the American conglomerate Liberty Media has made no secret of its desire to develop their new product in the country of Uncle Sam.

While the former great financier of F1 Bernie Ecclestone had almost always lost his teeth, Liberty found the martingale in the form of a docuseries broadcast on Netflix, Drive to Survive.

By showing behind the scenes of F1 (often via an artistic freedom that we may regret), the show helped to dust off the image of the category while reaching a new, much younger audience.

The planets then “aligned” in a pandemic context that the Grand Prix stakeholders perfectly mastered. F1 was one of the first global sports to resume in the summer of 2020, thanks to the implementation of robust protocols which subsequently became known. The discipline was thus able to benefit from great exposure while the majority of other sports were at a standstill.

Then came the 2021 campaign, one of the most beautiful in history, with a Homeric and sulfurous duel between Lewis Hamilton et Max Verstappen. All these elements combined caused audiences to surge and filled the stands of circuits around the world when health restrictions were lifted.

In 2022, F1 recorded attendance records (440 people in Austin for the United States GP) but also audiences on American territory (000 million viewers for the first Miami GP, 2,6 .1,21 million on average per race).

The first Miami GP broke audience records in 2022. The 2023 edition was much less attended… / © DPPI

Shortness of breath

However, several indicators suggest that the blow has subsided in 2023. The Miami GP thus attracted “only” 1,96 million people last May, a drop of 24% compared to last year. If average US audiences continued to climb (1,26 million viewers compared to 1,21 in 2022), driven by the excellent scores for the Monaco (1,79 million) and Montreal (1,76 million) events, the increase is more modest than 12 months earlier (5,8% compared to 28% between 2021 and 2022). Has F1 already reached a glass ceiling in America?

The last United States Grand Prix in Austin attracted only 1,7 million curious people, compared to 1,34 million in 2022, and 1,41 million in 2021, at the height of the Verstappen-Hamilton fight. Attendance at COTA was also down, with 432 people recorded, compared to 000 twelve months earlier. And this even though a Sprint had been added to the Texas weekend.

This decline in audiences is not a concern for F1 in the near future since in 2022, the sport signed a rights agreement with ESPN for a period of three years and an annual amount estimated between $75 and $90 million. We are certainly very, very far from the 10 billion dollars annually paid by NFL broadcasters, but we must keep in mind that the previous deal with ESPN amounted to just $5 million…

Max Verstappen's sickening dominance has made the GPs less interesting to follow / © DPPI

Lack of suspense

To explain the slowdown in US audiences, several factors are put forward. Starting with the total absence of suspense in the championship since the introduction of the new aerodynamic regulations in 2022. In almost two seasons, Max Verstappen has won no less than 32 races... as many as Fernando Alonso over his entire career!

Driver domination Red Bull, crowned champion in the Qatar Sprint, is even more disgusting this season than last year with already 17 victories (in 20 races, compared to 15 successes in 2022). But if there is one thing that American sports fans don't appreciate, it's the lack of twists and turns. Just look at the way professional championships are organized among our Yankee friends. Draft, play-offs, salary controls to avoid the concentration of the best players in the same clubs: everything is done to avoid prolonged periods of domination and thus maintain the hope of seeing any team win.

In F1, surprise results have become extremely rare. Who will make fans believe Haas, Alfa Romeo, Alpha Tauri, Williams, or Alpine that their favorite team can win a race in 2023? It’s already very complicated, even impossible, for more upscale teams like Mercedes Benz, Classic Ferrari for sale, McLaren, and Aston Martin !

F1 has tried to adopt methods similar to those practiced in the USA with aerodynamic development governed by a handicap system based on the ranking of the Constructors' world championship of the previous year; the introduction of Sprints; and the establishment of a budget ceiling.

But nothing seems able to slow down Red Bull. Should the regulations be adjusted to erase the competitive advantage of Milton Keynes (United Kingdom)? We still need to know precisely the recipe for their hegemony…

The American Haas team and the Florida driver Logan sargeant (Williams) skims the back of the grid. / © DPPI

Where are the American superstars?

Another problem for F1 in the USA: the absence of American competitors… at the forefront. Certainly, Haas has established itself since 2016 as a team in its own right (and friendly) but except in 2018 (5th in the Manufacturers' championship), the US team is squatting at the bottom of the ranking. Ditto for the Floridian Logan Sargeant, promoted this season to the premier category at Williams. Boca Raton driver suffers from comparison with teammate Alexander albon and his self-effacing personality does not help to compensate for his modest results.

An American superstar could change everything, as Verstappen did in the Netherlands, but does he exist at the moment? A glance at the promotional formulas does not reveal any a priori. And the hyping Colton Herta fizzled out.

In this context, the arrival of a big name like Andretti, especially associated with an American giant like Cadillac, should be welcomed with open arms. Instead, the 10 teams in place do everything they can to jealously guard their territory, thus reinforcing the image of an elitist sport.

Perhaps this is another key to understanding the current erosion of American fans' interest in F1. The queen discipline of car Although it tries to Americanize itself with three races per year across the Atlantic, grandiose shows, a franchise system, and artificial measures (soon inverted grids during Sprints), it retains typically European roots and DNA.