Should Formula 1 add a third race in the USA?

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Formula 1 finally appears to be making progress towards its goal of building an audience in the USA.

Last weekend’s United States Grand Prix attracted 380,000 fans over three days, with around 140,000 packed into the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on race day.

The Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens will join the schedule in May next year, ensuring the huge American market is represented at both end of the calendar. But some say F1 shouldn’t stop there.

Rumours have long suggested the sport could make a return to Las Vegas, which previously held races in 1981 and 1982. Long Beach in California is another former F1 venue which has been tipped for a revival before, and the series unsuccessfully courted an event in New York for several years in the 2010s.

F1 has long craved popularity in the USA. Now that’s finally being achieved, should it expand beyond two races in the country?

For

The size and value of the US market makes it an obvious target for F1’s expansion, irrespective of the fact the sport is now American-owned. Although F1 returned to the USA in 2012, only since Liberty Media’s takeover has it had a strategy to develop the sport in the country, and that is beginning to pay dividends.

America’s population is around 43% the size of Europe’s, yet next year it will have two F1 races to Europe’s 10. Adding a third would redress the balance rather than skew it in favour of the US. With races already in eastern and central states, adding a third event to service the large population in the west of the country would be a logical move.

Against

The 2022 F1 calendar already features a record 23 races which is pushing teams to breaking point. The sport is arguably saturated with events as it is, and if any further rounds are to be added they should be in countries which don’t have a race at all. Or, indeed, continents, as in the case of Africa.

The options for a further F1 race in America are unrealistic or unappealing. The original Vegas event was a short-lived failure, Long Beach is now synonymous with IndyCar, and the only F1-ready grade one circuit in the country beside COTA is the road course at Indianapolis, where F1 already tried and failed to find a home in the shadow of the country’s greatest race.

I say

As the operator of an English-language motorsport website I obviously have a vested interest in the sport’s success in such a large, English-speaking country.

That said, I also believe expanding in the US is the correct thing to do, if only because F1 hasn’t seriously tried to crack the American market previously (it wouldn’t have walked away from, for example, Long Beach in 1983 otherwise).

Within F1’s growing and densely-packed calendar some areas feel over-subscribed for their regional populations (there are a lot of races in the Middle East now) while others are neglected entirely (Africa). Relative to some parts of the world, the US market feels inadequately served.

There’s also the question of time zones. For US audiences European races are at inconvenient times, while Middle Eastern and Asian rounds are only ever going to be watched by the die-hards. The best way to attract casual viewers in large number in the US is therefore to add more races in their time zone.

Nonetheless three races should be the absolute limit for F1 in the USA. Moreover, a third should only be added once the second event in Miami is established and if a suitably impressive venue which adds real value to the calendar can be found.



You say

Should F1 add a third race in the USA? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.

Do you agree F1 should add a third race in the USA?

  • No opinion (1%)
  • Strongly disagree (35%)
  • Slightly disagree (22%)
  • Neither agree nor disagree (7%)
  • Slightly agree (19%)
  • Strongly agree (16%)

Total Voters: 180

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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97 comments on “Should Formula 1 add a third race in the USA?”

  1. If they are going to go triple in america that would mean 24 races. It is 2 per month and when you count that season starts in 20th of March and ends in end of November. There is also almost a one whole month of summer holiday so it means 24 races within 6 months of racing. That means 4 races per month..
    + Hopefully South African GP, 2 test sessions and all the other PR/factory jobs.
    It is a lot and whatever you think about that one thing is certain, it is a way of live.

    1. @qeki The season could (& would have to) start earlier, thus allowing for a slightly more spread-out schedule without shortening the summer break. No one/nothing prevents starting a season earlier than mid-March.

      1. some racing fan
        31st October 2021, 0:49

        Yeah. It would need to start in February- and if it started, in, say Miami, it could not be held in the first weekend of February, because that is NFL Super Bowl Sunday- the single biggest single-event sport day we have over here.

  2. To frame this in the only way it makes sense to me:

    Will racing three times in the US make me stop paying for F1TV Pro?

    No.

    1. Hah, well put

      Basically me only reservation with this is also connected to Liberty – the more America there is on the calendar – the more I’m afraid they’ll be able to justify they’re family-packed instant-meal exciting race-enhancing decisions.
      But realistically – it will happen (or not) regardless.

      1. @minilemm i was thinking the same. I’m not opposed to 3 races in the USA, I’m just don’t like that slowly it will become “americanised” because they don’t understand this or the way this is done doesn’t suit them, blah blah blah.

  3. At least wait and see if the second race does well first, cmon.

    If there was to be a third race, I’d certainly prefer to see it further north in the country than Miami, Austin and Vegas (which has been suggested).

    1. At least wait and see if the second race does well first, cmon.

      Indeed, this is the most important factor. If a 2nd race in Miami doesn’t bring in the numbers, move that to another venue before attempting a third.
      Bit if Miami does sell out without affecting COTA, then go ahead. Why should it matter if it replaces an under attended race?

      People who obsess that a single county shouldn’t have multiple races need to acknowledge that the United States these days is barely a country, but 50 very different countries. To flip that around, the EU, which isn’t really that different as a concept, is 27 very different countries and you could argue that the EU has 9 races!

      1. Yeah I voted slightly agree for that reason…first see how the second race goes, as Keith suggests.

    2. This.

      COTA has good attendance because it is the only F1 race Americans can go to without a passport. Let’s see how the second race does before adding a third. It may be that Miami cannibalises COTA attendance.

      There’s also the question of time zones. For US audiences European races are at inconvenient times, while Middle Eastern and Asian rounds are only ever going to be watched by the die-hards. The best way to attract casual viewers in large number in the US is therefore to add more races in their time zone.

      I take issue with this as an Australian. Americans have four Grands Prix in their timezone (Canada, Texas, Mexico, Brazil). European/Middle Eastern races are on Sunday morning (admittedly quite early on the US West Coast). It’s quite easy for an American to incorporate this into their weekend roster of sport. If getting up early is too much, they can easily delay their viewing a few hours. However, American rounds start at 3-4am on a Monday morning in Asian timezones. This is impractical for anyone with a job to watch live, and requires intentional disengagement from the internet for the entire working day to avoid spoiling the result should you wish to watch the replay. Moves to appease casual American audiences come at a disproportional cost to other markets.

      One thing Liberty can do is apply the new format changes (e.g. Sprint qualifying) to the rounds in the Americas. You aren’t changing the format of a race with a rich history, and it provides more opportunities for Americans to see racing through the weekend.

      1. How about a night race in America?

        1. @ucat33

          That excludes the EU market, which makes little sense from a financial point of view. The EU viewers bring in a lot more revenue than AU.

  4. Strongly disagree. I think there’s a case for having two races in a country if they’re unique events but three is too much for one country.

    F1 is a world championship and if we start having more races in countries we limit that. America might be a relatively big country but that’s the wrong of looking at it as it would mean just having more races in India, China etc instead of unique venues across the world.

  5. As long as the racetracks aren’t up to excellence it really doesn’t matter for the racing in which country a race track is situated.

    And since noone is really interested in making a good race track… There isn’t really any added value from a sporting perspective.

    1. USA has some really nice racing circuits – Elkhart Lake, Mid-Ohio etc.

      And then, I think F1 needs some 18 to 20 anchor GPs and do 5 to 7 singles every seasons. There over 40 Grade 1 circuits. Let them all host GP at least once in decade.

  6. Jose Lopes da Silva
    30th October 2021, 13:00

    Strongly a per yeargree. The United States races are full of people and feel like real races.
    The business model of Formula 1 is to reach 38 races, one per week like the Premier League. It’s not exactly my liking, but that is not the question being asked here.
    If you’re heading to 38 races, better have 6 races in the United States that have further races in Oman and Kuwait. China and India don’t really care about Formula 1 so it’s not an issue. For world championship purposes, it’s more urgent a South African race. Asia is well represented by Japan and Singapore.

    1. @Jose Lopes da Silva 38 races? Fake news. No one’s ever even mentioned that + the upper limit for a single season is considerably lower.

      1. @jerejj I’m surprised you didn’t also pick him up on his repeated use of the plural “races” – considering that there is only one race in the USA currently and we’ve not yet seen how the race in Miami might go, it seems rather odd for them to be talking as if there are multiple races there already.

        1. José Lopes da Silva
          1st November 2021, 0:00

          Because Jere was taking this seriously.
          No, no one mentioned 38 races. But if the business model is based on the number of Grand Prix, we can be heading for that over the next decades.

  7. petebaldwin (@)
    30th October 2021, 13:02

    I’d be ok with a 3rd race but it needs to be geographically separate from the others. Miami, Texas and somewhere in the North is understandable as there’s a large distance between the 3. Having Texas and Las Vegas though would be a strong disagree though they’d cater to the same people.

    1. @petebaldwin LV-Austin distance is vast, so far from being geographically nearby.
      LV, if it returned, would probably get paired with Miami, which is some 3,504.12 km away by air.
      Distances generally within the US are great, so overall irrelevant where specifically.

  8. Andy (@andyfromsandy)
    30th October 2021, 13:02

    Until it is known how good the Miami GP will be this might counting ones chickens on the success. Maybe creating several venues would allow the best to be chosen but if the racing is poor it could have a negative effect.

    1. Miami GP will be a commercial success: it will essentially be a “second” Brazil, Mexico GP.
      I mean, everybody south of Florida interested in attending to a F1 race will flock to Miami.
      For Brazilians, some flights to Miami are cheaper than domestic flights.
      And for many people in south america a travel to Miami can be more interesting that a trip to São Paulo/Mexico City.
      So, they may even found a new public.
      All that said, if the track layout gives some hint, the race will mostly be boring/processional, unless something odd happens – rain, yellow/red flags, bad qualy.

  9. It’s all about the venue and the entire package of the location and the venue. Nobody was asking for a Texas race 15 years ago and it’s been a success. It seems odd to be talking about this before we even do Miami, tbh. Let’s see how it goes.

  10. I don’t understand why the US gets two races anyway so I’m pretty opposed to a third. Other countries that have supported F1 both in drivers, teams and fanbase often only have one and some don’t have one at all so I’m uncertain why the US that has shown comparatively little interest in F1 gets not just two but three.

    An additional track isn’t going to change anything for F1’s popularity in the US. What it needs is a good American driver and a strong F1 team, which currently it doesn’t have. (Sorry Haas)

    1. I think I understood what you meant with “comparatively little interest ” but a 400k attendance in Texas last week says otherwise.

      1. Little unfair to compare given most the European races are restricted on attendance due to covid and some even behind closed doors, and even then strong attendance for one race doesn’t mean there’s going to be strong attendance for three of them.

        Equally ridiculous when some countries might be losing their races altogether and we’re thinking of adding more to an already well-attended one? It’s just unnecessary.

        1. @rocketpanda I’m not sure how you can be so sure an additional race wouldn’t change anything. Perhaps the US has shown comparatively little interest in the past because there hasn’t been enough of a presence to draw some attention away from (or coincidental with) Indycar and Nascar. It is a huge market that is obviously racing friendly.

          I think the concept of a second race is a no-brainer, and would only wait and see how that race goes before adding a third. I certainly wouldn’t ascribe to it the words you have, ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unnecessary.’ I think it is in fact necessary that they try doing more than they have in the past in order to really see where the market stands.

      2. @Gusmaia 400k people did not attend the race, I believe the capacity for the circuit is around 160/170 k. The figures touted by Brawn are at best rubbery, at worst a gross misrepresentation.

        1. @johnrkh It’s how they’ve always measured weekend attendance. I’m sure other sports that take place over multiple days like tennis or golf use similar methods for their headline figures. As long as they are comparing like for like between events, and have a breakdown over the individual days I don’t have a problem with it.

  11. Yes, but only if they avoid temporary/street tracks.
    A possible “no” could be the right answer, not only for a 3rd US race but to new entries to the calendar, if teams cant cope with it given the budget caps and crews health/safety.
    At some point there willl be saturation, but I think most of the audience could handle more than 20 or even more than 30 races as someone said above that the Liberty’s plan desires.
    But, as Nascar had shown, there is a number around 30 races that will call for some kind of gimmick like a Playoffs – and that deserves a big “no”.

    1. @Gusmaia The above claim is 100% false, so you shouldn’t buy into that.
      30+ or even slightly below will never happen. Nothing only does the upper limit prevent this, but also other factors.

  12. I voted for strongly disagree. Two races in a single country within the same season at maximum for fairness’ sake & to keep ideal balance, given F1 is a global series, not national.
    BTW, Middle Eastern rounds don’t occur at inconvenient times in the US or NA in general.
    Abu Dhabi GP is similar to Europe, while the others are later.
    The Asian rounds east of Abu Dhabi are another matter, while the European timings in the East aren’t unreasonably early.

  13. Yes!

    While the season is on, I’m all for as many races as possible.

    Let’s have 3 back to back in USA then a week off, head to eg Middle East and do 3 back to back. Potentially less travelling.

    At the risk of changing the subject, let’s try some 2 day race weekends too, and some double race weekends – saturday race 1 and Sunday race 2. Full GPs.

    The premiership has a match for each club each week plus cup and euro matches.

    Personally I don’t understand fans who are saying they don’t want more races. I do! If you don’t want to watch then don’t!

    So yes – more races please.

    1. Personally I don’t understand fans who are saying they don’t want more races.

      Because the more you have the less special each starts to feel.

      I think back to when the season was 16-18 races, Each race felt like a big deal & each race felt more valuable because with less races comes more jeopardy as there’s less opportunity to recover from a poor result.

      As the season has crept above 20 each race no longer feels like as big a deal, Each race now feels less special & I no longer look as forward as I once did to an upcoming race weekend because it’s starting to feel like a routine thing rather than something special that only happens every 2-3 weeks. And with more races there’s more room for error, More room to have a poor result & recover which takes away a lot of the jeopardy that we once had with the shorter season.

      More races also leaves less time to watch other categories because there’s less opportunity for everything else to avoid clashes.

      If you don’t want to watch then don’t!

      The problem is that we do want to watch every race because if you miss one you risk missing something important. It’s like watching a TV series & missing part of an episode that includes something that is important later on.

      I as a long time fan of F1 want to watch every race because I don’t want to miss anything & I want to watch live because you just don’t get that same excitement or buss when watching delayed coverage or highlights. However it’s getting to the point with 20+ races & especially the 22/23+ we will feature going forward where not only is each race now starting to feel far less special but where it’s starting to feel like a chore.

      A majority of fans believe that 18/19 races should be the max, That figure has been consistent in every poll/survey that F1, The FIA & it’s broadcast partners have conducted over the past 20 years. F1 should listen to it’s fans. But of course Liberty don’t care about the fans or any of the team personnel the current number of races is going to burn out or the families it’s going to do massive damage to.

      In the next few years I think team personnel turn over is going to go up exponentially as the absurd number of races/race weekends just starts burning everyone out.

      #LibertyOut! #TooManyRaces #NoMoreThan19 #LessIsMore #MakeF1FeelSpecialAgain! #FansAreAgainstMoreRaces!!!

      1. @roger-ayles I do get what you are saying about saturation but just don’t feel entirely the same way. And on the one hand you are saying each race is less important, but you don’t want to miss a race in case something important happens. I agree that with fewer races each one carries more jeopardy, but with less time for a team/driver to recover from a spate of bad luck. With more races comes more of a chance for luck to even out and it can become more about a true winner in the end rather than a luckier one be that both team and driver.

        I don’t see the seasons going much beyond 23 races if at all, and the discussions amongst Liberty and the teams will very much involve the affect on personnel and already have. I also reject your notion that they don’t care about the fans for of course they know the fans are the very reason they exist, as with all sports. You are just using that rhetoric because you vehemently oppose most of what Liberty has done since rescuing the sport. They have constantly spoken about retaining us veteran fans but you choose to ignore that.

        Personally I remain grateful to even have F1 at all, and am happy to follow along with Liberty as they have only just begun to realize their plans with the caps and distribution and cars having yet to really have their true effect. I feel that if some of the doom and gloom you portray becomes reality and Liberty finds themselves to have harmed the entity and the viewership and it’s commitment then they will alter their course having learned from it.

        I also feel the teams function as checks and balances for F1, as they will simply refuse to agree to a harmful number of races or other measures akin to the concerns you have had such as too many innovation restrictions. At some point they will draw the line if/when they feel this is no longer F1, but I don’t think things will go too far by the likes of your standards before a satisfactory middle ground is met. I just don’t sense any ‘fear’ from the teams that they are anywhere near that point similar to where you have been on the direction Liberty, along with the teams, are going.

        Let’s at least give them the next few seasons as the new chapter takes hold and see how things have been going and see what tweaks happen rather than making preemptive judgements, and as we know with F1 the only thing constant is change.

        1. I also feel the teams function as checks and balances for F1, as they will simply refuse to agree to a harmful number of races or other measures akin to the concerns you have had such as too many innovation restrictions. At some point they will draw the line if/when they feel this is no longer F1, but I don’t think things will go too far by the likes of your standards before a satisfactory middle ground is met. I just don’t sense any ‘fear’ from the teams that they are anywhere near that point similar to where you have been on the direction Liberty, along with the teams, are going.

          @robbie It is worth remembering that the teams have been entirely hopeless at defending the interests of their workers so far. Previous editions of the Concorde Agreement had the maximum number of races capped at 16/17, it is only in the last decade or so that we have consistently seen the season extend beyond that because the teams have agreed to an increasing number of rounds in exchange for more money. I imagine they would sell out again for even more races if the price was right.

          1. @red-andy I really doubt the teams are ever ‘entirely hopeless at defending the interests of their workers’ and to call agreeing to more races as ‘selling out’ is to take a very simplistic and pessimistic view. Is it that hard to imagine Mercedes for example, or Red Bull, the parent companies of the teams, seeking marketing opportunities and as well adapting to more races by having their F1 teams rotate staff to ward off burnout? I still don’t see the number of races growing much beyond 23 races if at all as they need an off-season, they need travel time etc etc, and there are some staff and management that have to be at all the races anyway, so I think the number will be capped at a certain point that would be impossible to go above and I think they already know 23 is at or near that.

          2. @robbie whilst you say “I still don’t see the number of races growing much beyond 23 races”, we know that the sport wants to do that.

            In 2019, Binotto confirmed that Liberty Media had submitted a proposal to the teams for a 24 race calendar in 2021, with Clair Williams corroborating that – whilst the current pandemic put paid to those plans, we therefore know that Liberty Media’s has actively contemplated a 24 race calendar. Similarly, in late 2020 Carey also stated that he wanted to see a 24 race calendar in the next few years – the short to medium term plans from Liberty Media are therefore based on expanding the calendar to at least 24 races.

            As for rotating staff to avoid burnout, according to Steiner, even with a slightly shorter calendar, the teams are already rotating staff around their team, as well as other compensatory measures (both in terms of workload and salaries) because there are already problems with staff retention and complaints about employee welfare. It was already becoming a problem when the number of races was around 20-21 per season – it’s also all well and good to talk about the bigger teams, like Mercedes and Red Bull, but what about the smaller teams further down the field that don’t have the same resources to throw at the problem?

            It doesn’t help that we’ve had individuals go “well, you’re lucky to work in F1, so don’t complain” – it’s not listening to the issues and is creating an environment where complaints are going to be ignored (although more motorcycle oriented, Mat Oxley over at Motorsport Magazine has talked about how motorsport is pretty bad at managing mental health issues, with a strong tendency for mental health issues to be ignored).

            It’s also an issue that Liberty Media has already gone back on a previous promise over the use of triple headers. When there were triple headers on the calendar in 2018, the response from the teams was overwhelmingly negative – from what Zak Brown said at the time, Liberty Media indicated to the teams that they would refrain from further triple headers in the future.

            Now, whilst some triple headers were accepted due to the current pandemic, those were meant to be dropping off the calendar. However, the 2022 calendar now features two triple headers, despite repeated complaints from pretty much every single team prior to the calendar being announced – and, if Dieter’s claimed draft calendar is right, they were plans for three triple headers for 2022.

            Considering that the feedback from teams was so negative and warned about the problems it would cause staff, we’re not only seeing triple headers reappear, they’re getting more numerous. With Liberty Media having already gone back on a promise not to use triple headers, and with previously announced plans to extend the calendar further, why should we believe that Liberty will stop at 23 races?

          3. anon I have just checked the 2022 provisional calendar on F1’s official site and as of Oct 15 there is not one triple header. The opposite of what you claim. Sounds like in fact F1 has listened to the teams presumably because as you say they have complained about that. Seems to me like it was more of a temporary pandemic thing.

            As to lesser teams having more of an issue rotating staff over a long season, this is where the budget caps and the fairer money distribution can help in that regard.

            As I have said I can’t see the number of races increasing much beyond 23, so if it eventually gets to 24 that would fit with my claim. There is no reason to assume that a 24th automatically means more and more. That’s just overdramatizing. Common sense says that with the off-season they need, the month long break mid-season, and the fact that there are numerous personnel that can’t be rotated, on every team, there is a finite number of races they can have in a season and I believe they are close to if not at that limit with 23 or 24.

          4. @robbie Spa-Zandvoort-Monza and Sochi-Singapore-Suzuka are triple headers next year.

          5. @robbie I can only assume that you must have made a mistake and are unable to find the 2022 calendar because, as noted by Baleux above, there are two triple headers on the schedule.

            The first triple header is formed from the Belgian, Dutch and Italian GPs, which are on the 28th August, 4th September and 11th September respectively, which is then followed by the second triple header of the Russian, Singaporean and Japanese GPs on the 25th September, 2nd October and 9th October respectively. Maybe you might want to take a second look at the calendar and to reconsider your claims https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.formula-1-announces-23-race-calendar-for-2022.2HcIP34fK3Zznx7YZfWL6P.html

            As for your comment that “There is no reason to assume that a 24th automatically means more and more. That’s just overdramatizing.” – no offence, but you said pretty much the same thing when the calendar was expanded to 22 races and there was talk of adding a 23rd race. The comment about “not too much more” than 23 races also feels like a deliberately vague fudge that allows you to then push the threshold of what you consider acceptable up to match whatever Liberty Media then decides on – you’re already shifting it to now “23 or 24 races”.

            With regards to your other comment that “As to lesser teams having more of an issue rotating staff over a long season, this is where the budget caps and the fairer money distribution can help in that regard.” – that really feels like you’re using the budget cap as your answer to everything, but I really feel that is not trying to address the question properly, or even at all. I’ve pointed out that you’re telling the teams to do something that they are already doing (rotating staff around), and that staff retention was already being talked about as a problem for teams even with fewer races on the calendar.

            It does nothing to address the cultural issues within the motorsport sector towards the poor management of mental health issues either – organisations like Liberty Media really don’t seem to want to touch that subject, and it is only recently that the subject has been broached in the motorsport press in a more sympathetic light.

            Norris and Wolff have been prepared to talk about their struggles with mental health in the past couple of years and to broach a subject that is often not talked about, but there are others who view that in a more contemptuous manner. Verstappen’s attitude, when asked if he’d be prepared to discuss his mental health, retorted that he wouldn’t talk about what he saw as a “weakness”; Tost, meanwhile, was also criticised for what many saw as his flippant dismissal of any concerns about the 2022 calendar length with his retort that was basically “I don’t care, now shut up and stop complaining”.

            It doesn’t matter how much money those teams might have if there are those within the team who view spending money on matters such as mental health management as a waste of time and money, and that is an issue where there really doesn’t seem to be any effort by Liberty Media to discuss the potential impact of their expansion of the calendar on that area.

          6. @baleux

            https://www.planetf1.com/news/ferrari-hope-triple-headers-go-away/

            My bad and I apologize to anon I totally didn’t look carefully enough at the schedule. That said, I have also now read quotes from some teams and it seems they can live with them even though some think it is still a necessary part of pandemic planning and they hope that once the pandemic is totally behind us they can reconfigure the schedule. The first triple header in 2018 caught the teams off guard a little and might have been the source of some TP’s ire, but they have easily learned to adapt, and the races are close in proximity to each other and in nearly the same time zone. The triple headers have been cited as manageable and the teams have signed off on them. Are they ideal? No. Is this Liberty being heavy handed with the teams? No. Is there great strife amongst the teams from this schedule? No. I haven’t been able to find quotes of Liberty promising to do away with them and then going back on said promise. I found it interesting, but it makes sense, that this is still considered part of pandemic influenced planning.

          7. Anon I saw the post from @baleux and responded but for some reason it wasn’t accepted. Perhaps it was an unwanted link I had provided. Hopefully this will get through. I wrote…

            “My bad and I apologize to anon I totally didn’t look carefully enough at the schedule. That said, I have also now read quotes from some teams and it seems they can live with them even though some think it is still a necessary part of pandemic planning and they hope that once the pandemic is totally behind us they can reconfigure the schedule. The first triple header in 2018 caught the teams off guard a little and might have been the source of some TP’s ire, but they have easily learned to adapt, and the races are close in proximity to each other and in nearly the same time zone. The triple headers have been cited as manageable and the teams have signed off on them. Are they ideal? No. Is this Liberty being heavy handed with the teams? No. Is there great strife amongst the teams from this schedule? No. I haven’t been able to find quotes of Liberty promising to do away with them and then going back on said promise. I found it interesting, but it makes sense, that this is still considered part of pandemic influenced planning.”

            So further to your most recent comment, I don’t personally have a number of races threshold for I am happy to leave that up to F1 and the teams to decide. I don’t recall really talking about this topic when it was going to go to 22, but if you say I did that’s fine. I probably said something like the more the merrier, but that has always been in the context that they will decide collectively what is best for F1 and I love watching F1 races.

            I stand by my point that there simply will not be much more time in the year to do more than let’s say 24 races. My point being I doubt it is going to go much further but it’s just not something I’m greatly concerned about, and while I have read the negative comments towards such a lengthy schedule and/or the triple headers, again I’ll leave that up to the teams to put up a strong front if/when it just gets to be too much. While some seem a bit fussed about it, it sounds like they are prepared for and capable of adapting and already are.

            As to what Max said, I think the context of it was that he was asked if he would speak openly about specific mental health issues he might have to which he then asked in retort why would he reveal a weakness to his rivals. I tie that in with his recent revelation that he would no longer participate in the Netflix series as his words and actions will get inappropriately portrayed. Perhaps that is his way of preserving his own mental health.

            While I agree he could have been more diplomatic with his comment and included something such as ‘mental health is vital as is support,’ I’m not going to judge him on one question he was asked that may have had him with his guard up. I would like to hear him expand on his view on mental health and I’m sure he would agree it is important and that he is aware of the resources provided should he need to see someone privately.

            Similarly thanks to you bringing things up that others have said such as Norris and Wolff I also don’t see them specially talking about their issues but rather either admitting they have struggled at times or that they are happy there are resources available for support. I too am happy to read, again thanks to your prompting, that there are more and more resources available. I continue to maintain for now that I am reading no vehement opposition to a lengthy calendar and rather am reading about how they are able to adapt and manage said calendar.

      2. #FansAreAgainstMoreRaces!!!

        Unfortunately, the global fan survey grouped the number of races wanted into 13, meaning the bosses of Formula 1 don’t want to know how many races the fans want.

    2. Personally one of the things that I really like about F1 is that it is not as much of a time commitment as other sports can be. You have a race every two weeks and get to see all the teams compete together, it’s all very digestible and the barrier to entry ifs fairly low even if the sport is relatively complex and technical. You can follow it without it taking over your life is what I mean and the more races they add the more difficult it becomes to follow. I get why they want to add more races and understand why some people say the more the merrier but I just wanted to mention how less could also work better for some people. Considering an extreme example, if F1 was like the Premier League with a race every weekend I would personally absolutely not be able to watch all races (but I know this is the most extreme version of this!).

    3. @Depailer Everything has a limit. Travel staff rotation is possible, but only to a limited extent, etc.
      Additionally, travelling in national football leagues such as premiere league is nothing in comparison, neither distance nor transportation-wise, so apples to oranges comparison. A day-night difference between football & motorsport in this regard.

  14. Strongly agree. It is a county of at least 350 million people. Las Vegas is an easy drive from California and is already a tourist destination. Texas and Miami are more regional races. I wouldn’t bother with the north as the weather is poor and there is already the Canadian race.

    1. Why does poor weather equal a no-go?

      Poor weather equals great racing!

      1. Sometimes poor weather equals no racing. Generally rainy races are only hoped for due to decades of cars not meant to race closely together and the predictability of F1 being too much a money game. When rain becomes an ‘equalizer’ that’s when we know the cars need changing. F1 under BE knew that but couldn’t get it’s act together to do something about it, but now Liberty and the teams have. I predict much less of an appetite for rainy races in the new chapter just as I predict that tracks thought of now as ‘boring’ with few passing opportunities, will be less so with the new cars.

    2. @jimfromus The weather is decent in the Northern Hemisphere summer.

  15. strongly agree – but with two caveats. first, obviously Miami has to do well to warrant a third US race. second, US #3 would be instead of another race (thinking middle east, personally) not added to a rather large calendar as it is.

  16. Strongly disagree. The U.S. GP was the first F1 race in the Americas in almost two years and there is no Canadian GP this year which certainly helped set the attendance record. COTA has had serious financial difficulties in recent years and may have to resurface the track again after having just done so over the 2019-20 winter. Miami hasn’t even been run yet, has faced major local opposition, and is a street race which are always vulnerable in their first few years. Adding a third race is excessive for any country and could hurt the others already there.

  17. I don’t give rats ass.

  18. I think 3 is too many, but if they’re all great spectacles I wouldn’t mind too much.

    My issue is that I’m afraid they won’t be. Austin’s COTA is one of the worst circuits on the calender, we’ve never had an exciting race there at all since its inception. Can’t stand the place. Miami worries me because it doesn’t look particularly interesting.

    I just wish we could use circuits like Road America and Laguna Seca which would have provided great racing maybe 12 years ago, but the current whale-cars are now incompatible with the circuits.

    1. I think you will find most drivers and fans would disagree with you. You must have a very short memory, some of the highest rated races on this very site we’re at this circuit.

    2. MSO I guess you didn’t see the race last weekend. But anyway, perhaps reserve your judgement about tracks when the new cars begin racing in anger as I predict many tracks are going to ‘come alive’ once the drivers have cars with which they can feel confident in in close combat, no longer so badly harmed in dirty air.

      As to Road America and Laguna Seca of course you are right that it would be amazing to see F1 there, but it has little to do with the size of the cars but much more to do with the infrastructure needed around the track as well as the runoff areas required by today’s F1’s current safety standards. Today’s cars are no wider than they were in the 70’s/80’s. Can-Am cars have raced there too.

      1. What exactly was exciting about the race in Austin beyond the opening couple of laps?

        Not looking for an argument just genuinely curious, I thought it was a bore-fest

        1. some racing fan
          31st October 2021, 1:10

          He’s not talking about this year’s race there- which was actually pretty good (the finish I thought was a highlight), he’s talking about previous races there. 2012, 2015 and 2018 were all ranked in the top 20 best F1 races since 2008 on this site.

        2. MSO For me and I think for many, including Racefans, it was a nail biter by their description in one of this site’s post-race headlines, and is exactly what I was calling it in my mind particularly during the last stint. I thought the tension as LH on his fresher tires reeled in Max on his older ones was gripping, pun intended. As a Max fan I was truly concerned for his tire state to stave off LH at the end, and was hugely relieved when he did so.

          1. I think we all like different things. I get nothing out of the tension when it doesn’t result in actual wheel-to-wheel action. Unfortunately Austin had very little of that this year (and I honestly don’t remember many Austin races at all despite watching all of them – which suggests to me they didn’t entertain me, personally).

            One of the reasons I also thought Zandvoort was so bad this year is that I get no enjoyment out of just watching cars driving fast – Zandvoort was a fast procession, with next to no actual action. I think if like me you prefer to see wheel-to-wheel fights rather than tension and build up then too many races of late have just been lacking.

            I am really looking forward to 2022 because it offers the hope of closer racing – and that is the first real hope I have had in that department for a long time. Maybe then I will appreciate circuits that others seem to love like COTA and Zandvoort.

          2. MSO Well said and fair comment. For sure not all races that lack action carry as much tension as I found there was at COTA last weekend. Liberty and Brawn have recognized the problem F1 has had for a long time, and the key for me too is that Brawn has said from the get-go it is not about more passes for the sake of more passes, but is about closer combat.

    3. @MSO Neither Road America nor Laguna Seca holds FIA Grade 1.

  19. Yes if it’s in Indy

    1. Great minds…

  20. On second thought, I’m happy with every race that does not help legitimise some dubious regime in exchange for millions.

  21. USA is huge, both geographically and economically, it can’t really be compared as a single country against single European countries. It would arguably be more fair to compare against the European countries combined. Just look at a world map and mark out all the places where there is an F1 race, it’s not exactly an even spread.
    In short, yes I think there is definitely room for a 3rd race in the USA.
    But I’m not sure there is room for more races on the calendar. They will probably have to look at rotating schedules where all races, across the entire calendar, might not happen every year. And they should not have more races in the USA just for the sake of it. It would have to be unique venues that offers something different, just as the rest of the calendar. We don’t want three races in the USA that all look and feel the same.
    And just to put into perspective again how huge the USA is, as a European that has never been there I usually think of it like this. Americans can go on vacation to a place with a totally different climate compared to where they live – while never leaving their country.

  22. No, enough is enough

  23. Not able to vote, but would vote “Strongly disagree”

    There have been three races per season in the USA before. Strongly feel there should be no more than two races in the USA (currently Austin & Miami) and another (non-Middle East) nation given a chance to host a GP

    1. some racing fan
      31st October 2021, 1:12

      There was only 3 races in the US in one year (1982); from 1976 to 1981 and 1983-1984 there were 2 races in the US. (Indianapolis 500 in 1959 and 1960 doesn’t count). From 1976 to 1980 we used to have Long Beach on the West Coast in April and Watkins Glen on the East Coast in October.

  24. COTA and the Miami track, being built as a proper course, should be enough in the US.

    There are other parts of the world should be graced with F1 presence with races. Africa could be a host for example.

  25. Yes, mainly because the US has some fantastic tracks. COTA is alright but not in the same league as Sonoma, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Daytona Road Course, Watkins Glen or Laguna Seca. Except for Spa, Suzuka and maybe Interlagos I think all those tracks are as good as anything on the current F1 calendar.

    If I had to pick three, give me Daytona Road course for the spectacle, Sonoma for an old school Zandvoort/Mugello experience and then Road America for a great track.

  26. One is just enough…

  27. If there’s the interest, yes.

    I normally follow the view of ‘one country, one race’, but I think the US can be considered an exception to that rule. ‘One country, one race’ works from a traditional Eurocentric viewpoint because it’s a continent of relatively small nations with relatively small populations… any fan in the UK, Italy, Germany, France, Spain could reasonably be expected to travel to their home race (and plenty attend other nearby European rounds). That’s not true for the US… Seattle to COTA isn’t much shorter a journey than London to Sochi.

    In terms of land area the US is only a tiny bit smaller than the whole of Europe, and it has a population of around 330 million spread out in multiple large urban areas. The US has a huge motorsport history and interest in F1 is growing… and one would expect more races in convenient timezones, closer to more people, would only work to increase that (and that’s a good thing). So I think F1 would be entirely justified to go up to three or even four races in the US.

  28. Yes, get the Indy 500 back in the World Championship.

    Bam!

  29. I would much prefer an additional race to be added in South Africa or the Asian region to grow the sport, rather that see Nth America monopolise the series.

    1. @johnrkh Nothing is going to take the monopoly away from Europe, but sure I agree South Africa or another Asian race would work too. I’d like them to see how the two races in the US go before they decide if a third is needed to grow the sport more that way, but I definitely think they should use the second to really see where they can take the US market given the relative lacklustre following there to which F1 has become accustomed. Yeah two plus Mexico and Canada would/should be pretty good coverage for N.A. Maybe a better product on the track and less predictability will go a long way to bolstering US interest.

      1. + 1 Sensible comment.

  30. The US has The Glen, Road America, Daytona Road-Course… And yet we end up with Miami, NYC/California/Vegas/other craps and COTA. So I simply can’t help being strongly against this rubbish.

    1. some racing fan
      31st October 2021, 0:56

      I am for a third race in the USA- but not in Vegas. If there is going to be a third race over here, it absolutely has to be on the West Coast- preferably California- on an updated and lengthened (by about .4 miles for any of these) Laguna Seca, Long Beach, Sonoma or some other established circuit near Los Angeles or San Francisco (Laguna Seca is two hours from SF, but only an hour from San Jose/Silicon Valley, the southernmost city in the SF Bay Area).

    2. some racing fan
      31st October 2021, 1:01

      *That previous comment is not a response.

      I would pick Daytona over Miami for F1 any day of the week. But in addition all those circuits needing safety upgrades, Watkins Glen is way, way too isolated for F1 these days (it is 2 1/2 hours from Buffalo and 4 1/2 hours from NYC, Philadelphia and Toronto), there are little to no hotels out there and considering how fast it is, it would probably be butchered by F1. Road America would need pit and safety upgrades and more hotels closer to it but it probably could be untouched; it’s only an hour or so from Milwaukee and also 2 1/2 hours from Chicago.

    3. @niefer None of those three holds the necessary FIA Grade. Besides COTA, Indy is the only permanent one.

  31. some racing fan
    31st October 2021, 1:01

    I am for a third race in the USA- but not in Vegas. If there is going to be a third race over here, it absolutely has to be on the West Coast- preferably California- on an updated and lengthened (by about .4 miles for any of these) Laguna Seca, Long Beach, Sonoma or some other established circuit near Los Angeles or San Francisco (Laguna Seca is two hours from SF, but only an hour from San Jose/Silicon Valley, the southernmost city in the SF Bay Area).

  32. Only if the layout of the tracks are as good or better than COTA.

    Skip boring tracks like Monaco, Melbourne, Monza and Russia on the calendar.

    1. @jamesbond Monza boring? Monaco, bad for racing, yes, but enjoyable driving-wise.
      Hard to judge Melbourne at this point, given track changes.

    2. Melbourne – adelaide, I’d keep all other 3 based on recent races.

  33. Time zone cannot be an argument. Firstly, they have (at least) 5 races in their preferred time zone next season, thats more than 20% of all races. Secondly, a European 3pm race start is 8-9am in most parts of the US. Hardly a very “inconvenient” time. Thirdly, when was the last time the US cared about other countries when scheduling any sports event? Never. Qualifying at Austin was at 11pm CET…

    As far as I know, Formula One is a series with European origins. So I am against Americanizing it.

  34. Pretty much, considering how many races are in Europe, there should be atleast 3 in US.

    There is Canada and Mexico, so quite well covered.

    There are a distinct lack of races in lower hemisphere though. But regional stability and race finances do not allow it.

    In any case a country that can bring 380k fans to a racing event deserves more than one.

  35. My ideal calendar with 3 US races, 16 races a year, quality tracks all round except those needed to get a race on each continent:

    Sepang
    Bahrain rotating standard layout with outer layout
    Instanbul Park
    Hungaroring
    Silverstone
    Spa
    Muggelo/Monza/Imola on rotation
    Mangy Cours, Nurburgring and Hockenhiem on rotation
    Portimao (Would rotate with Le Mans if possible)
    Kylami (Or ideally build a new circuit somewhere in Africa)
    Daytona Road Course
    Road America
    Sonoma
    Interlagos
    Any Australian Race (I guess Bathurst is out of the question)
    Suzuka

    1. some racing fan
      1st November 2021, 0:45

      I would do this:

      1. Miami (February 27)
      2. South Africa (March 13)
      3. Australia (Melbourne) (March 27)
      4. Singapore (April 3)
      5. Japan (Suzuka) (April 17)
      6. Korea (Inje Speedium) (April 24)
      7. Portugal/Spain (Portimao/Aragon) (May 8) (alternate yearly)
      8. Monaco (May 22)
      9. USA West (Laguna Seca) (new 2.57 mi circuit) (June 5)
      10. Canada (Montreal) (June 12)
      11. Hungary/Turkey (alternate) (June 26)
      12. Austria (July 3)
      13. Holland (July 17)
      14. Britain (July 24)
      15. Russia (August 7)
      16. Belgium (September 4)
      17. Italy (September 11)
      18. Azerbaijan (September 25)
      19. France (Ricard with no chicanes) (October 2)
      20. Brazil (October 15)
      21. Mexico (October 29)
      22. USA (Austin) (November 5)
      23. Abu Dhabi (November 19)

      1. some racing fan
        1st November 2021, 0:46

        *20. Brazil (October 16)
        21. Mexico (October 30)
        22. USA (Austin) (November 6)
        23. Abu Dhabi (November 20)

        1. some racing fan
          1st November 2021, 1:04

          Actually-

          1. Miami (February 27)
          2. India (March 13)
          3. Australia (March 20)
          4. South Africa (April 3)
          5. Singapore (April 17)
          6. Japan (Suzuka) (April 24)
          7. Portugal/Spain (Portimao/Aragon) (May 8) (alternate yearly)
          8. Monaco (May 22)
          9. Russia (June 5)
          10. Hungary/Turkey (alternate) (June 12)
          11. Canada (Montreal) (June 26)
          12. USA West (Laguna Seca) (new 2.57 mi circuit) (July 3)
          13. Holland (July 17)
          14. Britain (July 24)
          15. Austria (August 7)
          16. Belgium (September 4)
          17. Italy (September 11)
          18. Azerbaijan (September 25)
          19. France (Ricard with no chicanes) (October 2)
          20. Brazil (October 16)
          21. Mexico (October 30)
          22. USA (Austin) (November 6)
          23. Abu Dhabi (November 20)

  36. “There’s also the question of time zones. For US audiences European races are at inconvenient times, while Middle Eastern and Asian rounds are only ever going to be watched by the die-hards. The best way to attract casual viewers in large number in the US is therefore to add more races in their time zone.”

    No. we have DVRs. as an american, i love watching F1 in the morning, then going about the rest of my day

  37. Voted slightly disagree. There will be two races in U.S. next year. Then there are races in Canada and Mexico which are relatively close. So I don’t think they are two badly served.

    I think it’s fair to see how things develop after Miami. But I am concerned about the creeping Americanisation of the whole sport. We all know what I mean.

    I am not in favour of increasing the total number of races. So an extra U.S. race might mean less elsewhere. However I also don’t like the way the sport is just chasing the highest bidder for races.

    I would gladly see a race or two in the Middle East swapped for an extra one in the U.S.

  38. We’re not there yet. I imagine part of the reason for the large crowd at the USGP this year was because people have been locked down for 18mos. And the Miami race has been rumored for seemingly a decade, fine.

    I, for one, think the Miami street and parking lot circuit will be abysmal. Maybe it will be amazing, or just fine. But I think it would be foolhardy to saturate the market with 3 races when there have been concerns in recent years whether 1 even made sense anymore.

  39. No. There’s more than enough pandering to go around already.

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