F1 in the USA: New York? Los Angeles? – Which cities could F1 race at next?

Joe Ellis
Monday 1 May 2023 13:27 - Updated: 13:27

The F1 circus heads to the sunshine state of Florida this weekend (5-7 May) for the Miami Grand Prix at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Miami circuit held its inaugural race in 2022 and the F1 explosion in the United States of America has seen Las Vegas now enter the fray with its first event in November.

But F1 is not in the mood to stop in its attempts to become mainstream in the American sporting landscape with three races on US shores in 2023 – including the American GP at Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

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Spiking interest

F1 has flirted with the USA with several venues coming on and then swiftly back off the calendar since the the 1980s, with venues from Detroit to Phoenix all having stop-offs at some point from the Formula 1 roadshow.

The hugely-popular Netflix series 'Drive to Survive' finally smashed the barrier down to the US in a way that was able to capture the public imagination and F1 is now seeking to take advantage.

Interest has been spiking in 2023 with a 40 per cent increase of views in the opening week of 'Drive to Survive' season five compared to season four in 2022.

The Circuit of the Americas also broke records in 2022 with a total weekend attendance of 440,000 as Max Verstappen claimed victory in Austin.

With it becoming ever more popular as a sport in the US, where could F1 head next if the sport adds a fourth American race to the ever-expanding calendar?

GPFans takes a look at the potential options...

New York

Perhaps the obvious choice, F1 has always had an eye on the bright lights of the city that never sleeps despite the obvious hurdles they would have to overcome.

Interest and talks have seemingly cooled since Miami and Las Vegas entered the fray but if the opportunity arises, F1 will be storming through the door to get it done.

Formula E have already proven a race in the 'Big Apple' is possible but F1 won't settle for the Red Hook docks, they want pizzaz.

Los Angeles

If the Las Vegas GP is a rousing success, another race on the west coast might be high on the agenda for F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

The City of Angels is a huge attraction for the biggest names in sport and entertainment and they would all be out in force if the fastest show on earth rolled into town.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for an 'LA GP' would be the timing of the race for the European audience, where the majority of F1's long-term fans reside.

San Francisco

F1 loves a stunning backdrop – as we've just seen at the World Heritage site of the Azerbaijan GP – and San Francisco could provide the perfect setting.

We have seen F1 cars drive across the Golden Gate Bridge before in a demo run stunt, thanks to Red Bull, but the thought of 20 of them racing over the water is simply mouth-watering.

IndyCar has already come up with a similar idea for a track on the streets of Nashville and that has proven to be a huge success with 110,000 spectators attending over the weekend at last year's event.

Chicago

All of the above cities would need a track to be found within the confines of the existing roads and streets but there is one city that has already gone through that process.

NASCAR will head to the streets of Chicago for the very first time in 2023 and a crossover event between the futuristic F1 and the more rugged American stock car series could be the stuff of legend.

America's favourite motorsport series (with 3.7million television viewers on average in 2022) has the potential to catapult F1 to the front pages in the States if the bosses are willing to take the gamble.

Which is most likely?

Domenicali is always open to new ideas and locations for F1 to visit so there could even be a future where all four of these races get approved.

F1 is most interested in the biggest possible venues for the sport and they don't come any bigger than New York and the eyes that particular race could draw is something that will no doubt be in the minds of Domenicali and everyone else who holds sway over these matters.

But if only one could end up on the calendar, a blast over the Golden Gate Bridge would be an unbelievable spectacle to witness for racing fans, even if a grandstand over the water might prove tricky.

Regardless, even if it would take balancing the demands of a hectic F1 calendar to make it happen, each and every one of these US races would add something new and exciting to the sporting spectacle.

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