7 Places Formula 1 Should Race In America

Formula 1 has always been looking to expand the number of races it has in the USA but the takeover by Liberty Media may speed things up, so what possible locations could they be looking at?

Jack Leslie

07 Oct 2016

7 Places Formula 1 Should Race In America

Formula 1 has a good home in the Circuit of the Americas, in Texas, but the series has always been looking to expand its viewership in the USA with more races. Liberty Media’s takeover of F1 could be the start of that. Here are some of the possible options or places where F1 could go.

1. New York

A street race in New York was proposed for the 2013 season and one in New Jersey was included on the provisional calendar, before being delayed to 2014. We haven’t heard anything about it since then but recently Formula E has confirmed it will race next year at a street track in Brooklyn.

New York is one of the biggest and most famous cities in the world, so it’s obvious getting F1 there would be a big deal and could also help introduce the series to the market. Plus, wherever you have the race (and it’d probably be somewhere along the river), there’d be a spectacular backdrop from all angles.

When people think of cities in the USA, New York and Los Angeles are probably the most famous and well known. F1 raced at the Long Beach street track, located in Los Angeles County, in the late 1970s and 80s. This would be an important race for F1 and it’s been a rumoured location for some time.

How awesome would that be, right? It’s probably not that likely, as the track wouldn’t be the best fit for F1 and might need modification. But imagine seeing 22 cars threading through the Corkscrew - it would be quite a sight. F1 at Laguna Seca would be immensely popular.

4. Las Vegas

F1 has actually raced in Las Vegas before, as the Caesars Palace Grand Prix. It was basically a track in the Caesars Palace car park and wasn’t particularly well received. But a street race in Las Vegas, maybe taking in the famous ‘strip’, would be pretty big for F1 and a unique event.

5. Road America

OK, this one probably isn’t very likely, but Road America is one of the USA’s most famous and historic race tracks. It isn’t completely suited to F1 but the cars would be pretty rapid around there - especially when you see how quickly IndyCar machines are there. It’s a little more remote than some of the other options, which would also be a stumbling block.

Watkins Glen already has a good history with F1, having held the US GP from 1961 to 1980. It’s a twisty and flowing track, which would be a treat for F1 drivers. It’s also not too far away from New York and Niagara Falls.

7. Detroit

F1 has raced in Detroit before but I wouldn’t necessarily go back to that old track. I think of all the street tracks IndyCar goes to, and the Belle Isle track is probably well suited to single-seater racing. It’s a big city, too, and would be a good race to have alongside the current US GP, which is the other side of the country in Texas.

Where would you like to see F1 race in the US? Let us know in the comments!

Comments

Pretty sure F1 have the rule of one country = one race with the exception of the European race which changes venue

Germany - hockingheim and Nurburgring

It has happen both in Italy (Monza-Imola) an Germany (Nürburgring-Hockenheim) in the past so I don’t see this a as a problem. Especially considering the meaning of CotA, the could make a GPotA.

Imola & Monza are both in Italy.
Hockenheim and the Nurburging were both used in a single season as well (‘97/‘98).

And funnily enough America had two GP’s in the 80’s. US GP East (Detroit) and US GP West (Long Beach).

But what happens when one of the cars backfires in detroit, the whole crowd will go ballistic.

Hahaha the racisim

Yeah…cuz they’ve never heard backfiring or gunshots before.

Back in the day, the joke was that the locals stole the hubcaps off of the F1 cars as they drove the old downtown circuit.

The problem is that most (if not all) of these dedicated tracks do not meet current FIA standards and making the changes required to do that is very expensive. My understanding all those custom requirements were a big reason they had to build CoTA from scratch.

I assume some sort of leniency is allowed for the temporary street courses like Baku. They allowed things like kerb bolts to erode the tyres, which would never be allowed on real track. So maybe other street courses in the US would be more likely.

Yeah, they’d need modifications as I said. Not realistic but this list is more a “that would be damn awesome”

It’s not only this but the “fee” Formula 1 wants is so high, Vendors, AKA the Track presidents and Majors, will struggle to get their money back so it’s not a wise investment

Maybe a Boston street track?

I would love a N.Y. grand prix

It would be so near to go to a race but they do it in Texas. Nascar territory and I hate that

The old joke about the salesman who writes home, “No shoe sales possible, no one wears shoes” followed by the next salesperson, “Wonderful shoe market, no one has shoes”. Well, NYC has no auto races, granted (and F1 has tried for a long time to get one) but that is possibly because there aren’t that many race fans?