Is F-1 Racing dead in the U.S?

Question

I live about an hour from Indianapolis and never really noticed that the Untied States Grand Prix was racing. I only knew it was happening when I watched the news fron Indy and they were talking about it. I noticed too that there were very few people in the stands, especially compared to the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400. Does F-1 have a chance in the U.S. or should they not race here?

Answer 1

It's not dead, but only because of the enormous commercial potential should F1 ever manage to crack the US market.
Wish they'd give up trying and instead save one of the historic F1 races that are threatened by the commercial decisions driving the sport today. So few Americans care, and so many Europeans do...

Answer 2

I don't ever remember it being alive in the U.S. The racing isn't very good. If I want to watch 90 minutes of follow the leader with no passing Ill go sit next to a 2 lane road with some old person doing 15 mph so nobody can pass.

There were a lot of empty seats even in areas with good views. I was in the car on I-465 within about 45 minutes of the race ending. IMSA GT3 races were about the only entertainment on the track. Indy Pro, Formula BMW, and F1 were just follow the leader.

There were plenty of hills and bleachers on the infield. Hills were mostly full. Bleachers were about 2/3 full at best. Front straight ones were almost full.

Answer 3

Its not that its dead, its more of several factors.

1. Most F1 races are on early in the morning, or late at night. Unless your a diehard, or a big racing fan, your not gonna revolve your schedule around an event thats gonna be on at 6, Sunday Morning.

2. Lack of American Talent. You have Scott Speed, but is he exactly tearing up the circuts? If you had an American driver that was competiting for victories each race, intrest would go up. Plus, your average Joe Schmoe in Anytown, USA isnt exactly gonna be rooting for some Frenchman, or Brit, or Brazilian. They want someone that is just like them, and American. Thats how Champ Car got hurt quite a bit, when all the international talent overwhelmed it so much, all the American talent was almost non-existant.

3. "Boring" Racing. Americans like action, and thus why sports like NASCAR and Football (american) are popular, while F1 and Soccer are not. Most see a F1 race as nothing more than follow the leader, and then turn on a NASCAR race to see cars beating and banging off eachother for 500 miles. If you like excitement, whats usually your choice?

4. Lack of an American race for quite a while. During the mid and late 90's, there was no F1 races in the USA, and for a sport that already doesnt have a huge following like NASCAR, that will make some people forget. As long as F1 keeps on being committed to F1 racing in the USA, more than likely, support will grow, unless you get another incident like 2005.

And on how there didnt seem to be too many in the stands. Understand, Indy seats around 250,000-300,000 (there are no exact numbers), and usually gets around 150,000-200,000 for the event. I guarentee you that most any circut in the world would love to have that many for a F1 race. If the US GP stays at Indy, and it keeps on producing good racing, and no controversy, the already good numbers will look even better.

Answer 4

I live in Indy, only missed 3 USGP's. Is F-1 Racing dead in the US or will it be dead? I don't think so. Obviously from 92-99, 85-88, 81-83 US Grand Prixs were not held. But it took Tony George and the IMS management to bring F1 back to the United States. With Tony George running IMS I feel confident he will do everything possible to keep a US Grand Prix in F-1's line up and keep it in Indianapolis. If you compare and contrast the other races in the circuit to the USGP you will see that ticket prices (@$85) are cheaper here. You also have the track located inside the city, only 15 minutes from downtown. They run the buses from the downtown to IMS and from the airport to IMS during race day. Tony George asks for no money from the city or the state to put on this event. All upgrades to the track were paid out of his own pocket, so there is no need to recuperate any investment. Indianapolis is a perfect location for a United States Grand Prix.

The reason why there were so few people in the stands is that the majority of IMS is not used for the USGP. Basically 1st and 4th turns (Indy), the straightaway and the road course are only used for the race. So no one is going to sit in 2nd and 3rd turns of Indy and for safety reasons you can't sit in the infield (since the course cuts through there). Although ticket sales are not as great as that of Indy 500 and Brickyard, fans that come into the region spend more money in the local economy in one weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday than the other races.

The only reason why F1 and open wheel racing don’t have a chance to make it big is because they are dwarfed by NASCAR. It is extremely popular and even though I am not a fan, they have put together a very successful package.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kudekude,
The problems of merchandizing and promotion fall solely on the shoulders of F1. When F1 comes to town, Tony George basically turns the track over to them. If Tony George ran the track during the USGP you would see it promoted all over the place and merchandized properly. When I went last Sunday, the only hats that they had in the Gift Shop was that of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso’s Team Spirit hat from Renault. WTF? I wanted to pick up a BMW or McLaren hat and would have to go outside and buy them from an unofficial vender. I feel your pain as I think the USGP could have much more potential.

Erlish,
Boring is watching NASCAR go around in circles with outdated technology and cars that have nothing to do with their "STOCK" counterparts. 50 million lead changes, WWF style drama and point totals that make CPA's heads turns. If you don't see the competition in Formula One and the passing that goes on during the races, you aren't watching close enough. Fisichella spun out early in the race and went from 17th to 10th. He kept setting up poor saps in the entrance to the back straightaway and would blow right pass them. It was fantastic watching such a skilled driver pick off others like that. There were battles between Hamilton and Alonso, Raikkonen and Massa and the BMW Sauber (Vettel?) and the Toro Rosa all day long!
I admit that passing is difficult in F1, since all of the tracks are road courses, but that is where I see true competition. Pit strategy, tire and technical strategy and qualifying play a bigger part in the race than just have a faster car. I have seen guys loose their straight line advantage in the turns because they couldn’t keep up. A stark contrast to NASCAR.

Martin_rulz6,
I agree with a lot of what you say. My biggest beef with F1 is that they do not embrace their history and heritage. An example is that only the old commentators compare the new drivers to the old guys. When that happens in NASCAR, it is a great honor. When Dario Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500 he was asked how it felt to be in the company of great Scotsman that won the 500 and he had the biggest smile on his face and was honored to be in the same class.

Answer 5

F1 don't have a chance in US people there are mainly attracted to national sports event like Indy and Nascar not to mention that the US grand prix is not a very exciting race to watch so IMO F1 will never make it in USA

Answer 6

I don't think its dead, and keep in mind that the stands in Indianapolis are designed to handle the biggest one day racing event in the world, the Indy 500, so if people aren't exactly spilling out of the seats the racing event is not a failure. Most Americans know little about formula one but I believe its growing. So, to answer your question. No, its not dead, in my opinion anyway.

Answer 7

Americans like to SEE competition - F1 races do not provide the kind of nose-to-nose racing that Indy and the likes offer - edge of the seat excitement!

F1 has its own selfish agendas (that's another story) and the nature of the competition offer no, or little excitement for the spectator at the stands or worse on television - it is a BORING circus for a good 9 months of the year serving little purpose other than the people involved with it. America won't miss it (if it dies off), perhaps Mexico will welcome it!

Answer 8

Unless they hold other F1 races in the US each year and more Americans race in F1 that actually have a chance of taking down Hamilton, Alonso, Massa, and Kovelianen. F1 will have already died in the US.

Answer 9

F1 racing is not dead in the US, it draws one of the biggest crowds on the F1 calendar every year. It is not very well promoted which is a mystery to me year after year. Same goes for the merchandise, I would love to get some cool F1/Indy/US GP related gear, but all they sell at the track is crap.

Answer 10

judging by a few emails i have had from American F1 fans i think it is far from dead. it is not as big as NASCAR and Indy and i doubt it ever will be as there is only one race in the US at present. i think with the rise of Lewis Hamilton a lot more interest will be stirred and F1 will gain a lot more US fans. it is a shame that the event is not publicised more.