It won't be this year, but an F1 street race is in the works for the U.S.
New F1 Street Race Coming To United States
A new F1 street race is in the works for a yet-to-be-determined United States City. Chase Carey, new Formula One CEO, wants to expand the race series in the US. Carey says the long-standing race series hasn’t “reached its potential.”
Liberty Media recently acquired Formula One in a $8 billion deal. With the new ownership, new races will be added and existing races will be expanded.
Formula One racing suffered due to increasing rule implementation and a lack of vision under former CEO Bernie Ecclestone. Liberty Media’s acquisition takes the shackles off, leaving the sky as the only limit in F1 racing.
American F1 Street Race Coming?
In an F1 press release, Carey commented that F1 “has huge potential with multiple untapped opportunities.”
“We would like to add a destination race in the U.S. in a location like New York, L.A., Miami, Las Vegas,” he said. “We haven’t invested in the way we need to build the U.S. market.”
Liberty Media understands the American market well. They are involved in LiveNation Entertainment, Time Warner and are partners in ventures that include the Pepsi Center and several other entertainment facets. As such, one would be led to believe their industry connections will make their aspirations quickly come to life.
Formula One Struggling Through 2017
F1 has already set the 2017 season, so don’t expect the American F1 street race in the next 12 months.
And as it goes, the season will be different from last year in a couple of ways. The German Grand Prix will not be run because of money woes at Hockenheim, and the first F1 race in Azerbaijan will commence this season.
Unfortunately, other staple races in the season – Britain, for example – are in danger because of the rising costs, coupled with disinterest in F1. Carey will have his hands full to turn around the Formula One fortunes and get the organization on the right course. He won’t do it alone, though, unlike his predecessor, Bernie Ecclestone.
For four decades, Ecclestone ran the F1 as a dictatorship. Carey plans to do it differently, saying, “I don’t plan to run a one-man show.”
Acknowledging the entertainment importance in F1, Carey said: “What I would like to have is 21 Super Bowls. Priority 1 is to make the races bigger and better. We have some great races like Singapore, Mexico and Abu Dhabi, but we have to make all the races have an energy and excitement that really makes them unique events.”
In the coming years, expect a buzz around F1 events and a higher profile. And expect changes in F1 races too: removing restrictions, decreasing costs, faster engines and less predictability.
