F1 is seeing a huge boom in viewership in the US ahead of the inaugural 2022 Miami GP.
The country is showing great enthusiasm for the sport, which has been successful mainly in Europe throughout its history.
American fans have always looked to NASCAR and IndyCar Racing for their motorsports action, largely ignoring Europe’s premier single-seater racing league.
However, that has now changed thanks to the very popular Netflix. drive to survive docuseries. Last year, almost 400,000 fans packed the stands at the US GP in Texas, a number that exceeds that of most European venues.
The 2022 F1 Miami GP is no exception, with the newly built venue completely sold out months before the event.
TV numbers are also rising along with the numbers on the site, with an average of 1.3 million people having tuned in to ESPN to watch the Bahrain season opener. By comparison, 2021 had an average of 900,000 American fans watching throughout the season.
Former F1 driver Gerhard Berger had this to say about the recent rise of the sport in the US:
“It is clear that there is a new boom in Formula 1. And this time it comes from the United States. One has always known that if one establishes a foothold in the United States, Formula 1 will take on a new dimension. It just never worked.” But this time it’s different and the key to that was the Netflix series.”
Lewis Hamilton acknowledges the rise of F1 in the US.
Lewis Hamilton feels that F1 is finally breaking into the US market. This weekend’s Miami GP will be one of two races to be held in the United States this year. Next season, the sport will have up to three races in the US, with the inclusion of Las Vegas.
The Briton said he had always wondered why the sport had not taken off in the United States and attributed its recent popularity in the country to Netflix. drive to survive. He said:
“I think so, yes. I’ve been coming here for a long, long time, but I never understood why people weren’t interested in Formula 1. Everyone knew about NASCAR and obviously there are big sports fans here. But the Netflix show, particularly during the pandemic, just brought mass awareness to the sport, and now it’s booming.”
The seven-time world champion is hoping American soil brings him good luck as he battles not only rival teams but also teammate George Russell.