Formula 1 Eyeing Third US Race

Hi Friends,

The Netflix Drive to Survive series is proving its worth. Not only are F1 viewer numbers up in the Americas, but globally there are increases as well.

Drive to Survive can easily be described as one of the best pieces of long-format content that a brand has put out. And it only gets better.

Season 4 of DTS will cover this insane 2021 season which has given us everything from title contender crashes to lead changes to unsung winners and heartbreaking losses.

How does Liberty Media plan to capitalize on this success?

Another race in the USA…allegedly.

I recently posted a question on Twitter regarding a third US race, and here are some of the responses

The Las Vegas Strip

Vegas, a city like Miami, oozes F1 vibes.

I pulled some international flight data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and discovered exciting nuggets. Of the international visitors to Vegas in 2019:

• 16.1% from Great Britain
• 11.1% from Mexico
• 3.4% from Korea
• 2.6% from Germany
• 2.2% from China

This data was for the origin of the incoming flights, meaning Great Britain and China numbers may include more of Europe and Asia.

Las Vegas boasts over 150,000 hotel rooms, which regularly ranks at the top of all cities globally.

Chefs from all over the world come to cook and open up restaurants in Las Vegas.

It’s the entertainment capital of the world.

The Las Vegas Raiders (NFL), Vegas Golden Nights (NHL), and the Las Vegas Aces (WNBA) have created an incredible sporting atmosphere within the city and outside of just gambling.

The challenge with Vegas is the intense heat and featureless track that was created for the 1981 and 1982 seasons.

When I say featureless, I mean it was a terrible track. And the counter-clockwise rotation created immense stress on the drivers’ necks.

And there have been talks of returning to Vegas for nearly a decade now.

Holding a Grand Prix on the Las Vegas Strip would entail weeks or months of disruption in the heart of the city. According to the official F1 website, construction of the Circuit de Monaco takes six weeks. Would the casinos and other businesses be willing to endure the hit their bottom lines would surely take in the hopes of making up the difference over one race weekend?

The extensive disruptions and logistical issues are the main reasons a?long-discussed London Grand Prix?has never gone forward.

In addition to the cost of the circuit itself, someone would also have to come up with the race-hosting fee. For reference, the deal signed for the Russian Grand Prix was worth approximately $200 million over seven years.

We have a lot of questions, but if Liberty wants to find an answer, they will.

If you could choose a city, anywhere in the world, to host a Grand Prix, where would it be? Tweet me your answers?@vincenzolandino?and I’ll select some to do breakdowns of that city.