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Can Formula 1 be successful in the USA ?

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In the past 20 years, 4 venues in the USA have hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix; Las Vegas (2 races), Detroit (7 races), Dallas (1 race) and Phoenix (3 races). This year Formula 1 returns to the USA at the famous Indianapolis speedway.

A crowd of 250,000 spectators are expected at the event which will be the largest ever for Formula 1 but will it appeal to the average American spectator ?

In the USA there is the CART series with 15 races run in the USA, 2 in Canada, 1 in Brazil, 1 in Japan and 1 in Australia. There is the mixture of oval and road tracks, the rolling starts, the pace cars and lots of overtaking.

Formula 1 could be more advanced, has super quick pit stops but it lacks the overtaking that CART has to offer and that is the worrying bit.

Can Formula 1 make an impact in the USA this time ? Have your say ?  (What others are saying)

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What others are saying:

The main problem of F1 in USA is the TV coverage. I don't believe there is only one channel which may or may not broadcast the race live! Even if we wanted to pay money for full coverage, there is nobody to pay for - Zarikiani G - USA


Forget it Bernie  if you think the US will take to F1 by you guys making them subscribe to Speedvision you are wrong. If you want Americans to come your way charging them for the privilege is the wrong way. The only one who will benefit from this alliance is you Bernie. As an avid F1 afficianado, your chances of winning Americans over will fail miserably, but you will get fatter.

bye bye F1 - Mark H - USA


There is no way that F1 is going to make it in the USA.  This is based on the fact that we can't even support LIVE Television coverage of the 2001 Season.

Sadly, the only sports to survive in the US are NASCAR and Pro-wrestling, that's apparently all the typical mind can comprehend, constant left-hand turns, racing from one yellow flag to the next, and moronic wrestling action - Andrew F - USA


Nope!  Plain and simple.
Reason:  Coz all they're interested in is "American" sport and all things American. Probably the only "advanced" country in the world that doesnt include the rest of the world in its day to day life. I mean ... some parts never even got to see the race live ... coz baseball was on!!  GREAT PROMOTION
- Gun - USA


Although the USA has a huge motorsport fan base, I think the lack of wheel to wheel racing in F1 has kept it from catching on here.  Also, when there is so much reliance on cutting edge technology as in F1, reliability suffers and you end up with only 6 cars finishing the race, (I've seen it) you might as well watch cars sit on a parking lot. People like the excitement of NASCAR boys bumping and 'trading paint'.  They like the close competition that both open wheel series here in the U.S. have to offer, primarily because of the action you get on ovals.  Finally, who wants to get up at 7 am on Sunday to watch a race.  If you want to get more people interested in F1, then the major networks are going to have to commit to televising taped races at reasonable hours.  Unless F1 can address the lack of close racing and television coverage, I'm afraid that F1 in the USA will only be a novelty - Dwayne R - USA

CART racing is about close racing and close championships and is designed as such. This is what the 'average' American wants to see.

No matter what technical genius is included the cars, not to mention the undoubted higher degree of driver ability, F1 will not be able to win over that audience.

Football (soccer) has, in many ways the same problem. It is the most popular sport on the planet but still has little market penetration in the US. Likewise whilst the world at large follows F1, the 'average' American will not come to appreciate it - Dunder - Hong Kong


Well, being a sold out show, I'd say the U.S. is looking forward to seeing the high performance of a F1 car. As far as a good race..well..I think true race fans know the differences in what each type of racing excites them..for instance..I like to watch the NASCAR boys just to see them bump and grind it out on ovals..Indy/IRL cars-well I like to see the high speeds and the passing that goes on-in those races.. and for me, F1..well as you know..the most sophisticated cars in the world. the technology in these cars are remarkable, and if you have the best car..99% of the time you'll win.(unlike the other types of racing)
whether or not it'll catch on (again) in the U.S. ..?  hard to say..but..I'll be there knowing what to expect..and for a fact..I will not be disappointed.
(side note: I have gone to a few f1 races in Canada, the closest F1 track near the U.S., and there are a staggering amount of Americans that make that trip to see the races) - Jim - USA


I can't speak for all the average U.S. spectators, but I for one am very excited about F1 coming to the Speedway. I have been following F1 for the last 2 seasons thanks to the live coverage on Speedvision. I having been getting up early every other Sunday to catch the race. I must admit my first impression of F1, based mostly on the commentary during the broadcast, was that it was made up of an arrogant group of primarily European drivers proceeding around a track in single file fashion.
However, I have grown to appreciate the technical merits of the F1 series and the skill of the drivers. I will be at the speedway all 3 days anxious to see and hear the cars in person. looking to see if Ferrari can out do McLaren. But for the average U.S. spectator who doesn't know Michael from Mika it will really just come down to the show - Jim H - USA


I wish I were more sanguine about the prospects for F1 in the U.S. But I don't think F1 will ever be as big in the U.S. as CART/IRL. The relationship between F1 and U.S. open-wheel racing is similar to that between soccer and U.S. football: though both racing series are very sophisticated in terms of driving skills and technical support, the reason there is greater overtaking here has more to do with deliberately planned parity, longer events (hence more chances for strategy to take effect) and courses which permit higher speeds (hence longer and broader turns permitting some drafting and "sling-shot" effects) than a (probably temporary) lack of parity in F1.  On the other hand, the intensity of F1, the higher stakes, and the generally higher parity of driver skills, makes for just as much excitement; it's just that it happens more quickly and is decided by fewer "goals."  I don't see either sport changing and I hope there will be an opportunity for them both to co-exist in the U.S. -- at least here in Indianapolis where race fans are pretty sophisticated and appreciative of good driving as well as good engineering - Jim W - USA


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