Formula 1 is currently enjoying a boom in the United States that has seen the series expand in this country, with a second American race this year, with the debut of the Miami GP , and a third round in the USA. which will arrive in 2023 in Las Vegas .
This growth in the North American country comes after decades of struggling to conquer this market, but it is not only reflected in the number of races on its circuits. In recent years, several large US tech companies have started working with F1 teams and the sport itself through collaboration agreements, including those signed with Amazon, Google and Oracle.
Speaking at the F1 Business Forum , organized by the Financial Times and Motorsport Network in Monaco at the end of last month, Williams commercial director James Bower said analysis by his team showed a big increase in the number of US brands participating in F1.
“In 2015 the estimate was there were 45 US-based companies in the category, the current number this year so far is there are 108, so it’s doubled,” Bower said.
“In terms of technology partners, I think Formula 1 is undoubtedly the most data-driven sport, we’re seeing this huge influx of technology companies, especially from North America.
“For us at Williams, it’s interesting to have some new ownership, with Dorilton, and not a lot of people understand what they do, but they’re essentially a New York-based private equity house that has a portfolio of companies.”
“One of the things they’re actually doing is a venture capital offshoot, Dorilton Ventures, which you’ll see in the car and the drivers. They’re leveraging Formula 1 alongside the founders of these early-stage tech companies, because all these founders love F1, even if they are in the United States.
“They’re taking the opportunity to invest in these companies with Williams versus the big, established investment firms in Silicon Valley, essentially saying ‘we’ll bring you into the team,’ and this has huge appeal to people.”
Bower said that while the growth in the United States seemed “a bit like an overnight success” from the outside, the roots can be traced back to the return of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, back in 2012.
“We really start to see the growth then by having a clear home, and also thanks to ESPN broadcasting F1 in the US [since 2018], we’re really seeing the demographics and the change getting a little bit younger, the Gradual audience growth [is what] really helps grow the sport,” Bower said.
“And then of course the last five years with Liberty after acquiring the sport, introducing world-class marketing and management processes, and then just growing the sport.”
“It’s been phenomenal, and then it’s been topped off with Drive to Survive and of course the new Miami race was amazing. So yeah, it’s huge growth.”
Chloe Targett-Adams , Formula 1’s global director of race promotion, played a key role in securing a place for the Miami and Las Vegas races on the calendar for the future.
In his opinion, F1 had “finally got that beautiful combination of great racing product, this incredible generation of heroic young drivers and the Netflix effect all coming together at that moment”.
“Miami as a location was something we started working on in 2017 with the Dolphins, and to see that finally come into play, and American audiences of over 400,000 [viewers] at COTA, having developed that after 10 years, it just feels like that right moment where that commitment is there through that generation,” Targett-Adams said.
“It’s just the combination of all of this and seeing that growth in the future.”
