Formula 1 News: Liberty Media eyes 4th USA race
F1 non-executive chairman Chase Carey revealed that Liberty Media was aiming to bring the sport to New York City as a 4th USA race.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
On the heels of a successful Las Vegas GP, it is easy to argue that the USA is big enough for four F1 races. However, Vegas and Miami both have some bugs to iron out in future years before a 4th USA race can happen.
Vegas tickets were priced too high and Miami needs to move their race under the lights because the heat (sun intensity) and humidity in Miami will eventually drive fans to stay home. The Miami race should start at 7:00pm and finish under the lights. It would be spectacular.
Recently, former F1 champion Jenson Button mentioned that he thought the USA could easily support a 4th F1 race.
Liberty Media took over ownership of the sport in 2017 and at that time Carey was chairman and CEO of F1.
Carey, who was replaced as CEO by Stefano Domenicali back in 2021, told Martin Brundle of Sky Sports F1 on his grid walk for the Las Vegas GP that New York was also on the list of places Liberty Media was looking to expand into.
“This is what it should be all about,” Carey said to Brundle while on the grid in Las Vegas.
“We said early on, Vegas, Miami and New York, they’re the next cities we should be in, and Vegas delivered.”
While an F1 race in NY City would be big, I can tell you that having worked in NY City for decades, most people do not own a car nor do they have an interest in cars, and for that matter, motorsports.
Getting through the red tape of liberal NY City to put on a race in NY City will be near impossible.
When Bernie Ecclestone was the F1 czar he tried to get a race in NY City and a study was done to do a race across the river in Weehawken NJ that would give the race a Manhattan skyline background.
It ultimately failed, lacking infrastructure and hotels.
More recently, the Mayor of NY City approached Liberty Media about holding a race on Randalls Island, but Liberty media rejected it.
The lure of NY city is the fact that many of the largest companies in the world are headquartered in NY City. NY City is the corporate capital of the world.
Wall Street is in NY City.
NY City is big money.
Hence, the search for a NY City site goes on, but they are going to have to find a good site that has the infrastructure, can support a good track layout and is a place race fans want to go.
Perhaps F1 could learn something from Formula E. Its race failed miserably in the Brooklyn Borough of NY City.