F1: Record crowd at USGP blows away IndyCar fans

The Circuit of the Americas was bursting at the seams Sunday as a record number of fans turned out to watch Max Verstappen school Lewis Hamilton and win the USGP for the 2nd straight year.

While COTA has not released final Sunday crowd figures yet, every grandstand was full, including the new one in the infield and there were more General Admission viewing areas than ever before, all full of fans 50 deep.

Many IndyCar fans were amazed at what they witnessed.

“I have been going to IndyCar races for 30 years and I never saw anything like this,” said Darrell Oaks.

“Hole F—-ing Cow,” said Mark Hughes a longtime IndyCar fan

“These cars blow our IndyCars away,” said Jake Adams

“Oh my god, all these fans that are here. I have never been to a race like this,” said Renee Smith, a 10-year IndyCar fan.

“Why can’t our races be like this?” asked Joe Fischer.

“We’re on pace for another record-breaking season,” John Suchenski, ESPN Director of Programming & Acquisitions, told the American-Statesman. “F1 has found its footing here, and there is a lot of room for growth.”

ESPN is averaging 1.2 million viewers per race, up 30% from last year, which was a record at the time. The inaugural Miami race in May drew a record 2.6 million.

Austin is a rock-solid top-10 U.S. market for Formula One, often ranking No. 1.

“Typically we’re in an 8 to 9 a.m. starting time slot because of the European races, yet we’re delivering more than 1 million viewers per race, close to double the audience from 2018,” Suchenski said. “People are adjusting their schedules to see us.”

“This shows how successful Liberty Media has been in marketing F1 to a U.S. market that has historically been so difficult for us to crack,” Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali said.