The USA has a rapidly growing Formula 1 fan base, with Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ giving global audiences the chance to develop a better understanding of the complex sport, and get perspectives that you would otherwise never be able to see.
This year the Miami Grand Prix made its debut in addition to the Circuit of the Americas, and next year drivers will be racing in Las Vegas to make it three annual races in the United States.
To celebrate the addition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a party was held in the week break before the drivers jet off to Brazil for this week’s race, with Sergio Perez, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in attendance.
Alongside making an appearance at the event the drivers were able to treat fans to a number of surprises, with a Red Bull car being seen driving through a casino.
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Lewis Hamilton gave the fans what they wanted to see as Mercedes sent their drivers down the famous Las Vegas strip in a Formula 1 car, putting on a show and giving the American fans their first glimpse of an F1 car on the streets of Vegas.
Hamilton put on the show that the fans would have expected from the fun loving Brit, performing doughnuts with his hand held up in the air while the fans looked on in awe of the seven-time world champion.
The Mercedes was decked out with a number of cosmetic upgrades such as neon under lights to match the colour of the car’s wings, which looked stunning in the Vegas night time.
Guenther Steiner has recently suggested that three races in the USA might still not be enough, with people underestimating the size of the country and the demand for tickets at events, after the Austin Grand Prix saw 400,000 attend over the course of the weekend.
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Since Liberty Media took over the Formula One group, the influence of the sport in America has increased rapidly, with the main sponsor obviously wanting as many home races as possible, which has proved to be a great success.
Initially there was a negative reaction to the increase of races in the USA, with European fans unhappy with the fact that they will have to stay up late to watch races due to the time difference, and the American fans usually preferring NASCAR or IndyCar anyway.
The views on F1 in the USA have changed of late with fans worldwide applauding the effort of the fans who broke the attendance record this year in Austin.