Why is F1 struggling in the US?

For several years, "Formula One Racing" has been a very popular sport worldwide. Despite the global pandemic, the sport had a cumulative viewership of 1.5 billion in the year 2020. Since its birth, F1 has been a renowned international sport with its first championship held in 1950 at the Silverstone circuit, UK. Giuseppe Farina, an Italian racer, won the race in his supercharged Alfa Romeo in front of 120,000 spectators. But surprisingly, the Americans haven't shown much interest in this sport and don't care is a formula one fan which the organization desperately tries to change. But why is it so? One reason can be that most of its Grand Prix were held in the European circuits, which restricted the American audience from watching it during the 1950s. But wait! Now it is broadcasted on the television still the popularity is low. Why?

Even when F1 started broadcasting its races on TV, the Americans didn't tune in for a few reasons. Firstly, Americans had already created their motorsports to watch - Indy Car and NASCAR, which have been around since the 1940s. Additionally, to watch these races on TV in the US, you would have to wake up before the dawn breaks (obviously due to time zones). Secondly, there were very few American drivers to root for. The last American to win the race was Mario Andretti and that was at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1978. Lastly, the safety issue during a race in 2005 led to a further dissatisfied audience and turned out to be a major PR disaster for F1. But the future of F1 in the US might get better. Firstly, NASCAR is struggling in filling stadiums and has lost TV viewers. Moreover, F1 was acquired by the Liberty Media Corporation in early 2017 for eight billion dollars, increasing its broadcast frequency.

Now let's see why Formula One cares so much about getting Americans on board? Well, the reason is simple, there is a lot of money that can be gained from ticket sales, advertisements, and sponsors. According to a report, U.S consumers spent around $58 billion on sporting events in 2019.  Additionally, F1 could use a boost, according to Forbes, F1's $18 billion sales reflect lost value for the racing series. In 2012, over 10% of its value eroded between then and 2017. Although F1's success is still not guaranteed in the U.S, if there's ever a time when Formula one can catch on in the US, it is now!!

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