F1’s US takeover just getting started, says McLaren chief Zak Brown
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
McLaren's Zak Brown says F1 has attracted a wider array of fans since it was bought by Liberty Media in 2016.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Follow topic:
LOS ANGELES – Formula One’s surging popularity in the United States will accelerate further with November’s Las Vegas Grand Prix and an F1 movie starring Brad Pitt on the way, McLaren boss Zak Brown said.
American interest in the sport has been supercharged in recent years by Netflix’s hit show Formula 1: Drive To Survive and the frenzy will shift into high gear when the sport’s top drivers race down the famed Las Vegas Strip on the night of Nov 18.
“It’s awesome Formula One has finally caught on in North America,” Brown told Reuters. “It’s happened much more rapidly and more significantly than I ever thought possible, which is great news.”
Awareness of F1 in the US plummeted after the US Grand Prix fell off the F1 calendar in 2008, but rebounded strongly when it found a home in Austin, Texas in 2012.
Brown also noted F1 has attracted a wider array of fans since it was bought by Liberty Media in 2016 and hopes the excitement of a third US race will translate into a ratings bonanza for ESPN, which will broadcast its races till 2025.
“You’ve got three great locations now with Miami, Las Vegas and Austin, and you have a new TV contract where they spent a lot more, so they are going to invest a lot more in the product,” said Brown, a Los Angeles native.
“The races are all sold out, corporate hospitality is off the charts. The awareness for Formula One is fantastic, but its TV ratings in North America relative to other major forms of sport are still very low.
“There’s a lot of room for viewership growth in America.”
Logan Sargeant is the only American driver on the grid but after a tough rookie season, is uncertain of his seat at Williams. Not that it would matter much.
F1‘s return to Las Vegas after 41 years is expected to be one of the biggest sporting spectacles of the year, with more than 105,000 fans in attendance each day beginning with open practices on Nov 16.
Organisers estimate the event will inject around US$1.2 billion (S$1.6 billion) into the local economy. “Las Vegas is the hottest sporting ticket, not just in North America, but the world,” Brown added.
Meanwhile, a movie about F1 racing starring Oscar winner Pitt from Top Gun: Maverick’s director Joseph Kosinski has been filming at racetracks.
“We all saw Top Gun and fancied being a fighter pilot and Tom Cruise when we all grew up, or at least that was the impact the movie had on me,” said Brown.
“That’s the impact the movie’s going to have on men and women, boys and girls around the world. They’re going to go, this sport is cool. So it’ll bring in new fans and people will be fascinated.
“The Brad Pitt movie, the new television contract, put it all that together and it’s still early days in America.” REUTERS
