The last 72 hours have been big enough for Formula 1 when it comes to the battle for the Drivers’ Championship on the track, but from an off-track perspective you could describe it as seismic for the sport in the United States.
Max Verstappen’s substantial progress in his attempts to close the gap on the McLaren drivers has created the tantalizing prospect of a three-way title fight over the final five rounds of the season, but longer-term maneuvers have also been made when it comes to America’s F1 future.
The first of these was announced on Friday and revolves around broadcast coverage in the United States Apple takes over from ESPN as exclusive broadcast partner. The move divided opinion among fans, with those who set up the F1 TV Premium service set to see a saving as the cost of Apple TV is cheaper on a monthly basis, but F1 TV Pro subscribers will have to pay more – and that’s before taking into account the more than a million people who tune in for every race via ESPN itself.
Even if the move might get some fans a better deal, the lack of choice was a criticism I saw against F1 for moving everything to a streaming service, and will likely result in a drop in overall viewing figures next year.
The last confirmation was from a contract extension for Circuit of The Americas, which will keep Formula 1 in Austin until at least the end of 2034.
Watkins Glen currently holds the record for hosting the most USGPs with 20, but after another major event for its 13th edition this weekend, COTA will now surpass this record by the end of its next contract.
And that was a deal that seemed to meet with universal approval.
Fans not attending the race appreciate the circuit’s layout and the often exciting racing it can offer, even if this year’s Grand Prix did not feature the drama of previous editions on Sunday (although the Sprint 24 hours earlier at Turn 1 provided plenty). It’s also one of the sport’s biggest events of the year, both in terms of size and crowd interest, with a host of sponsorship activations and celebrity appearances making F1 feel truly loved in America.
It’s something that wasn’t necessarily the case when COTA took the risk of trying to give the sport a permanent home in the United States.
“We always knew that the people of Austin are very hospitable and a fun, welcoming city, and it was just a matter of getting people out here to see it,” COTA chairman Bobby Epstein told RACER. “It feels good to have some validation on what we were thinking: ‘Let’s build it; people will come and then find out we’re doing a good job here and want to come back.’
“That’s what happened, and then you see it’s built on itself and it’s had a kind of snowball effect. When we brought in Taylor Swift in 2016, a lot of people criticized us and said we were focusing too much on things outside the cars, but I don’t think we’ve taken anything away from the racing. We still have a spectacular circuit, we haven’t done anything to jeopardize that, but we’re just trying to get people to provide more entertainment and it grew from there.”
Attendance for this year’s event has yet to be confirmed, with Epstein admitting he hadn’t checked since Friday afternoon “when we looked like we were overwhelmed, and I said we still had room!”
The drivers had good things to say about the COTA circuit, while the fans continued to vote with their feet – and wallets. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
The traffic in and out of the circuit again suggests a huge crowd, but it perhaps highlights one of the areas the area will need to continue investing in over the life of the contract as interest in F1 in America shows no signs of slowing down.
“It was a great weekend and we’re excited,” Epstein said. “We never had any doubt that we both wanted to get the contract done, so it was just a matter of sitting down and going through everything, and finding ways to do things even better than we are doing.
“That’s what we always try to do, so going forward the crowds were great this year, maybe even better next year. Provide new avenues and maybe we can even grow a little bit more. I think it’s the biggest single-weekend sporting event in the world at the moment, so we have to keep building on that.”
Asked whether the milestone of 500,000 fans is possible next year, Epstein replied: “We have to take a new path.”
But there will be so much more that the circuit will take care of itself next year as it continues to ride the wave of popularity that is a mix of wider interest in F1 and specific passion for the USGP.
Investments have been going on in Austin for a number of years, but the new contract provides the stability for the circuit and the race to continue trying to improve.
“Some things for F1 are that they would like us to expand the Paddock Club,” he said. “We still need to build some garages because I think there will be one or two more teams on the grid, so we need to make those kinds of improvements.
“Fan zones – we’re expanding some of the fan zones, improving them and putting in a theme park that will be open next year so people have more to do. Thirty-six hours of programming with your ticket this year, and we want to make sure everyone feels like they’re getting a lot of value for their money.
“We’re going to put a new clubhouse at the top of Turn 1 and be a little inventive and connect it to the main paddock building with an aerial gondola. Drivers can join the club and when they’re ready to take their car for a spin, they take the tram down; it’s a 3 minute 20 minute ride, and then their friends and family hanging out in the clubhouse have a spectacular view. You can probably see more than 10 turns and a great view from there. in the city, so it must be a nice place.”
It’s really a far cry from 2012 and the somewhat isolated circuit that somehow wanted to reverse the negative momentum the sport has suffered in the United States since the 2005 Indianapolis debacle.
The Apple TV deal may bring uncertainty about what fans will get, but there are at least another eight years at COTA where a major festival around a world-class test for the drivers is all but guaranteed.
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