After years of failure, F1 finally has the drive to survive in US

FORMULA ONE has long craved acceptance in the United States, habitually a market it struggled to crack, whatever it chose to throw at it.

- Matt Majendie

It was not until last year - the 10th US Grand Prix of Lewis Hamilton's F1 career – that he believes he and the sport finally found that sense of belonging Stateside.

With 400,000 racegoers, it attracted the biggest audience on the entire calendar, while one million-plus watched from the comfort of their homes in the US.

Hamilton narrowly missed out on the race win to Max Verstappen, but still left Austin buoyed by the bigger picture. “I think this is definitely our acceptance into the US,” he said.

Suggestions it may just be an anomaly for returning sports fans previously denied live attendances in the Covid era look to have been dispelled, with a sell-out of 240,000 fans for this weekend's Miami Grand Prix.

Finally, F1 in the US is in vogue. Among the celebrities to have found their way into the inner circle in Miami are David Beckham, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, the Williams sisters, Dwayne 'The Rock Johnson and Pharrell Williams. And interest is expected to escalate.

This is the first season since 1984 that there have been two American races on the calendar. Next year sees a third added, with a Saturday night race in Las Vegas.