The Formula One Management (FOM) has aggressively added new venues such as Saudi Arabia, Miami, Qatar, and Las Vegas to the F1 calendar in recent times. Now, a big focus on this expansion has been on the USA, with American audiences taking a lot of interest in the sport. Apparently, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali claims that the Miami and Las Vegas GP have made a greater economic impact in the US than the Super Bowl.
According to Marca, Domenicali said, “Miami and Las Vegas have already hosted the Super Bowl, by far the biggest American sporting event. With Formula 1 we have achieved a greater economic impact in both venues.”
The 2024 season had the third occurrence of the Miami GP. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas GP is due to host its sophomore edition later this year after debuting in 2023. Both these races have faced immense criticism and backlash because of their track layouts, the expensive ticket prices, and the overall focus on the show of the event rather than the racing.
The Las Vegas GP from above
(via @alyssaa_81) pic.twitter.com/Fy6MP12lGt
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 19, 2023
Now, this year’s Miami GP still had better racing and competitive action than its first two editions. Meanwhile, Las Vegas shut down its critics with some of the best overtaking action of the entire 2023 season in its maiden occurrence.
However, the buildup preparation for the Las Vegas GP also affected the local populace of the city a lot. Thus, Domenicali’s claim of a greater economic impact than the Super Bowl does come with its drawbacks for the event.
As per reports, Las Vegas GP had a projected economic impact of $1.3 billion on the city’s economy. As per the F1 boss, a Grand Prix brings a lot of “jobs and new business relationships” in any region, thereby generating better revenue and tax money. Therefore, the Italian is not speaking out of thin air.
Stefano Domenicali backs the 24-race F1 calendar
There have been a lot of complaints about 24 races per season being a bit too much in the F1 calendar. However, Domenicali doesn’t agree with that notion. In fact, the Italian boss cited that it’s “wrong” to say 24 is “too many”.
F1’s popularity has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Thus, the FOM has tried to capitalize on that growing hype and tap into a new target audience in newer regions like the USA and the Middle East.
Domenicali knows how things can change quickly and they cannot rest easy despite the sport witnessing a lot of new influx of sponsors, fans, and new manufacturers. Thus, he believes the 24-race calendar is the perfect springboard for Formula 1 to keep building on the current popularity of the sport.
