American comedian John Crist caught the attention of motorsports fans for misidentifying F1 world champions. Crist was shown some of F1’s most famous drivers including Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Michael Schumacher.
The US has become F1’s biggest fanbases thanks to the popularity of Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive. Surprisingly, the comedian was unable to recognize Hamilton despite the Mercedes driver’s immense popularity in America. Seems like F1 still has a lot of ground to cover.
John Crist fails to recognize Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Michael Schumacher
Sports journalist Vincenzo Landino interviewed John Crist while he attended the NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama. Crist was shown images of F1 champions like Lewis Hamilton and co to which he gave some hilarious responses.
The comedian failed to recognize the 7x champion. However, when he was shown defending champion Max Verstappen’s image, he joked, “I was going to say ‘That’s Dave From Wendy’s’ but that’s not it.”
The comedian claimed Fernando Alonso was not a driver but a GQ model. Then when he was shown Nigel Mansell’s image. To which he replied, “That looks like one of my uncles from a family reunion.” He then labels the 1992 champion as “Wish Dale Earnhardt.”
Lastly, Crist was shown the most famous F1 driver, Michael Schumacher’s picture. He claimed the 7x champion resembled Ivan Drage from the Rocky IV. Funny, how some of the most famous F1 drivers are unrecognizable to a majority of racing fans in the States.
Is F1 popular in the US?
In the last few years, F1 has exploded in popularity in the US. Drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, and others have become household names for Americans thanks to Netflix’s series.
However, the US is blessed with its indigenous forms of motorsports which have captivated the nation for generations. Until recently, NASCAR and IndyCar have enjoyed a much higher rate of popularity than F1.
There were times when F1 found it hard to sell tickets for American races. However, from 2023 onwards F1 has staged 3 Grand Prix in the US, all of which have been sold out months in advance. Another race is being proposed in New York.
The sport has also planned a different approach to encaptivate the American audience. After the success of F1’s ‘Drive To Survive,’ the sport has committed to an F1-based movie that will star Hollywood megastar, Brad Pitt.
It will take a lot more years for F1 to overtake NASCAR and IndyCar’s fanbase. However, the trend is shifting towards Formula 1.
