Since Formula One broke into the US market in 2017, it has seen steady growth in terms of fans and viewership from the country. While it still has a long way to go before it can regularly compete with NASCAR there are signs of positivity. This weekend, the South Point 400 and the United States Grand Prix started at roughly the same time. A lot of the sentiment on social media among American fans was that they’d rather watch the NASCAR event.
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This has been the case for several race events now. For example, in 2022, the Azerbaijan GP and the Sonoma race were on the same weekend. The F1 event drew 832,000 viewers in the state while the NASCAR event drew 2.235 million. It has been a common trend in American TV ratings. But why has this been the case despite F1 being the biggest racing series in the world?
The Cup Series and the US Grand Prix are both going to be on at the same time on Sunday….
How do you feel about 2 Major Motorsports competing in the same Time Slot?pic.twitter.com/egw2pvEuuz
— The Daily Downforce (@dailydownforce) October 19, 2024
Well, it’s not easy to break into a new market even if you’re the biggest motorsports competition in the world. NASCAR doesn’t even hold a candle to F1 in global viewership but it reigns supreme on American soil. A big reason for that is that the sport is a massive part of the country’s culture and it’s what people are used to. It’s not easy to switch to a completely different style of racing.
This mentality has served the stock car racing series well but it’s not going to last forever. The shift is already in motion among the younger motorsports fans, thanks to Netflix’s Drive to Survive. Formula One has been coming close to matching NASCAR in the 18-49 demographic. With the stock car racing series’ consistently declining popularity, it may not be on top forever.
F1 is on the rise and NASCAR’s popularity is declining
The biggest echo of this transition was heard in the 2024 racing season itself. The Chicago Street Race is one of the most successful events NASCAR has organized this season and it gained 3.87 million viewers. That’s an impressive number but it was down from a whopping 4.8 million from last season, as per veteran journalist Adam Stern. However, Formula One made history.
The 2024 Miami Grand Prix attracted 3.1 million viewers, the most the sport has ever had in the States. With that in mind and considering how big the United States GP was, one can expect even that record to be broken. So the attraction is there when it comes to these extravagant F1 races. The younger demographic is the driving force behind the sport gradually becoming popular.
The lore of Formula One, dramatized by Drive to Survive, is something NASCAR simply doesn’t have. The ‘pinnacle of motorsports’ moniker is not just a title, it is a marketing strategy and it has worked wonders. The international feel of Formula One with drivers from all around the globe is a lot more appealing to a younger demographic that has grown up with much more access to international content.
However, NASCAR is not going to drop to second place anytime soon. The sport’s loyal fanbase has made it the juggernaut that it is today and it will take several years for F1 to overtake it based on the recent trends.
