In the week preceding last Sunday’s US Grand Prix at Austin, Texas, there was a lot of speculation going on. In particular, that three teams, namely Lotus, Sauber and Force India, were pulling out of the race as a means of protesting over the high costs involved and the way revenues are spread between Formula 1 teams.
Eventually they participated in the race, which was won by current points’ leader Lewis Hamilton. The issue of the big teams getting most of the income generated by the F1 circus compared to the smaller ones still stands, though, especially after Marussia and Caterham went into administration prior to the US GP.
In spite of that, ESPN reports that Ferrari boss Marco Mattiacci wants an extra race in the States. If this gets the green light by the FIA and the rest of the teams, this would make for three events held in the US since, apart from Austin, New Jersey will be added to the calendar from 2016.
“I want an extra race. I want three races in the United States”, said Mattiacci. “That’s my proposal, because the American market is fundamental to generate revenues, to attract sponsors. When you have more revenues definitely you can talk about having more teams on board.”
The Ferrari F1 team boss believes that Formula 1’s penetration in the US market is very low, considering the amount of money that could be generated, so that’s why he’s pushing for a third race. While it is true that American motorsports fans are more interested in NASCAR and Indycars, following Mattiacci’s proposal would significantly increase costs for the, already struggling, smaller teams.
There is also a precedent: in 1982 the US was the first country to ever host three GPs in one season in Detroit, Las Vegas and Long Beach. With the current calendar being stretched to 20 races per year and a lot of countries vying to get a race, it remains to be seen whether Mattiacci and Ferrari will get their way or not.
By Andrew Tsaousis