Formula one racing is a very popular sport in the world. The sport has a rich history in the United States. However, F1 is not as popular in the US when compared to other motor sports like Indycar or NASCAR. This begs the question; why is F1 not popular in the United States?

I have been interested in the formula one for a while now. It is of great interest to me to see the sport grow in the United States.

When you consider this from a business point of view, it is clear to see the reason why it would make sense to grow F1 in the US.

America is one of the largest markets ion the world. The consumers are well read and there is a great deal of sophistication in the market.

This provides the consumers with higher purchasing power. It is very attractive to F1 teams, promoters and also the sponsors.

To turn these rosy figures and attractive story into reality, there is need to understand why F1 is not popular in the US.

In this article, I am going to share with you some of the reasons why F1 is not popular in the United States.

Why is F1 Not Popular in United States?

To understand why formula one is not popular in the US, you should try and figure out the reasons that hamper it’s popularity.

Here are some of the reasons that have slowed down the rise of popularity of f1 racing in the United States;

1. Time difference between US and Europe.
2. Lack of an American F1 driver.
3. Past failures of the sport in United States
4. Neglect by the F1 management.
5. Negative Perception
6. Poor marketing and promotion
7. Competing sports.

I would consider these to be the major mistakes that are affecting the popularity of F1 in United States of America.

However, there are indications that most of the reasons are being addressed. It is likely that you will see formula one becoming big in the US.

7 Reasons Why F1 is Not Popular in the US

Formula One is not very popular in the United States today. Here are some of the top seven reasons why that is the case;

1. Time difference between US and Europe.

One of the reasons why F1 is not very popular in the US is related to time of the races in Europe.

There is a huge time difference between United States and Europe.

On average, you are looking at between 7 and 8 hours difference between the two regions. This affects the American fan’s ability to watch the European F1 races.

Given that many formula races take place in Europe, it is possible that fans in US feel neglected because of time differences.

It is important to note that both Us and Europe span different time zones.

2. Lack of an American F1 driver.

As things today formula one does not have an American driver. This might be contributing to the lack of popularity of the sport in the United States.

If you compare this with countries that have F1 drivers, there is a lot of difference.

For example, F1 sport is popular in countries like United Kingdom, Germany, and Netherlands among others. All these countries have Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen respectively as current F1 drivers.

As you can see, not having an American driver is hurting F1’s popularity in the country.

One of the famous F1 drivers from the US is Mario Andretti. He is considered one of the most successful formula one driver from United States

3. Past failures of the sport in United States

Over the last couple of decades, formula one has had interesting time in the United States.

Unfortunately, for most of the time, F1 has not been very successful in the past.

The worst was back in 2005 when only six cars raced. This followed a withdrawal by fourteen cars due to safety concerns..

However, in the past since the Circuit of Americas (COTA) in Austin was added into the F1 calendar, there has been improvement in the popularity of F1 in the US.

4. Neglect by the F1 management.

Another reason why F1 is not popular in the United States is related to the neglect from the F1 management.

United States is a huge market. It has a large percentage of people who are interested in sports. The popularity of Indycar and NASCAR are proof that motorsport is appreciated by Americans.

However, the F1 management has for a long time neglected this market. I personally do not understand why that is the case.

It is important that the new management team at Liberty Media are taking measures to increase the popularity of F1 in the US. Maybe it is because they have American roots.

Whatever the case, they are taking proactive steps to increase formula one’s popularity in the United States of America.

A good case in point is the introduction of Miami Grand Prix.

Related: Is Miami GP Worthy its place on the F1 Calendar?

It is going to be critical to F1 to ensure that this new race in the US is successful.

5. Negative Perception

As you try to understand why F1 is not popular in the US, you will soon realize that negative perception plays a significant role.

There are some in United States who have felt that at some point, formula one followed or went to places where there was money.

It means for a while, there was no investment in maintaining a foothold in United States. This is one of the reasons why F1 is not popular in the US.

In 2005, the F1 race in the US was considered a disaster. Fans felted cheated of their money as the race disappointed.

This was a major negative publicity for the sport in the United States of America, and also in the world.

6. Poor marketing and promotion

You can have a better product or service in the market. However, if you do not invest in promotion, advertising and marketing your product or service, it is not going to have any impact in the market.

I think this is the case when it comes to F1 in the US. It is agreed that formula one is a great sport. There are many benefits of having F1 sport in a country.

Over the years, there has been poor marketing and promotion of formula one in the United States of America.

It is one of the reasons why F1 is not popular in the US today.

7. Competing sports.

Sporting is very competitive in the United States. There are many sports that compete for people’s attention.

It means that F1 is not the only option people have when it comes to motor racing or sports in general.

In this regard, formula one has failed to get a strong foothold in the country. This is contributing to the low popularity of F1 in the United States.

Strategic positioning combined with increased promotion and marketing will help the formula one brand in the US.

It is good to see that F1 is investing in expanding it’s presence in the United States.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that work is needed to increase and improve the popularity of F1 in the US.

A number of factors as you have seen are why F1 is not popular in the United States.

However, it is good to see there are measures being taken to sort this issue out.

For a long time, there has only been one grand prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

However, the entry of Miami GP is a welcome move and will increase the presence of formula one event in the United States.

It is one of the steps at increasing and building the popularity of the F1 in the country.

As you might have noted from the above post, formula one isn’t popular in the United States mainly because of traditions and culture.