United States F1 Grand Prix: The Tracks and the History
The F1 World Championship first made an American appearance in 1950, with races initially held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, when the US' premier motor racing event, the Indianapolis 500, was included in the F1 World Championship calendar. The first official running of a United States F1 Grand Prix would only happen nine years later, though.
Ever since, barring a few barren intervals, the United States F1 Grand Prix has been a fixture on the Formula One World Championship event list, contributing to points that have unearthed some incredible World Champion drivers and constructors.
In the years that the US Grand Prix was missing, some other racing circuits have filled the gap to provide enjoyment and excitement for US F1 fans and punters. Let's look at some circuits that have hosted United States F1 Grand Prix races while also mentioning a few venues that have hosted other Grand Prix races on US soil.
1959-1980
1959 saw the official advent of the United States Grand Prix on the F1 World Championship calendar. The Sebring International Raceway in Highlands County in Florida was FIA's choice to host the event. It formed the final race on the calendar and was run three full months after the previous round at Monza, with Bruce McLaren winning in a Cooper.
The event moved to the Riverside International Raceway in California for the 1960 season. On this occasion, "the greatest driver never to win a Formula One World Championship," Briton Stirling Moss won the race, the only one to take place at the venue.
New York State's Watkins Glen International raceway then became the permanent home of the United States F1 Grand Prix for the next two decades. The Watkins Glen track soon became a favorite for its challenging layout, with many well-known drivers winning at the venue. Jim Clark and Graham Hill, both two-time World Champions, each tasted victory three times at Watkins Glen.
The races between 1975 and 1977 remain Watkins Glen highlights. Much of Englishman James Hunt's (who won twice there) and Austrian Niki Lauda's long-standing rivalry played out at Watkins Glen. The 2013 motion picture "Rush" depicts much of their fierce competitiveness.
The US Grand Prix West, one of the races that would temporarily replace the United States Grand Prix on the World Championship calendar, first took place at the Long Beach Street Circuit in California in 1976, with Ferrari the dominant constructor at the venue in the late 70s.
1981-2000
In 1982, FIA added the Detroit Street Circuit in downtown Detroit, Michigan, as a Formula One World Championship venue, hosting the Detroit Grand Prix. Detroit replaced Watkins Glen as an event in F1, but it was never an official United States F1 Grand Prix. The event nonetheless became the premier F1 race in the US until 1988.
The Phoenix Street Circuit in the desert of Arizona saw the official return of the United States Grand Prix in 1989. The Phoenix race would run for three seasons, with FIA's Bernie Ecclestone viewing it as the solution to Detroit's withdrawal from F1 due to rising costs. Ultimately, poor attendance in Phoenix proved it wasn't the case, marking an end to the US F1 Grand Prix for the rest of the millennium.
The New Millennium
Formula One successfully returned to the US in 2000 with the United States F1 Grand Prix hosted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - a separate event from the Indy 500. It would run eight times at the venue, with a dominant Michael Schumachker winning on four occasions.
After Lewis Hamilton's victory at Indianapolis in 2007, the US Grand Prix ceased for five years. It only returned to the F1 Championship calendar in 2012 at the Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas. The United States F1 Grand Prix remains at the COTA circuit until the present day, despite the cancellation of its 2020 edition due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When it comes to Texas, the long-running COTA event has sparked an increase in sports betting in F1, with more spectators choosing to back their favourites in the build-up to the popular annual race and throughout the F1 season. Seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton dominated the early running of the COTA event, winning in five of the first six years for Mercedes.
The Circuit of the Americas has become a popular destination for race favourites, with the current champion Max Verstappen assuming the mantle of the "King of COTA." Verstappen has won all three races held there since 2021. In fact, he has won all of the last six races held in the United States.
The other current US-held Formula One races, the Miami Grand Prix at the Miami International Autodrome street circuit in Miami Gardens, Florida, and the most recent addition, the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which includes the famous Las Vegas Strip, have never had another winner. The "Flying Dutchman" has won all three editions of these recently added races. Max Verstappen remains the driver to beat on US soil and, for that matter, worldwide.
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