With the news that the United States will have two rounds of the 2022 Formula One schedule to call their own, it is clear that Liberty Media’s plans for stateside expansion are growing at the very pace they had hoped for.
Because it has often been considered that the United States is Formula One’s last true frontier to conquer and with all the other corners of the globe welcoming motorsport’s premier racing class with open arms, the same courtesy has perhaps been lacking in the home of Uncle Sam.
Of course, with another spectacular being recently put on at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, it does at least show that the appetite for Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen is growing and with a second U.S. portion to follow, Formula One’s owners are hoping to soon serve up a third.
One that could come within the city of New York and with Liberty Media making no secret of aiming for three United States rounds per calendar year, there is also a question from those who consume Formula One elsewhere in the world.
A question that quite simply asks is, is three rounds in one country too many? While the answer is split depending on who is offering up their opinion. For those fans who watch as far as Great Britain to Brazil, they would say that three is not the magic number.
While for Liberty Media and their plans to put Formula One into American overdrive, they will say that there is plenty of appetite for more races within the U.S. and usually, what they say has a habit of coming to fruition.
This means there is a clamor for a third location and although Las Vegas has been mooted as a potential location for an additional race, there is a growing belief that the Big Apple could play host to Mercedes, Red Bull, and their counterparts.
Something that will surely generate a whole host interest from the online sports betting community, as another race in the schedule means another opportunity to place a wager and more importantly, put your money where your mouth is.
Not only that but by the time gambling is fully legalized within the state of New York, the Formula One grid will be ready to pitch up to Times Square and when it does become fully legal, residents will no doubt take advantage of any NY Sports betting apps that are on the market.
That time is still some way in the distance, but so is the confirmation of a third race within the United States and therefore, synchronicity between the race itself and the ability to bet on it, looks like forming in the not-too-distant future.
A future that Liberty Media sees as one generating a fistful of dollars and with Miami joining the Circuit of the Americas on the 2022 schedule, two major markets have now been given a Formula One base in the United States.
This is why the addition of a New York race does make a large semblance of size and with another broadcast market also able to be ticked off, it would give the nation perfect coverage in terms of staging posts.
Because although the traditionalists will point to each country getting one round per year, it is fair to say that the United States is no ordinary country and with it being such a tough frontier to crack for any sport, there is no doubt that Liberty Media are going large in terms of their plan for domination.
Because if there can be a far greater spread of nationwide locations, it will only serve to help the sport seep into more homes and onto more devices across the United States, and with the domestic viewing figures for the 2021 American Grand Prix being so impressive, more is certainly still to come.
More that would certainly come if a top-level American star could pivot from IndyCar and make the world of Formula One their own. If that was the case, then surely more interest from racing fans would follow.
Interest that would then justify the third race to join both the American and Miami Grand Prix in the reported schedule for 2023 and who knows if an IndyCar star can make a seamless transition over to Formula One, they may end up taking the chequered flag in New York.