Austin, a home Grand Prix for Haas

Last year, Alexander Rossi had the honor of driving in front of his home crowd behind the wheel of his Manor. The presence of an American driver resulted in significant media coverage for the Californian driver and his team.

This year, the driver is no longer on the grid. However, it is a brand new American team that will set up in Texas. Given that the main objective of establishing the brand is to increase the notoriety of the brand founded by Gene Haas, such an event is obviously important for his team, as confirmed by Günther Steiner, Haas’s director: « I think it’s very important. We want to do well and do a good job. What we especially want to do is attract more audience not only to watch Haas but also to come see F1 in general. I hope many people will follow us. We’ll see on Sunday. »

The United States remains one of the territories where F1 has never been able to establish itself sustainably. Being able to create the Austin circuit from scratch was already a challenge, while the event in New Jersey was never able to progress beyond the project stage, despite the signing of a ten-year contract in 2011.

However, Uncle Sam’s country remains the world’s leading power and is therefore an indispensable market for sponsors who wish to gain global exposure. The team manager can only advocate for several races across the Atlantic: “I would like to see multiple Formula 1 races, in plural. If you look at the United States, it is still the world’s largest economy. F1 is one of the biggest sports in the world. The United States deserves more F1 races.”

Especially since having multiple races in the United States would not create competition for Austin but rather be a complement, as it would only enhance the visibility and popularity of the sport: « This would help establish a greater presence. It would mean more races at a decent time in the United States and not at two in the morning. I think it would help. I think another race would strengthen Austin’s race. »

The next two weeks promise to be intense for Haas as the following weekend includes the Mexican Grand Prix, the native country of Esteban Gutierrez. The young driver will therefore be in high demand in the days to come.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr