Former Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey has revealed New York was one of only three places F1 considered for new races in the United States after Liberty Media bought the championship, alongside Miami and Las Vegas.
Carey ran F1 as CEO from 2017 until Stefano Domenicali took over at the start of 2021. The 72-year-old joined an impressive line-up of panellists at the Autosport Business Exchange in New York to discuss the growth, innovation and influence of motorsport in the United States.
Autosport Business Exchange returned to New York City for its second edition, bringing together senior leaders from across motorsport, business and brands at the Manhattan Motorcars showroom to examine racing's growth in AmericaChristian Horner made his first U.S. appearance at the event since leaving Oracle Red Bull RacingOther panellists included seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, former chairman and CEO of Formula 1 Chase Carey, General Motors' Mark Reuss, Penske's Jonathan Gibson and NASCAR's Tim ClarkDuring an on-stage conversation with Fox Business anchor Liz Claman at the event, Carey said growing F1 in the United States was a priority from day one.
"The U.S. is important, not just because of the size of the audience here, but it drives global media. A lot of the brands and franchises that drive the entertainment media world come out of the U.S.
Liz Claman and Chase Carey
"I think they had about 300 partners already. I think over half are U.S.-based entities. They may be little companies, but they're U.S. based. So, the U.S. is an incredibly important market for us. We needed a bigger footprint. We wanted a bigger footprint to grow it. But if we went into the U.S., there are only certain places we could be.
"And I said, 'Look, our locations need to be iconic locations that wow people.' There were three. We have a great race in Austin. It's a fabulous race. I hope everybody who has a chance to go this weekend enjoys it. It's a great experience.
"But we wanted to add to that where we felt we could. But there were only three locations we thought that really made sense for us at that point. It was New York, Miami and Las Vegas. New York, we realistically recognised wasn't going to happen. So, Miami and Las Vegas became places we thought we could expand that footprint, expand our presence and add that as a building block to the sport in the U.S."
Miami joined the calendar in 2022 and Las Vegas in 2023. Both signed long-term contract extensions, which will keep Miami on the F1 calendar until at least 2041 and Vegas through to the end of 2037.
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.