Sky pundit’s response to naysayers against three US Grands Prix on F1 calendar
Karun Chandhok believes three races in the United States is easily justified.
America now has the most races on the F1 calendar of any country in the world, but this isn’t a bad thing according to Karun Chandhok.
The arrival of the Las Vegas Grand Prix onto the calendar last season increased the number of races in the United States to three, taking it ahead of Italy (with two).
Karun Chandhok: The appetite is there for F1
With F1 usually only having one race in each country, the United States having three has resulted in some outcry from fans on social media over the past two years.
Having had just one race in the US, held at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, between 2012 and ’21, the arrival of the Miami Grand Prix and Las Vegas Grands Prix in successive seasons was met with mixed reaction from non-US F1 fans.
Fuelling further murmurings of discontent is the possibility of further US races being added to the calendar, with F1 having registered trademarks for a Chicago Grand Prix and a New York Grand Prix in recent years.
With Miami hosting its third race this year, and now starting to feel like a mainstay on the calendar, Sky F1 pundit Karun Chandhok pointed to the size of the United States in comparison to most countries that host one race as being pertinent to the argument over how many races are held there.
“It looked great,” Chandhok said on the Sky F1 podcast after Miami.
“It’s funny, isn’t it, because people go ‘Oh, we’ve got three races in America. Why have we got three races in America? We don’t need that. Blah, blah, blah.’
“You forget how big a country it is. The fact that Austin, Las Vegas, Miami… first of all, if you travel there on a non-F1 weekend, on holiday or whatever, you realise they are three completely different cities and three completely different demographics that attract different audiences from the continent, not just the country.
“You start to realise that the appetite is there for F1, all three races have been sellouts and it’s good for business.”
The distance between the Austin and Miami race tracks is just over 2100 kilometres apart, with Las Vegas and Miami separated by 4000 kilometres. This is just slightly less than the distance between the British and Azerbaijan Grands Prix venues on opposite sides of Europe.
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Natalie Pinkham: Miami is now my new favourite Grand Prix
Having attracted plenty of celebrity appearances for the third race around the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, this year’s Miami Grand Prix saw a fascinating weekend develop as Max Verstappen won the Sprint race from pole, before being defeated in the Grand Prix by first-time race winner Lando Norris.
Sky F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham said that, following this year’s event, she now believes the Miami race is perhaps even her favourite on the calendar as F1 has now finally “cracked” America.
“Miami is now my new favourite Grand Prix. I know it’s a big call,” he laughed.
“I get asked this all the time, which Grand Prix should I go to if I could go to just one?
“I’m always torn between the British Grand Prix because I’m loyal and passionate and I grew up near Silverstone.
“Monaco is just crazy but wonderful and full of history glamour and prestige.
“But Miami, wow, it was something else. I think they’ve ironed out the teething problems of the first year, there were a lot of complaints that all sorts of things went wrong in the first year as they were working it all out.
“It was a slick operation. It felt like everything had been covered. Yes, there were a lot of celebrities there. But, in the main, bar maybe one or two notable exceptions, they seem to really know their stuff about Formula 1.
“They were genuinely excited, new passionate fans, which is what the sport is all about.
“It really feels that we’ve not only cracked America now, but we’re running with it. And it’s really exciting.”
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