Which U.S. City Has Hosted the Most Formula 1 Races?
Preparations are complete, and the Miami Grand Prix is about to launch the city into the fraternity of U.S. cities having hosted Formula 1, the world’s best-known racing series.
For a country long focused on NASCAR and IndyCar, the United States has been a frequent F1 host, and the series is on its way to a record presence in 2023 when Miami, Circuit of the Americas, and newcomer Las Vegas will host races.
On Sunday, Miami becomes the country’s 11th race venue.
Miami now, COTA later, and Las Vegas on deck
The Miami Grand Prix possesses a 10-year contract with Formula 1, and the Florida city is going all out in a bid to make a strong first impression. The 3.35-mile Miami International Autodrome at Hard Rock Stadium has 19 corners to challenge drivers’ skills and three straightaways to test the cars’ speed. Longtime international fans may witness more passing than normal, courtesy of three DRS zones.
According to Formula1.com, simulations project a top speed of 198 mph, just short of the standard at Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The cars should hit full throttle for 58% of the lap.
After Miami, Formula 1 heads off to Spain on May 22. The teams come back stateside on Oct. 23 for the 19th of the season’s 22 races, this time at Circuit of the Americas.
When the 2023 schedule is announced, Las Vegas will become the third annual American stop, likely with a November date near the end of the season.
Which U.S. city has hosted the most Formula 1 races?
It may not have been the first U.S. city to host a Formula 1 race, but Watkins Glen was the venue with the most staying power. Located at the southern tip of Seneca Lake, and technically a village as opposed to a city, Watkins Glen International in upstate New York hosted Formula 1 for 20 consecutive years beginning in 1961.
Innes Ireland won the inaugural F1 race there, and many greats in the sport, including Niki Lauda, Graham Hill, and Jackie Stewart, triumphed in subsequent years. However, winning at the Glen rarely played a role in determining the World Drivers’ Championship. Only Lauda (1975), James Hunt (1976), and Alan Jones (1980) won at the Glen and captured the season title.
The Glen, still in use by NASCAR and other race series, has gone through a couple of overhauls through the years. The Formula 1 course through 1970 was a speedy 2.3-mile layout with average lap times barely over a minute in the latter years. The track length grew to 3.377 miles for the second decade of competition.
Indianapolis was another mainstay of U.S. Formula 1 racing
Only Indianapolis approaches Watkins Glen when it comes to the number of Formula 1 races hosted in the United States, though it does come with an asterisk attached.
From 1950-60, the Indianapolis 500 constituted part of the official schedule, according to Formula 1. However, the European-based teams rarely participated due to an aversion to racing on ovals in a variation of the preferred open-wheel car.
Eight more races, bringing Indy’s total to 19, were conducted under the label of the U.S. Grand Prix from 2000-07. Those races ran on a hybrid of the oval and the road course inside the massive Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Circuit of the Americas will host its 10th F1 race this season and has a shot at eclipsing Watkins Glen as the American leader down the road. The Austin, Texas, track moved past Long Beach, California, (1976-83) on the all-time list last year.
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