American Formula 1 fans want to know when Liberty Media is going to add more races in the U.S. market to join the one already held in Austin, Texas. Where will there be other races? Liberty Media is not saying. Chase Carey, Liberty Media’s chief executive officer of the Formula One Group, says he wants F1 to go to “destination cities” and in interviews has given four examples in the U.S.: New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas. Ask Carey which is the most likely U.S. city to next host a Formula 1 race and he makes it very clear that he is not going down that road. “I am not going to discuss the specific venues,” he says. “We are engaged with multiple cities. In the past, Formula 1 has often talked first and done the deals afterwards. That is not how we work. Our strategy is to get the deals done and then talk about them afterwards.” Carey is not being secretive for the sake of it. The Formula One Group is now listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York and is subject to the scrutiny of the Securities and Exchange Commission, so Carey is simply playing it safe. Share prices are influenced by rumors, and he wants to avoid that happening.

What we do know is that Long Beach, California, has removed itself from the F1 equation by deciding to stick with its IndyCar race.

“We are not really bothered about that,” says Formula 1’s managing director of commercial operations, Sean Bratches. “Long Beach is not really the kind of place we want to be. The time zones are really important because of the broadcasting. Formula 1’s primary markets at the moment are in Europe.

So it makes sense to prioritize races on the East Coast of the United States, simply because of the time zones. A race at 2 p.m. on the West Coast is 11 p.m. in Europe, which is too late for big live audiences. If you have a race at 2 p.m. on the East Coast, that is 8 p.m. in Europe, which is prime time and you can hit the Middle East market, as well.”

But that doesn’t mean a Formula 1 race on the West Coast is never going to happen.

“The U.S. is currently the second largest digital market for Formula 1,” Bratches says. “There is a lot of potential to grow the sport, but if we are going to build up interest in Formula 1 in the U.S., we need to offer the fans more opportunities to get excited about F1. So we want more races in the U.S. We also want to have six races in the U.S. time zones, which can all be broadcast live to U.S. consumers, at hours that make sense. Right now, we have four: Austin, Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

“It is not a secret that F1 race director Charlie Whiting was in Argentina over the summer break,” Bratches says. “Buenos Aires is certainly interesting for us. It is a global destination city. They have a tradition of Formula 1 and a lot of passion for the sport -- and there is a circuit in the city that could be used. It will need a lot of work, but we think that would be a very good destination.” Rumors in F1, however, suggest that Argentina, where F1 last visited in 1998, would most likely step in to replace Brazil, which has financial and political problems and where no one seems too keen on promoting a Grand Prix. Even the supply of Brazilian racing drivers is drying up. It is a sad state of affairs for the country that has produced champions such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna. With Canada, Mexico, Austin and Brazil/Argentina, Formula 1 has those four races in the U.S. times zones, so it is safe to assume that Carey and Bratches are looking for two new races on U.S. soil -- likely on the East Coast. They have talked of New York and Miami but will not confirm nor deny that these are the primary targets. What is clear is Miami would be a street race. Mayor Tomás Pedro Regalado was a big supporter of the Formula E race that took place in Miami a couple of years ago. This attracted big crowds but was discontinued because of the costs involved for the Formula E organization. It is clear that if there is to be a race in New York City, it will not be at Port Imperial in New Jersey, but rather somewhere else with views of the Manhattan skyline. Where that might be is not clear, but Liberty says there are several possible sites undergoing development. Just don’t ask them anything else about it.

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