With more than 400 million global viewers, Formula One is among the world’s most popular sporting organizations. But it has struggled to break into the American market, where scrappier racing series, in particular Nascar, reign supreme.

But Formula One’s American television audience has grown by 40 percent since NBC Sports took over the domestic broadcast rights in 2013. The surge of interest occurred as another traditionally international sport, soccer, has also taken off in the American market.

If Nascar is known for souped-up stock cars and salt-of-the-earth drivers, Formula One is about space-age engineering and globe-trotting racers. It is a sport with cosmopolitan appeal: Formula One cars routinely twist around the streets of world capitals at more than 200 miles per hour, and its drivers often have luxury endorsement deals.

But while there are no American drivers racing in the current Formula One season, celebrity drivers like Lewis Hamilton, the current world champion, have become fixtures on the fashion and music circuits. The series also added an American-based team, Haas F1, this year.

The Liberty deal also represents the next act for another American: Chase Carey, the elaborately mustachioed media executive best known as a longtime lieutenant to Rupert Murdoch. Carey, who left 21st Century Fox in June and sits on the company’s board, will serve as the new chairman of Formula One.