(Bloomberg Opinion) -- It was 1 a.m.ย on the US East Coast, Sunday morning, when the cars finally began racing down the strip, marking the start of the Formula 1ย Las Vegas Grand Prix. After two years of planning and construction andย $500 millionย in investment, it was an odd start time for a race created toย attract and buildย an American audience. Was anybody east of the Mississippi awake and watching?
Turns out, whoever managed to stay up was rewarded with an exciting race. Despite occurring in the middle of the night, the event earned praise from drivers, fans and critics. The images of partyingย celebrity fansย projected an aura of success that should help promote future Vegas races. But Vegas' pre-race problems didn't disappear at the finish line. If F1 doesn't address them soon, the sport's ambitions for the US market will go unmet.
Motorsports have a long history in the US, but unlike the rest of the world, Americans have long preferred NASCARย and IndyCar racing. Geography plays a critical role. F1 is European-based, and depending on the location, races might start at theย crack of dawnย for US viewers. That's not attractive to potential spectators here, who have been spoiled with an abundance of other sports programming regularly scheduled in prime time. Why wake early for a Grand Prix when NASCARย races in the afternoon and early evening?ย ย
Cultural factors also play a role. Chevrolet is theย winningest manufacturerย in the history of NASCAR, and its presence โย and those of other mainstream carmakers โย gives the event aย middle-class appeal. By contrast, F1 has long cultivated aย luxuryย image epitomized by its exotic race locations (Monaco and Abu Dhabi),ย celebrity fansย and โbillionaire boys clubโ drivers. For the casual American sports fan, already struggling to find out when the race is run, the net effect has been that the sport is inaccessible.
Then, in 2019, Netflix began to airย , a streaming docuseries that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the competition's elite world. During the pandemic lockdown, Americansย embracedย the show โย and actual races. By oneย accounting, the show boosted overall US fan numbers by 10% between 2019 and 2022. Inย 2021, F1 and its owner, Liberty Media Corp, sensed an opportunity and decided to make an investment in the sport's US future by creating the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The goal wasn't just to hold a race; F1 wanted a luxury event befitting its celebrity image.
Among other steps, tickets wereย priced high, with average costs hitting $1,667, and sky boxes available for as much as $13,000 per person.
It was an optimistic bet on a mass audience that simply doesn't exist yet. In the days before the event, tickets to practice sessionsย crashedย by as much as 70%, and race day tickets fell by half.
Fortunately for F1 and Las Vegas, the grandstands looked full for a competition that turned out to be one ofย the most thrillingย of the year. Time will tell if enough Americans were awake and converted to fandom.
At a minimum, the race's stunning visuals (including stars partying before, during and after it) served to market Las Vegas โย and perhaps the 2024 Grand Prix โย to European visitors.ย
But if the organizers hope to build out F1's American fanbase, they will need to make changes.
Step one is obvious: Race time for this signature event needs to be earlier, even if European fans will be forced to wake early to watch it. Next, the race must embrace lower price points. Despite the torrid growth of F1 in America, average televisedย viewershipย is stillย less than 1/20thย of an average Sunday NFL game.
F1 is clearly wary of taking its brand downmarket, but if the sport has any hope of meeting its American aspirations, it needs to welcome the middle-class American sports fan. There will be plenty of time and opportunity to charge more in the future if it's a success.
Third, organizers must acknowledge that F1's fastest-growing audience segment is not millennials and members of Generation X with expandable cash who can pay for hospitality suites at the track. Rather,ย according to ESPN, it's 12- to 17-year-olds. In 2022, their viewership numbers increased 49%. It's an astonishing rate of growth, especially at a time when younger Americans are increasinglyย ambivalent about sports, and leagues like Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League are worried about aging fanbases.
One way to keep Gen Z engaged is to embrace new viewing options that appeal to this young, technology-first cohort, such as Apple Inc.'s forthcoming Vision Pro headset. Immersive tech will keep F1 fresh for a new generation that isn't necessarily clamoring (or allowed) to hang at celebrity car race parties.
After this weekend, it's clear that F1's future in America isn't going to arrive as quickly as the Las Vegas Grand Prix's organizers hope. But if they embrace what American fans actually seek, they'll place themselves on the faster track.
More From Bloomberg Opinion's Adam Minter:
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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of sports. He is the author, most recently, of โSecondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale."
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