Formula 1, which will see three races being organized in the United States of America in 2023, has tall claims of an exponentially growing audience in the land of Uncle Sam. However, recent statistical data comparing the three disciplines of races watched in the US has made it crystal clear which format still rules the hearts. Has the absence of the fan favorite, Hendrick Motorsports driver, Chase Elliott, from the race organized at Las Vegas taken a toll on viewership? Let’s find out.
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Chase Elliott missed the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway due to the unfortunate snowboarding incident leading to a fracture. And while the No. 9 Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports was not being driven by Elliot America’s first love NASCAR still managed to gain more than double the audience from the new attraction on the block Formula 1. Josh Berry replaced Elliott and NASCAR still managed to snub Netflix’s Drive to Survive-backed Formula 1.
Adam Stern, a motor sporting reporter, took to Twitter to share the number of people who tuned in to watch which racing format on Sunday. While all the formats saw a unanimous dip, NASCAR topped the charts with a whopping 3.9 million people tuning while the numbers for F1 stood at 1.318 million and IndyCar roped in 1.189 million viewers to their respective sports.
Meanwhile, the fans of the sport have given their two cents on why the audiences in the U.S. prefer NASCAR over others.
Fans blame the “flat” nature of Formula 1 for picking NASCAR
The most exciting element about NASCAR, which has supposedly become the reason for its triumph, is unpredictability. While in a sport like F1, fans have stated that the race winner is decided in the “first five laps”. And since it seems like a Max Verstappen show, viewers would much rather watch a race where they already don’t know the winner. The boring and monotonous nature of the racing event that was born in Europe is probably why it still hasn’t been able to become one with the American audience.
f1s getting cooked this year if max verstappen keeps this kinda pace pu
🔲 @FoxTV got 3.991 million viewers for Sunday's NASCAR race, down from 4.544 million last year. 🔲 @ESPN got 1.318 million for Sunday's F1 opener, down slightly from 1.353 million last year. 🔲 @NBC got 1.189 million for Sunday's IndyCar opener, down from 1.405M last year.
Indycar didn’t advertise, NASCAR lost Chase Elliott, and F1 stayed kinda flat
The thing that surprises me most tbh is how small the F1 number is The way America is talked about these days you'd think it was our new pasttime btw, the average Thursday night episode of Grey's Anatomy gets ~4 million viewers..
🔲 @FoxTV got 3.991 million viewers for Sunday's NASCAR race, down from 4.544 million last year. 🔲 @ESPN got 1.318 million for Sunday's F1 opener, down slightly from 1.353 million last year. 🔲 @NBC got 1.189 million for Sunday's IndyCar opener, down from 1.405M last year.
Making racing great again #NASCAR75 #nascar
🔲 @FoxTV got 3.991 million viewers for Sunday's NASCAR race, down from 4.544 million last year. 🔲 @ESPN got 1.318 million for Sunday's F1 opener, down slightly from 1.353 million last year. 🔲 @NBC got 1.189 million for Sunday's IndyCar opener, down from 1.405M last year.
Unfortunately, the #NASCAR numbers are down some but another way to look at it is that @NASCAR had a little more than half again the #TV viewership @IndyCar and @F1 got … combined. Individually it was triple what over #F1 and even more over #Indy
🔲 @FoxTV got 3.991 million viewers for Sunday's NASCAR race, down from 4.544 million last year. 🔲 @ESPN got 1.318 million for Sunday's F1 opener, down slightly from 1.353 million last year. 🔲 @NBC got 1.189 million for Sunday's IndyCar opener, down from 1.405M last year.
That's a huge difference for NASCAR wow
Nascars most popular driver being out having an effect?
When the most popular driver isn’t in the field it’s going to hurt ratings
For those saying “it’s down because Chase Elliott wasn’t racing” Can you really call yourself a racing fan if you don’t watch just because a certain driver isn’t there?
Indycar didn’t advertise, NASCAR lost Chase Elliott, and F1 stayed kinda flat
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What do you think are the reasons for the overall dip in viewership amongst the American audience? That being said, what do you think is the reason for NASCAR still ruling the hearts in the lands of stars and stripes?