“It’s So Much Different to NASCAR”: Lewis Hamilton Takes a Leaf Out of Daniel Ricciardo’s Playbook to Defend F1

Just like the rest of the world, America too has seen a sudden rise in the popularity of F1. Much of it is due to the boost given by Netflix’s popular docuseries, Formula 1: Drive to Survive. In a recent interview, Daniel Ricciardo acknowledged the streaming platform’s contribution to the sport. Now Lewis Hamilton gave credit where it was due, revealing how many in the States once believed F1 was the same as NASCAR.

As with F1, Ricciardo’s popularity in the US increased manifold in the last few years. That again was the result of DTS’ success. The Honey Badger was in New York recently for Red Bull’s 2023 livery launch. While in the States, he appeared on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show. In the fun interview, he credited Netflix for boosting F1’s already increasing popularity in America.

Hamilton recently appeared in an interview with Mercedes sponsor UBS. He talked about the misconceptions Americans once had about F1. He also highlighted how different it is from NASCAR. “It really skyrocketed the sport into a different realm. Now, all of a sudden, you got all these amazing sporting fans in the United States and [they] are now starting to catch on and get excited about it. That’s refreshing for me.”

“They’re like ‘oh, is that NASCAR?’ And I’m like ‘no, it’s so much different to NASCAR!

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As the pinnacle of motorsport is getting more famous by the day in the US, more investment has started coming in from there. The biggest one was the takeover of the sports management by American media giant Liberty Media.

Is America’s F1 takeover already underway?

It is not just the fanbase for F1 that is growing in America. Corporates are showing their interest as well. The latest is the announcement of Red Bull and Ford’s partnership to build power trains together from the 2026 season onwards. Another is Mario Andretti’s unwavering commitment to enter the sport as an 11th team. Given all these factors and more, if journalist and podcast host VF Castro is to be believed, America’s F1 takeover is happening already.

In the latest episode of her podcast The VF1 show, she said, “The fact that the US is trying to hit F1 so hard, the fact that so many different, I mean, you’ve got Ford and Red Bull partnering. You’ve got so many different American companies joining F1 right now. I understand why so many European petrolheads and racing enthusiasts are kind of worried right now with how the US is starting to take over F1. They don’t like it. This is traditionally a European sport. And here the US comes. It’s owned by a US company.”

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Her point was about how American companies are shelling out big bucks. However, their European counterparts are looking to bank on just legacy races. Castro urged them to step their game up if they are to pose any competition.