American fans were in for a treat with the Miami F1 race and the NASCAR Cup race at Kansas. Unfortunately, it was a tale of two completely different races. We’re not even addressing the fact that F1 and NASCAR are fundamentally different, but the parameter was excitement. Now, the Kansas race was just an ordinary race by NASCAR’s standards. However, Formula 1 hyped up the Miami F1 Grand Prix to the high heavens.

This was evident in the multitude of celebrity appearances and pre-race ceremonies. However, the actual race craft told different stories and the end product was evident. Even the TV viewership told no lies, especially when comparing F1 and NASCAR side-by-side. According to Adam Stern, NASCAR boasted of a 1.35 rating on FS1, compared to 0.90 for F1 on ABC. Additionally, NASCAR had 2.352 million viewers compared to F1’s 1.646 million. The only bright spark for Formula 1 was that they beat their stock car rival in the 18-49 demographic, with 625,000 to 430,000.

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NASCAR fans were pretty smug about the victory over Formula One

To make matters worse for F1, the viewership was down by 20% in the United States. Especially when compared to last year’s inaugural race. Though if we’re being honest, the dip should have been expected since last year was a bit of a novelty for the Miami fans. So they must have all tuned in to the first race to see what the fuss was about. Who knows, maybe this year’s inaugural race at Las Vegas to see record numbers and then dip the following year.

One thing that many fans agreed upon, was that the F1 race at Miami was a dead bore. This should have been Sergio Perez’s time to shine, with teammate Max Verstappen down in 9th. Sadly, Perez, Fernando Alonso, and Carlos Sainz could not ignite the Spanish Inquisition. Instead, Verstappen charged through the field to win the race from his teammate and Alonso. A few people did note that there was at least a fair bit more overtaking, compared to last time out at Baku. Some even predicted that the fans who were drawn in by the always-popular Drive to Survive may soon drift away.

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People even contrasted the events of this race and the events at the Kansas Speedway. As per one confession, the only ‘exciting’ thing was the pre-race driver introduction hype. As for NASCAR, there were multiple lead changes, a last lap pass or crash depending on your perspective. Finally, Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson auditioned for a WWE or UFC gig after the race. Few even said that F1 was more focused on being a PR stunt, which was followed by a boring race in a ‘parking lot’.

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