'Really Amazing To See': Hamilton Praises Growth Of Formula One In United States

Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 21:00

Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton talked about growth of Formula One in the United States.

Formula One is a growing sport that has gained much popularity in the United States in the recent few years, especially after collaborating with Netflix to create a "Driver to Survive" TV show.

Even though the United States Grand Prix has been almost a yearly part of the World Championship calendar since 1959, F1 has not been as popular in the region until recently.

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The sport used to be mostly popular in Europe but has gained a lot of attraction in the last few years and spread around the World, including the United States, to the point where we have three races in the United States in a single season. Lewis Hamilton told the media:

"I think before, when I used to come out to the States, like 2007, the first time out here, and for many, many years, every time we stepped for that one race, that sometimes did and sometimes didn't happen in the years, you always find yourself just repeating yourself, educating."

The seven-time World Champion explained he was a bit confused because people in the United States clearly loved sports but did not understand F1 for a long time.

"I couldn’t fully understand when I went to NFL games, NBA games, seeing how passionate the Americans are about sport, how they hadn't yet caught the bug that many of us grew up catching when we were younger."

This week's race in Las Vegas will be the season's last race in the United States, but it is promising one of the biggest, if not the biggest, shows the sport has ever seen. Hamilton concluded:

"And so it's been really, really amazing to see that so many, the whole country, really, a large portion of the country is now speaking about it. People own simulators, everyone wants to be a driver! So, it's been great to see."