Hinchcliffe: When I realised F1 was part of the American zeitgeist

F1 in the USA were never comfortable bed-fellows. Half a century of trying could never steer the massive motorsport-loving Americans away from their traditional 'racing fields' of Indycar, NASCAR and IMSA.

But in recent years things changed. Netflix. Drive to Survive. Plus that mega-2021 F1 season in which Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton tried to annihilate one another in their quest for a most important title: Hamilton's eighth or Verstappen's first. We know what happened.

Since then, that and Liberty Media's push in America, their homeland, F1 has finally conquered the States after a century and a half of trying to get a foothold.

In a column for the official F1 website, Hinchcliffe recalled: "The real tipping point for me was last year when I was at a bookstore. I always go over to the magazine section and see what good car and racing mags they have on offer.

"There was a young girl, 14 or 15 years old, in a red hoodie, skimming through a magazine. I started at the opposite end of the rack and worked my way along until I came to the car section.

"As I got closer I realized that she was standing right in front of all the racing magazines. It was then that I noticed she was holding a copy of GP Racing magazine. Then I clocked the white 16 on the back of her red hoodie. The young Charles Leclerc fan then looked at her mom and said: yup, this is the one I want!

Hinchcliffe added: "This was aided by the likes of Daniel Ricciardo appearing on late-night shows and popular podcasts, and of course Lewis Hamilton regularly rubbing shoulders with US pop culture royalty. The series’ embracing of social media also played a huge part, uniting fans of given teams and drivers across the country.

"And the proof is in the proverbial pudding. F1 ratings domestically have nearly tripled from a decade ago, and that doesn’t count the subscribers who watch on F1 TV. In 2017 F1 had one race in the US It now has three. The US Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas has essentially doubled in attendance since then, and the addition of Miami and Las Vegas have made America the most visited country on the calendar.

"What has been so cool to experience is how different all three races are and how they cater to slightly different race fans. This is evident by the fact that sales for COTA and Miami weren’t really affected by the addition of Vegas," concluded Hinchcliffe.

Round 22 of the 2024 F1 World Championship, the Las Vegas Grand Prix takes place on the weekend of 25-27 November. Last year's race was won by Max Verstappen, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc P2 and Sergio Perez P3 making it two Red Bulls on the podium.