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The Formula 1 bubble may have already burst in the United States according to a new report.
The legendary racing series took over in popularity in 2020 thanks to Netflix’s Drive to Survive docuseries, which gave viewers an inside look at life on and off the track.
That led to massive ratings boosts in the U.S. as well as the introduction of new races in both Miami and Las Vegas.
The world’s biggest celebrities jumped on board as well, with names such as Elon Musk, Serena Williams and Roger Federer all attending races.
But as with all trends, it was always likely to come to an end.
The 2023 F1 season has been dominated by Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. Verstappen has won nine consecutive races and is closing in on his third-straight series championship.
This, combined with the hype train slowly dying down, has proven difficult for the series.
Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern reports the sport’s growth in the U.S. has ground to a halt.
“With 10 races left on the 2023 calendar, ESPN’s networks were averaging 1.24 million viewers this season, down from last year’s 1.3 million, which was a record high in America,” Stern reports. “However, that’s largely due to the F1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix suffering a 24% drop in viewership from last year; several other races have shown slight increases. Sources also pointed out that those figures don’t include viewership from F1’s streaming service, which counts America as its largest market.”
Stern also reports that the 2023 Miami Grand Prix took significantly longer to sell out then the 2022 race.
While metrics are still significantly higher than they were pre-pandemic, it appears that the bubble may have just burst.
Though with an American engine supplier set to re-enter the grid, and reports of an American driver joining as well, it may yet continue to grow in the future.