Four US races? Christian Horner talks up New York City as future F1 host

Red Bull boss Christian Horner would love it if Formula 1 added another United States destination to the calendar, that being New York City.

The series has been hard at work in its efforts to capitalise on a popularity surge in the nation, initially sparked by the success of Netflix’s Formula 1 docuseries Drive to Survive.

And the U.S. influence on F1 will be greater than ever before in 2023, as the debut of the Las Vegas Grand Prix brings us up to three GPs based in the nation, while Florida native Logan Sargeant will take his place on the grid with Williams, making him the first American driver F1 has seen since 2015.

But with the American audience continuing to grow, Formula 1 will of course always be looking at new ways to keep the ball rolling.

And as Horner pointed out, the addition of a fourth race in the United States could well be a way in which the series looks to do that.

And having been in New York for the launch of Red Bull’s 2023 challenger, the RB19, Horner could think of no better place for a fourth U.S. based grand prix.

“It would be amazing,” he told DailyMail.com. “Racing in big cities in the U.S. is really exciting.

“A race here in the Big Apple, for example, what a spectacle that would be.

“You can never say never [to a fourth U.S. race]. We’ve got other North American races as well, with Montréal, and there’s certainly demand for it, so why not? It’s great that there’s that much interest in Formula 1 in the U.S.

“We’re fortunate to race in great venues, whether it’s the street circuit of Miami, or the track in Austin… Vegas this year is going to be an absolutely insane event too.”

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Christian Horner may get his wish, if there is space

Formula 1 has not tried to hide the fact that demand to host a grand prix is massively high right now, with CEO Stefano Domenicali saying not too long ago that a 30-stop calendar could be put together with a click of the fingers.

The reason this does not happen, of course, is because the demand on personnel and logistics would be far too much to handle, and Domenicali has in fact stated his belief that 24 grands prix with six sprints, the number which was set for 2023 before the Chinese GP got cancelled, is the maximum.

So, assuming that China does take its spot from the following year, it would mean that another event would need to lose its place on the calendar for any further United States races to be added, which could be rather tricky considering the series has pledged not to abandon its European roots.

There is also the potential return of the South African Grand Prix in the coming years which appears a clear wish of the series, so that adds further competition into the mix.

So, would a Formula 1 round in New York City be a great addition to the calendar? We’d say it very well could be. But, there are a lot of puzzle pieces to sort if Horner is ever going to get his wish.