03/05/2022
NEWS STORY
As F1 heads to Miami, Lewis Hamilton believes the sport has finally won over the United States.
Before a wheel has turned or a driver has walked the track, Miami fever is upon us.
On social media there is no escaping, be it the endless posts from the organisers’ social media teams or the likes of Williams and Aston Martin attempting to flog their special Miami-themed team wear.
Seemingly, long gone are the days when the sport was almost like a cult, such were the limited numbers of devoted fans - fans, who despite their love of the sport had been so badly treated by it over the years.
But under Liberty Media all that has changed, and with the help of social media (again) and Netflix, a whole new generation has fallen in love with the sport.
Even without Drive to Survive, courtesy of his work outside the cockpit, Lewis Hamilton was one of the few F1 stars that many Americans recognised in his civvies, however as we head to Miami, Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo and a whole load of others have become 'stars' in their own right.
Speaking to ABC's Good Morning America ahead of this weekend's big event in Florida, Hamilton talked of his delight that the sport finally appears to have "cracked" America.
"The first race I had out here was Indianapolis in 2000," he said. "But now, with the Netflix series Drive To Survive growing, we have two Grands Prix in the States, and then we have another one in Vegas next year.
"It's going to be huge," he enthused.
"Everyone knew NASCAR and, obviously, you've got such huge sports fans out here," he added. "But, as I said, the Netflix show, particularly through the pandemic, has just brought massive awareness to the sport, and now it's booming.
"Growing up knowing how amazing the sport is and seeing that there was still quite a disconnect between the US and the rest of the world in terms of the passion for this sport, it’s really amazing to see that we’ve cracked it," said the seven-time champion.
"There’s a growing love in the States, there are massive sporting fans out there," he added. "And I mean, Miami is going to be an experience for all of us, for the racing community, for those that are the fans out there that are watching, the fans that are going to be flying in that maybe have never been there before.
"The US has a lot to offer in that space... so it’s super exciting."