Chase Carey reveals New York was F1's third US city target before Miami and Las Vegas

Former Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey has revealed that New York was the third city on F1’s shortlist for a United States grand prix following Liberty Media’s takeover of the sport, alongside Miami and Las Vegas — but was swiftly dismissed as unrealistic.

Carey, who led F1 as CEO from 2017 until Stefano Domenicali succeeded him at the start of 2021, made the disclosure during an on-stage conversation with Fox Business anchor Liz Claman at the Autosport Business Exchange in New York City, an event that also featured Christian Horner’s first US public appearance since departing Oracle Red Bull Racing, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, General Motors’ Mark Reuss, Penske’s Jonathan Gibson, and NASCAR’s Tim Clark.

Speaking about the strategic importance of the American market, Carey said expanding F1’s footprint in the US was a priority from the moment Liberty Media completed its acquisition. “The U.S. is important, not just because of the size of the audience here, but it drives global media,” he said. “A lot of the brands and franchises that drive the entertainment media world come out of the U.S.”

Carey explained that the criteria for any new race location were deliberately demanding. “I said, ‘Look, our locations need to be iconic locations that wow people,’” he told the audience. “There were three. We have a great race in Austin — it’s a fabulous race. But we wanted to add to that where we felt we could. There were only three locations we thought that really made sense for us at that point. It was New York, Miami and Las Vegas.”

New York, however, was ruled out early in the process. “New York, we realistically recognised wasn’t going to happen,” Carey said. “So, Miami and Las Vegas became places we thought we could expand that footprint, expand our presence and add that as a building block to the sport in the U.S.”

Miami joined the Formula 1 calendar in 2022 and Las Vegas followed in 2023. Both races have since signed long-term contract extensions, cementing their place on the schedule alongside the established United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.