Over the past couple of weeks, rumors have been in the air suggesting that the Formula One owners may be looking to host a second United States Grand Prix in New York. But do we really need a second race in the United States?
The only New York circuit that would be capable of hosting a Formula One event would be Watkins Glen, a circuit used for the United States Grand Prix from 1961 to 1980. The New York location would make the circuit the perfect place to hold a back-to-back race weekend with the Canadian Grand Prix, since the two circuits are separated by just about 600km/h of roads. Rumors about the circuit returning to action are not new and Charlie Whiting even said that the circuit would be good for a Formula One event.
However, with the United States Grand Prix currently hosted by the Circuit of the Americas, introducing a race in New York would create a second United States Grand Prix. This is something that was tried in the past with the United States Grand Prix West at Long Beach from 1976 to 1983, but the idea failed miserably. After just five years with the United States Grand Prix West on the calendar, the United States Grand Prix dropped off of the calendar, leaving the Long Beach race as the sole American Formula One event. The sport also briefly held the Detroit Grand Prix and Caesars Palace Grand Prix, both of which failed after very limited years.
History shows that two United States Grand Prix events does work. It’s too expensive to run two events in the same country and the Formula One interest in America is not strong enough to support both events. No country should have more than one Formula One event.
But the bottom line is that two Formula One races per year in the United States just will not work. Formula One should abandon this idea before some circuit wastes a ton of money to get Formula One, only to have it last for a handful of seasons.
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