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'We'll probably have an American F1 driver soon'

'We'll probably have an American F1 driver soon'

31-03-2022 18:25 Last update: 22:23
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GPblog.com

With the announcement of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the United States will have three Grands Prix in 2023. With American races and Haas F1 as an American team, there is only one thing missing: an American F1 driver. Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei thinks the Las Vegas race could help lead to an American driver in Formula 1 soon.

Las Vegas helps search for American driver

On Thursday morning, Formula 1 announced a brand new Grand Prix in the heart of Las Vegas. This brings the counter to three when it comes to races in the United States in 2023. Since 2012, the United States GP has been held at the Circuit of the Americas and on May 8, F1 will run the Miami GP for the first time on a brand new track around Hard Rock Stadium.

Maffei expects the Las Vegas Grand Prix can contribute to the search for an American Formula 1 driver. "And I think having an event like this in Las Vegas, all the other things that we’re doing in the U.S., is only going to make it more likely we soon have an American driver," Maffei is quoted by RACER.com.

Herta much mentioned name

One name that has been mentioned a lot as a possible American driver is Colton Herta. The young driver from California is currently racing for Andretti Autosport in IndyCar. Already in his third IndyCar race he managed to win at the age of 18. Since that win in 2019, he has subsequently been able to chalk up five more victories. Herta signed a test contract with McLaren earlier in March.