US race plans tough to keep under wraps, Bratches admits

Negotiations regarding a second Formula 1 race in the United States will always be tough to keep behind closed doors, says the sport’s director of commercial operations Sean Bratches.

The United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas is currently the only F1 race in America, and owners Liberty Media have made no secret of their desire to add to that number. Plans to host a race in downtown Miami became public long before any potential approval and have since been revised to explore the possibility of a circuit adjacent to Hard Rock Stadium, with Bratches admitting U.S. government structures mean future investigations in other cities could become public.

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“I’d prefer to try and get a deal done first and then announce it,” Bratches told RACER. “I think that’s probably the right cadence of events to go through in the interest of getting something done and not creating too much speculation.

“I think they all have similar complexities as relates to municipal governments and operations. So when public officials are undertaking initiatives they need to go through a process which at some point in time becomes public, as you’re aware. Generally speaking that’s the point in time when you’re going to find out what’s going on from our perspective.”

RACER understands negotiations are currently ongoing with a number of other cities in the United States aside from Miami, with Las Vegas one such option for a further race.

While keen to expand F1’s presence in the U.S., Bratches says the sport is also happy to remain part of a big day of motorsport in May when Monaco, the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca Cola 600 are all held on the same Sunday.

“I think Indy compliments us. I think there is enough audience -- not only in the States but around the world -- to rise the tide for all boats. We’re not changing the date that Monaco is racing on. We’ve been racing on that date or thereabouts for 69 years now.”