Formula 1 planning US-based series after F1 Academy announcement

Formula 1 plans to expand its F1 Academy program to include an American championship based around Las Vegas.

The F1 Academy was announced on Friday in Abu Dhabi, with an all-female championship positioned at Formula 4 level to launch in 2023. Under such a wide-reaching title, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali admits there are other projects in mind that the sport is also evaluating, and confirmed that one of those would be a US-based academy that is not female-only as the sport looks to grow in America.

“This is the start of a project,” Domenicali said when asked by RACER if the F1 Academy could expend into the US. “You know for example that we are going to be the promoter in Las Vegas, and we believe that could be for sure the place where we want to involve that category in the United States of America.

“It’s a program we want to develop because I think that there’s the potential also there to use that base in order to promote what we want to in that country.

“And we want to do the same thing in other regions – there’s the Middle East, there’s the Far East – so it’s true, it’s a wider approach that we want to take because all around the world there is this interest that has to grow, and it is our duty to invest in that.”

RACER understands the plan is in its initial stages but the academy would be focused around the Las Vegas Grand Prix as the sport tries to expand in the United States, with the aim of increasing the pool of potential drivers who start their racing in America but have a desire to progress towards Formula 1.

Such a project was already being considered before Logan Sargeant was announced as a Williams driver for 2023 provided he earns his Super License this weekend in Abu Dhabi, with the Floridian qualifying sixth for the Formula 2 feature race.