Formula 1 returns to the United States this weekend for the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas — a firm favourite on the calendar since its inaugural race in 2012. Austin is now one of three US events, alongside Miami and the Las Vegas night race, and the sport’s popularity stateside has surged in recent years, boosted by Netflix’s Drive to Survive. But F1’s relationship with America has always been a mixed one — and the archive photos tell a wild story.
F1 in Austin (Credits: BBC Sport)
From Sebring to Watkins Glen: The Early American Years
The very first F1 United States Grand Prix took place at Sebring, Florida, in 1959 — where Australian Jack Brabham won the first of his three drivers’ championships by literally pushing his Cooper over the line after it ran out of fuel on the final lap. His fourth place was enough to beat Britons Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss to the title. A year later at Riverside, Brabham clinched title number two.
Watkins Glen in upstate New York then hosted the US Grand Prix until 1980, producing some of the sport’s most evocative images: Innes Ireland recovering from a trip into the bushes to win in 1961; Jim Clark on the grid in 1965, the year of his second title, and celebrating victory in 1967 — six months before he was killed in an F2 race; a poignant pit-lane church service in 1973 the day after Francois Cevert’s fatal qualifying crash; and Alan Jones’ 1980 win that sealed the world title.
Street Races, Car Parks, and the Boom Years
The United States Grand Prix West debuted on the streets of Long Beach in 1976, with Niki Lauda leading the field down Linden Avenue while locals seemingly went about their daily business. Then came the more eccentric American experiments: the streets of Dallas and — famously — the Caesars Palace car park in Las Vegas. Eleven US cities and towns have staged an F1 race in total.
Today, with three thriving grands prix and a surging American audience, the sport’s US era finally looks permanent — a far cry from the ad-hoc beach-and-parking-lot experiments of decades past. As Austin gets ready to host again, those archive images remain a reminder of just how far F1 in America has come.
Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
