Formula 1 Making Key Moves as Series Popularity Continues to Grow in the USA

It seems as though every week that passes, Formula 1 gives us a deeper look into their American plans. This week is no different.

With the success of the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, US-based brands seem to be chomping at the bit even more than before to get involved in the series.

One of those partners, Verizon, is now a candidate to become an F1 regional partner here in the United States after their involvement with the Miami Grand Prix was a success.

Verizon launched The Hard Rock Stadium Express Shop, powered by both 5G Ultra Wideband and mobile edge compute, to allow event attendees to avoid long lines and quickly grab snacks, and beverages, and go. They just tap their credit card upon entering, then shop, exit and receive a receipt via text in minutes. 

Almost 60% percent of the three-day crowd relied on the Verizon wireless network and they were able to consume massive amounts of data at super-fast speeds, while taking advantage of unique 5G Ultra Wideband-powered experiences.

Over the three day event, Verizon customers used more than 34 terabytes of data. That’s a 52 percent increase over the 22.8 terabytes of data used in the same location during the Super Bowl in February 2020 (yes, that was still pre-COVID).

New Commercial Managing Director for Formula 1, Brandon Snow, said in an interview with Sports Business Journal that F1 is also open to more co-marketing opportunities with other sports leagues stateside, including other video gaming properties.

Last year at the USGP in Austin, Formula 1 partnered with ESPN and the NBA with some fun activations during race weekend and they also partnered with Rocket League to have F1 cars in the video game.

Formula Festivals?

In a conversation with Sports Business Journal, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO, Steve Hill, made it clear that Formula 1 plans to use the new space they acquired year-round.

In order to get deeper into American culture, having a space that is tied to F1 year-round would be a step in the right direction. With Liberty Media owning both LiveNation and SiriusXM, it seems only appropriate that a music-driven opportunity is where they focus their time.

In one of last seasons’ fan feedback forms, there was a series of seven or so questions that asked about music and F1, how one relates music to the sport and what kind of music would be enjoyable to have as part of an F1 weekend.

I thought it was odd at the time, noting to myself that “growing the spectacle” is of utmost importance. But this clarifies the picture a bit more. Formula 1 leveraging the brand they’re building to create experiences beyond the grid is the next natural step.

Vegas Grand Prix Staffing Begins

Staffing the Las Vegas Grand Prix team is going to be immensely important for Formula 1, as this is an event they will be handling in-house.

Something the Miami Grand Prix team handled very well, due to their existing experience with the Miami Dolphins was partnerships.

And F1 seems to have gone a strong route by hiring Samantha Cashman Rayburn as director of partnership management.

Samantha has strong experience in Las Vegas where she was the Associate Director of VIP and Festival Experience for Life is Beautiful, Marketing Director for Harley Davidson and Special Events Coordinator at The Cosmopolitan.

Commercial and Marketing is another important role for the Grand Prix team, and they’ve moved their Head of Race Promotion, Emily Prazer, to Las Vegas full-time. Emily carries extensive experience in sponsorships and partnerships with her from London across the pond (and across the country) to Las Vegas.