Romain Grosjean has encouraged Liberty Media to add a second Formula One race in the United States.
The new owners of F1 have said they want to develop grown in the States, something the sport has always struggled with, but Grosjean pointed out the difficulties fans face to follow the series in the US.
“It’s so hard when you’re there to follow what’s going on in Formula One,” he said.
“Most of the races are in the middle of the night so it’s very difficult for people to follow the races live.”
Most of the European races take place early in the morning Stateside whilst watching the Australian Grand Prix would require fans living in Florida to tune in at midnight.
Formula One currently caters to European audiences with 10 of the 21 races this season taking place in Europe while three others – Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain – take place at times Europeans find comfortable.
The current US Grand Prix in Texas begins in the late evening back in Europe. But for Grosjean, he feels a West coast race would still be beneficial for F1, despite what would be an even later start time for those living in European time zones.
The Long Beach ePrix in California, for example, began at midnight in the UK, hardly prime time viewing.
Liberty Media will have to find a balance between growth in America and keeping European audiences. That they may find difficult, especially if an additional US race was to come at the expense of a more classic European round.
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