McLaren Director Says F1 Can Become Huge In The U.S.

McLaren executive director Zak Brown believes that Formula 1 has the potential to be a huge sport in the U.S. but that it needs to host more races locally.

While recently speaking with Motorsport, Brown asserted that there is potential for the sport to grow in the U.S. particularly after being purchased by local media group Liberty Media.

“We need another US race. Austin has done an outstanding job, it's great that Haas is there, and it will certainly be great to get a front-line American driver in time. And it's going to be beneficial that Liberty knows the US market place so well,” Brown said.

However, Brown was cautions about how quickly the sport can grow in the United States. "I think there's a balance," he says. "No one thinks this is going to become an American sport overnight. It is just one territory, but a really important one that I think as much room for growth as any territory in the world.

"We just need to get the American public more exposed to our sport, and no doubt they'll fall in love with it, just like pretty much every market that we go to."

Late last year, Liberty Media chief executive Greg Maffei revealed his interest in another race in the U.S. as part of an expansion of the annual F1 calendar. If he gets his way, a night race could be held in Las Vegas.