Bobby Epstein, boss of the Circuit of the Americas, says the US Grand Prix has seen a spike in ticket sales as Max Verstappen’s dominance came to an end. He also stressed that he would love to welcome Daniel Ricciardo to the Formula One weekend in Austin, where the Australian is much loved.
Max Verstappen’s dip causes ticket sales to increase
The next stop on the Formula 1 calendar is in Austin, where the United States GP will be held on 20 October. Ticket sales for that are better than earlier in the year, according to Epstein. “I think we’re in good shape coming up to this grand prix, although the route to get here was a little bit different this year from a fan standpoint, in that our ticket sales really took off when Max stopped winning, and it got more competitive hopes Ricciardo still attends the race in some capacity,” he is quoted by ESPN.
In 2023, Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races across the full calendar year. Verstappen actually had the World Championship secured before the sport even visited Austin for the United States Grand Prix. This year, the Dutchman hasn’t won since the Spanish Grand Prix in June. Red Bull face strong competition from McLaren, who are leading the World Championship.
The F1 race in Austin will be the first this year without Ricciardo, who is hugely popular in the country and a big fan of the Texas city himself. Epstein therefore hopes that the Australian driver, who had to make way for Liam Lawson at VCARB, will still somehow come to the race. “Daniel may be able to have just as big of an impact out of the car as he has in it at our at our Grand Prix,” Epstein said.
“I’m not sure that necessarily people are buying tickets to come see him race if he’s not in a competitive car, right? So if you’re coming because he’s part of the the F1 community, I think he can still be part of the F1 community in a pretty meaningful way. He’s really, really loved in Texas, and I think he likes it here. And so I would hope that he makes himself available more to the fans than he would otherwise be if he had an obligation in the car. I hope he’s still coming here, because we got a lot of people that would love to shake his hand or get his autograph or take a picture. Just see him around town. We’ll keep him busy,” Epstein added.
