By Chris Medland August 23, 2022 12:45 PM
By Chris Medland |
Circuit of the Americas boss Bobby Epstein says Logan Sargeant’s FP1 run for Williams at the United States Grand Prix is “pretty fantastic” but believes an American race-winner is needed to take Formula 1 to the next level in the States.
Sargeant will make his FP1 debut for Williams in Austin later this year after having impressed so far in his rookie Formula 2 season, where he sits third in the championship. Having that storyline as part of the build-up to the USGP is a welcome development for Epstein, but he says the recent growth that the sport has already experienced in the States means that just having drivers participating won’t move the needle significantly.
“It’s pretty fantastic, but it will be better when he’s participating on Sunday,” Epstein told RACER. “That’s absolutely a goal of mine to see. It’s nice to have a U.S. race team in Haas, but it pales into comparison to what could happen to have a U.S. driver who is winning.
“I do think Americans will show some pride in having an American driver in F1, but I think there will be a lot of support if we have a winning driver in F1. There is a difference.
“The real question is how exciting would it be to have a winning American driver? I think that’s a few years off, but certainly that would be a beautiful game-changer. That would be bigger than Netflix.”
Epstein says he follows young American drivers closely to see if the likes of Colton Herta could make the switch to F1 in future and start on the path to victories.
“Yeah you do (keep an eye on it),” he said. “That’s the short answer. We watch it, and you know that besides being a great driver they’re going to need a great car to be a champion.
“In Herta’s case, either you’ve got to hope McLaren’s going to be more competitive or you’ve got to hope they can get in a Ferrari or a Red Bull or a Mercedes right now, so you’ve also got to hope the power shuffles once in a while.”
Formula 1
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, he contributes to BBC 5Live and Sky Sports in the UK as well as working with titles in Japan and the Middle East.
Check out a quick recap of MX-5 Cup round 10 at Road America
Schumacher to get new Haas upgrade at Spa
Lawson gets FP1 call-up for AlphaTauri at Spa
Giovinazzi to make F1 return with Haas practice outings
[…] fantastisch, maar het zal beter zijn wanneer hij op zondag deelneemt”, vertelt hij in gesprek met Racer.com. Epstein vindt het mooi om Haas in de sport te hebben als Amerikaans team, maar een coureur zou nog […]
August 23, 2022 8:15 PM ET ·
Rene Rast has been announced as the first driver for McLaren’s new Formula E entry. Rast joins McLaren after a decade with Audi (…)
August 23, 2022 7:10 PM ET ·
Rick Ware Racing was issued a safety penalty on Tuesday afternoon for the ballast that came off Cody Ware’s No. 51 Chevrolet at Watkins (…)
August 23, 2022 4:10 PM ET ·
Winward wins After some atrocious luck across two series this season, Winward Racing seems to have turned its fortunes (…)
August 23, 2022 2:50 PM ET ·
Hyundai’s bid to win a third straight TCR class manufacturers’ championship in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge doesn’t rest (…)
August 23, 2022 2:32 PM ET ·
Kyle Larson and the No.5 Hendrick Motorsports team had what was likely a once-in-a-lifetime championship season last year. They dominated (…)
August 23, 2022 1:27 PM ET ·
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Sr. VP of Sales Steve Fields discusses the growth and changes found at the beloved road course in Monterey. (…)
August 23, 2022 12:25 PM ET ·
Two private NTT IndyCar Series tests on the horizon should shape the outcome of the championship. The August 26 test at Portland (…)
August 23, 2022 11:51 AM ET ·
NASCAR Cup Series teams have two days to gather data at Martinsville Speedway through an organizational test this week. But don’t expect (…)
August 23, 2022 7:54 AM ET ·
Mick Schumacher will join Kevin Magnussen in running the updated Haas at the Belgian Grand Prix after the team saw encouraging data from the (…)
August 23, 2022 7:30 AM ET ·
Liam Lawson will make his Formula 1 race weekend debut in FP1 at the Belgian Grand Prix for AlphaTauri. The New Zealander is in his second (…)
Check out a quick recap of MX-5 Cup round 10 at Road America
Next Level: Hyundai’s ace up the sleeve
August 23, 2022
Raikkonen’s characteristic cool shines through in Cup debut
August 21, 2022
Regular-season crown small solace for Elliott after Glen defeat
August 21, 2022
Giovinazzi to make F1 return with Haas practice outings
August 22, 2022
The past roars to life at the Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 40 presented by Corvette
August 22, 2022
All contents copyright © 2022, Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorization. Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc., 17030 Red Hill Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614, 949.417.6700 Partner of USA Today Sports Digital Properties
Powered by WordPress VIP
