Flavio Briatore has revealed that he, together with the current American president Donald Trump, was behind a plan to organize an F1 race in New Jersey. The former Renault team boss and current top advisor of Alpine connected Trump with then F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone to bring the premier class to the region around New York. Ultimately, the project failed due to a lack of interest from the American public.
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In an interview with The Race, Briatore said that after the failure of the collaboration between Indianapolis and Formula 1 in 2007, he looked for new opportunities for an American Grand Prix. He enlisted the help of Trump, who at the time was mainly known as a businessman and promoter. “Of course, Donald (Trump, ed.) had no knowledge of Formula 1, but he is a great promoter,” said Briatore. “At the time, he promoted boxing, he basically promoted everything in Las Vegas – the list is endless.”
Briatore at the time put Trump in contact with Ecclestone to discuss the possibilities for a race in the New York area. “I had Donald talk with Bernie (Ecclestone, ed.). I was in Donald’s office. We made a video with Bernie to determine what the best location in the New York region would be.” Trump would eventually have designated New Jersey as the most suitable location. “Donald told us that New York was very difficult for countless reasons, but that New Jersey was the best place. So Bernie started negotiating with two or three different people about an F1 race in New Jersey.”
Formula 1 conquers America
The plan initially seemed to take serious shape. Sebastian Vettel and David Coulthard even drove a promotional lap on the planned street circuit at Port Imperial, but the race was postponed several times and eventually disappeared from the calendar plans. Briatore points out that Formula 1 did not enjoy great popularity in the United States at that time. “We never succeeded because Formula 1 was not considered something special. You talk about NASCAR, you talk about IndyCar, that is a completely different world. Formula 1 was not appreciated at all.”
According to Briatore, Liberty Media, which took over Formula 1 from Ecclestone in 2017, has completely changed the sport in the United States. “Now you go to America, to Miami, and half a million people show up. Austin and Vegas are also full. You see, Formula 1 is changing drastically. At every race, the stands are full, rain or shine.” The Italian especially emphasizes the commercial turnaround under the new owner. “Liberty is much more open,” he noted. “Bernie was very strict, very reserved in doing business. Liberty has completely opened up the commercial side. Marketing-wise, everything is possible.”
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