F1 Arcade coming to Boston

Money is flowing from the United States to F1

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Today I wanted to take a look at the growing number of U.S. partners entering Formula 1 and the shift in where the money is flowing into the sport.

I had my friend Bjorn Stenbacka from Spomotion Analytics provide some numbers that I found particularly eye-opening.

Also, this week:

  • F1 Arcade is coming to the United States

  • Celebrating the Indianapolis 500

  • Tweets of the week

Enjoy!

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U.S. partnerships continue their upward trend

Formula 1 have now more partners from the USA than from the U.K., Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and France.

The U.S. corporate involvement in Formula 1 is, according to Spomotion Analytics, on a historically high level. Last year, the number of U.S. official partners in Formula 1 exceeded 100 companies. Never has the sport had so many partners and sponsors from the U.S.

When Scuderia Ferrari announced a multi-year partnership, starting in Miami, with U.S. tech company DXC Technology, the number of U.S. partners in Formula 1 2023 was back at 105.

Over 20 new U.S. companies have joined the series as partners in 2023. New U.S. partnership announcements are expected during the year, as Formula 1 will visit Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas.

While U.S. companies keep signing agreements with Formula 1, traditional European markets are losing ground.

The fact is the balance between the USA and the leading five European markets: the U.K., Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and France, has changed, says Björn Stenbacka, Spomotion Analytics analyst.

104 official team and series partners are from the U.K., Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and France. That means the balance has already tipped over to the USA, says Stenbacka.

When Liberty Media acquired Formula 1 in 2017, there were 44 U.S. partners.

Germany lost six partners, three of them linked to the departure of Mick Schumacher after 2022, and only two new ones have been signed by Formula 1 teams in 2023.

Switzerland is a market bringing 23 partners to Formula 1 2023 when Germany has 16, explains Björn Stenbacka, Spomotion Analytics analyst.

When Formula 1 teams are compared, McLaren Racing is the undisputed number one, with 25 U.S. partners. Oracle Red Bull Racing has doubled the number of U.S. partners in just two years, now 18 from the USA.

U.S. team Haas F1 has eight U.S. partners. Five of the six new partners are from the U.S. 

Scuderia Ferrari and have ten partners from the USA. Twelve of the 38 partners are from Italy.

When we take all of this into account, we see that the money is flowing in heavily from the United States. And while many fans may not like some of the Americanization of F1, the money tells a different story.

F1 Arcade comes to the States

The F1 Arcade concept has a real opportunity to get to TopGolf-like levels in the U.S.A. Excited to see how the first one in Boston is. As a native New Englander and close to Boston, I might spend too much time here.

Putting F1 Arcades in cities that are logistically more challenging to host a Grand Prix is also a good idea. What F1 needs to continue growing in the United States are places like F1 Arcade that help build a community of like-minded fans.

The reality is that most race cities will not be able to put up a paddock like what F1 Las Vegas is building.

BUT... 

F1 Arcade can be a tremendous auxiliary outlet for fans to congregate year-round—gaming + community + live sports. No brainer, big win.

The Boston arcade will be 16,000-square-feet with over 60 simulators. F1 plans to open 20 locations in America over the next 5 years. For comparison, the F1 Arcade in London has had 120,000+ visitors in 5 months.

Where do you think they should go?

Countdown to Indianapolis

Over on Twitter, I decided to tweet an interesting fact about the Greatest Spectacle in Racing each day until the Indy 500.

Give me a follow on Twitter and engage with the facts as they drop.

For your earholes 🎧

My friends over at the Tech Heads podcast had IndyCar driver, J.R. Hildebrand, on the show. Have a listen.

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