IndyCar driver Ryan Hunter-Reay said that F1 needs more races in the U.S. and "not just a team if it is to crack the American market," according to William Esler of SKY SPORTS. The 2012 IndyCar champion and 2014 Indy 500 winner believes that Haas's arrival on the F1 grid this year "will not help increase the fan base in the U.S., particularly when the start-up team also have a factory in Banbury in the U.K." Currently only one grand prix is held in the U.S. and even its future is rumored "to be under threat after a reduction in government funding for the Circuit of the Americas." Hunter-Reay said, "It is so hard to crack the sporting market in the United States because it is so saturated. We have football, basketball, baseball -- there are so many options you have to capture the fans' attention. I think Formula 1 racing in general can do it, but it is going to take more of a presence in the United States other than just a team that calls itself 'USF1' even though it is based in the U.K., which it has to be I think." He added, "Hopefully we can get some more races over there, I'm not sure what the solution is, but I'm a fan of any success of motorsport in the United States." A planned race along the banks of the Hudson River in New Jersey never materialized, but F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone "is reportedly eyeing another race in California" (SKY SPORTS, 1/5).
