American Grand Prix Betting

The introduction of a new race to the F1 Grand Prix calendar is a complicated affair. It requires the cooperation not only of race officials in the host country and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) but also the approval of Formula One Group made of constructors, promoters and administrators. The proposed track must be formally approved for F1 use and associated licensing is required. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the new “American Grand Prix” (or Grand Prix of America) that was first proposed for launch in New Jersey in May of 2010 is still in the planning stages with hopes of being scheduled for the late spring of 2015.

The continued postponement has no connection, of course, with the “United States Grand Prix” of Formula One racing, which dates back to the F1 World Championship season of 1959. The American Grand Prix would be a completely separate addition, giving the United States two national venues for Formula One Championship racing.

Organised by the Automobile Club of America, the very first “American Grand Prize” race was conducted in 1908. It was won by France’s Louis Wagner driving a Fiat over a course of public roads in Savannah, Georgia. After a year’s hiatus, that same route served as the site for two more editions of the national championship, both won by American David Bruce-Brown. The native New Yorker was successful in a Benz in 1910 and a Fiat in 1911. For 1912, the venue shifted to Milwaukee, where American Caleb Bragg of Cincinnati, Ohio was successful.

The race was again suspended in 1913 before moving to California for three years. Eddie Pullen of Trenton, New Jersey took the checkered flag in a Mercer at Santa Monica in 1914, followed by Britain’s Dario Resta winning in a Peugeot amid the rain in San Francisco in 1915. When the event returned to Santa Monica in 1916, it was a team of Americans, Johnny Aitken and Howdy Wilcox, who guided their Peugeot to victory. As it turned out, that was the last American Grand Prize ever run in the 20th century.

In order for a new American Grand Prix to be held in New Jersey in 2012, a suitable F1 circuit would have to be found. It proved to be a considerable challenge, as a road race along the Hudson River facing the skyscrapers of Manhattan was proposed and rejected, followed by the scrapping of plans for new circuit to be constructed in Jersey City’s Liberty State Park. For a while, it looked like a road circuit in Weehawken and West New York could be viable, leading to speculation that a 2013 race might be possible, but Hudson County official insisted on some major rerouting.

Late in 2013, Formula One racing’s governing body, FIA, published its calendar for the 2014 world championship following a meeting of its World Motor Sport Council in Croatia. The provisional schedule called for the American Grand Prix to be held in New Jersey on 1 June, just a week ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix but well removed from the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas slated for 11 September 2014. The FIA press release stated that the New Jersey race “will take place on a temporary street circuit along the Hudson River … with the New York City skyline as its backdrop.” More recently, however, it was announced that the American Grand Prix had been “postponed due to a number of long-term financial problems that could not be sorted out come the race’s provisional date.”

The very latest information available indicates that plans are still on to add the race to the 2015 F1 World Championship Schedule. The most likely venue is a panoramic 3.2-mile (5.2-kilometre) street circuit through the New Jersey towns of West New York and Weehawken near Weehawken Port Imperial. Once signed, the event contract will reportedly be for 15 seasons.

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