Zak Brown delivers demand over F1 audience shortcoming

McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes F1 still has room to grow in the United States when it comes to TV viewership.

F1 has enjoyed substantial growth in the US in recent years and now features three permanent grands prix on the calendar: Miami, Austin and Las Vegas.

It has also recently struck a five-year deal with Apple to broadcast F1 in the US, reportedly worth around $750 million.

While race attendances have risen across the country, at-home viewership continues to lag behind more established sports such as American football.

When asked what the next area F1 needs to crack in the US, Brown told media including RacingNews365: "I think it's going to ⁠be TV ratings.”

"I think we've got three fantastic grands prix and while I think ​we could definitely support four and five, that would come at the cost of other markets that I think we need to get ​into.

"So I'm happy where we are, because I do think there's some other growth areas in South Africa, Korea, things of that nature.

"I think TV ratings are still relatively small compared to the NFLs of the world. I think that's the biggest area of growth, getting the TV ​ratings up."

However, F1 viewership in the US is still on the rise.

Last year, ESPN reported an all-time single-season viewership record in the country with an average race audience of 1.3 million viewers