From the archives: United States Grands Prix

Coast to coast

There have been many Formula One World Championship races staged in the USA, but not all have carried the title United States Grand Prix. The first such F1 race took place on the Sebring airfield circuit in Florida in 1959, moved across the country to Riverside, California in 1960, and then settled at Watkins Glen, in upstate New York, from 1961 through to 1980.

The USA is, of course, a huge country and well able to support more than one major international Grand Prix event. This was emphasised when Long Beach, the Californian coastal city, initiated a Monaco-style race through its streets in 1976, lasting on the calendar through to 1983 after which it switched its allegiance to CART Indy racing as a less expensive alternative to Bernie Ecclestone’s international F1 circus.

1982 also saw the instigation of a race through the streets of Detroit, which this year was the sole US-based Grand Prix, while Dallas hosted a single race in 1984 which, sadly, was never repeated. Within the next few years we can expect the return of a Californian venue onto the calendar, possibly a street race at San Diego or a fixture at the revitalised Laguna Seca track. AH