Steiner responds to concerns over dwindling US F1 TV ratings

Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner has insisted he is not worried about the falling American viewership numbers of Formula 1.

F1 has boomed in popularity in the United States in recent years, largely owing to the success of Netflix’s Drive To Survive docuseries.

The sport tried for several years to tap into the market and is now set to stage three races in the country this year.

The first US-based race was held in May from Miami – and although weekend attendance was higher compared to its inaugural event last term, TV figures were down.

Reports show that broadcaster ABC recorded a 25 per cent drop in its audience compared to last year’s event.

The current campaign has been viewed as largely predictable by some, with Red Bull winning all 12 races staged so far, with the lack of competition at the front of the field touted as a deterrent for some TV viewers.

‘TV ratings not measured right’

Haas is currently the only F1 team that is operating under an American flag having joined the grid in 2016.

Steiner has stated he is not concerned over the reported figures and told media including RacingNews365.com: “I think TV ratings is one of these things – I’m not an expert on TV ratings and TV, so don’t take my word as the gospel here.

“But I think there’s a lot of things watched now not on TV, especially young people, and I think there is not a real instrument yet to measure this.

“I think people are working on it because I think there are more people watching than we actually know because we still measure TV ratings like we did 20 years ago.

“As I said, I’m not the guru of TV ratings, but I just spoke with some people who know about stuff and they said they think we need to go to a more current way to measure eyeballs on a race.”