After decades, Formula 1 is adding three GPs in the United States – in Miami, Texas and Las Vegas – to its program this year, thanks to the desire – and success – of the American Liberty Media, owner of the sport’s commercial rights, to spread the sport in their vast country.

Liberty has already catapulted interest in Formula One in America to its peak, having hit its nadir with the 2005 Indianapolis GP fiasco – where only six cars started due to tire safety problems, with the rest on the rough , there was fresh asphalt. The organizers had relied on the legendary oval.

Things worsened in 2007 when Indianapolis’ contract with Formula One ended and the sport’s then commercial director, Bernie Ecclestone, declared that the sport would never return to the race track. In fact, many thought that – in Bernie’s time – the sport would never return to the United States.

Formula 1 was unable to recover from this fiasco for years, reaching its peak between 2008 and 2011, when the sport did not come to the United States. But the sport’s relationship with the country was already tenuous. Although there were numerous races in America, especially in the 1970s and 80s, from 2000 to 2021 the sport was only held at four tracks – including Indianapolis.

This year, with the addition of the street circuit – and the infamous Las Vegas Strip – things are completely different, thanks to interest from Liberty, which has spent a reported $500 million on the gambling city festival in the last four days. In 1982 and again this year, the USA became the first country in history to host three GPs in one F1 season. Let’s look at the 12 total tracks the sport has visited from 1959 to the present:

Miami (since 2022)
Miami International Autodrome
More wins: 2 – Max Verstappen (2022, ’23)

The race track around the Florida city’s famous Hard Rock Stadium is built and dismantled every year and has immediately gained the respect of drivers and the sport as a whole. The game was a long-standing vision of Steven Ross, owner of the stadium and the American football team Miami Dolphins. Max Verstappen won the first GP there of 2022 in front of 85,000 spectators and a bevy of American stars and repeated the same feat this year.

Austin, Texas (2012-present)
Circuit of America
More wins: 5 – Lewis Hamilton (2012, 2014-2017)

In 2007, when Formula 1’s relations with America were at their lowest point, it seemed that it would be a long time before the sport returned to the US. Four years of his absence from the country followed, but in these four years all the behind-the-scenes processes were successfully carried out for a new race at a newly built circuit: the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. The track was originally designed for Formula 1, so everyone took it in stride. According to Daniel Ricciardo, “this is the best track of the new generation”. The race has been running successfully since then, with the exception of 2020, which was canceled – for one year only – due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Las Vegas (1981-1982, 2023)
Caesars Palace Grand Prix Circuit and Las Vegas Strip Circuit
More wins: 1 – Alan Jones (1981), Michele Alboreto (1982), Max Verstappen (2023)

The creation of a spiral track in the limited parking lot of the Caesars Palace Hotel (and part of the desert) was decided upon for 1981 to replace the Watkins Glen race following the bankruptcy of the New York circuit. It was a failure and only lasted two years because it didn’t contain the key ingredients that make Las Vegas attractive (read the full story of that struggle here). The exact opposite happened this year when a new circuit was designed through the city streets between the neon lights, the city’s famous casinos and the famous Las Vegas Strip.

Indianapolis (1950–60, 2000–2007)
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
More wins: 5 – Michael Schumacher (2000, 2003-’06)

The Indianapolis race is divided into two seasons. In the first decade of the sport’s professional era, the 1950s, the legendary 500-mile race was on the Formula 1 schedule. However, since only a few European drivers made their way there, the Americans dominated. Indianapolis returned to the sporting calendar in 2000 on a newly built track inside the oval, but after the 2005 fiasco came the ignominious end of 2007.

Phoenix (1989–1991)
Phoenix Street Circuit
More wins: 2 – Ayrton Senna (1990-’91)

After the bankruptcy of Watkins Glen and the failure of Caesars Palace in Vegas, Formula 1 tried to find other locations in the US – and its last attempt was in Phoenix. However, since the Arizona city did not have the streets that would have made the race track interesting, the spectacle – and therefore interest – proved limited. The ending was also inglorious as organizers moved forward with their plans for the 1992 race, but in October 1991 Formula One announced that it would travel to Kyalami, South Africa instead of Phoenix in 1992.

Detroit (1982-1988)
Detroit Street Circuit
More wins: 3 – Ayrton Senna (1986-’88)

In 1982, a third race was added to the races in Las Vegas and Long Beach, the Detroit GP in the “Mecca” of the American automobile industry. But the Michigan City game was perhaps the worst of the three. The track had many difficult corners and was too narrow in many places, leading to many retirements with reliability problems and collisions with the barriers (in 1984 only six of the 26 drivers finished). The heat and humidity made the problem worse. The end came in 1988 after a dispute between the organizers and Formula 1 over the circuit’s peripheral facilities.

Dallas (1984)
Dallas Fair Park
More wins:1- Keke Rosberg

The Dallas race was held for only one year, 1984, on a moderate track and in heat that made the conditions unbearable for everyone. The heat also caused major problems when running the race, as the asphalt reached over 65° Celsius and began to decompose. The organizers covered the problem areas with dirt, with all that means for the cars’ grip. Only 7 of the 26 drivers finished and Formula 1 never returned.

Long Beach (1976-1983)
Long Beach Street Circuit
More wins: 1 – Clay Regaccioni (1976), Mario Andretti (1977), Carlos Roitemann (1978), Gilles Villeneuve (1979), Nelson Piquet (1980), Alan Jones (1981), Niki Lauda (1982), John Watson (1983) .

In Long Beach, a suburb of the city of Los Angeles, Formula 1 was looking for a race track with sufficiently good specifications for the cars, but also with enough glamor that other cities did not have. Formula 1 visited this Pacific coastal town for the first time in 1976 and the race proved a huge success – and was popular with drivers and spectators alike. It was dropped from the Formula One program in 1984 as organizers preferred to include the race at this temporary circuit in the American IndyCar Series championship.

Watkins Glen (1961-1980)
Watkins Glen International
More wins: 3 – Jim Clark (1962, 1966-’67), Graham Hill (1963-’65)

The most successful US GP in history was to come to a tragic end. The first United States GP was held at Watkins Glen, northwest of New York, and attracted 60,000 spectators in its first year. It usually took place late in the year when the titles were being decided, so organizers offered big prize money to attract F1 drivers. The route was redesigned in 1971 and became even more interesting. However, two horrific accidents in 1974 (by Helmut Koenig) and 1975 (by François Sever) raised concerns about the safety of the circuit and spectators began destroying the facilities. Organizers’ efforts to improve safety came too late, so the 1981 race was canceled and the sport would never return to the site that will forever be remembered as the site of tragedy.

Riverside (1960)
Riverside International Raceway
More wins: 1- Stirling Moss

The sunny Moreno Valley race in California was also only held once, as was Dallas. Despite the efforts of organizer Alec Ullman, the race never gained the attention it needed to be successful. He even had to pay the drivers out of his own pocket to ensure that the only GP of 1960 did not turn into a fiasco.

Sebring (1959)
Sebring International Raceway
More wins:1 – Bruce McLaren

The only F1 race at the otherwise historic Sebring circuit did not enjoy the success that it has enjoyed in other championships over time. The main reason was the remote location, quite far from Miami or Orlando, Florida. The town of Sebring only had 7,000 residents at the time, so the 1959 GP attracted no more than 8,000 spectators. It wasn’t a bad race, however, as Bruce McLaren won by less than a second and became the youngest (at the time) GP winner ever in Formula 1 at 22 years and 104 days. This record would stand for more than 40 years.