Ticket sales for this month's U.S. Formula One Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, skyrocketed after Max Verstappen's winning streak came to an end, according to race promoter Bobby Epstein.
Red Bull's Verstappen kicked off the season in spectacular form, clinching victory in four of the first five races and seemingly poised to secure his fourth drivers' title well before the season's conclusion.
However, the 27-year-old Dutch driver, who dominated last year with 19 wins out of 22 races, has not claimed victory in any of the last eight races. McLaren's Lando Norris is now his closest competitor, trailing by 52 points with six rounds left in the season.
"Our ticket sales really took off when Max stopped winning, and it got more competitive," Epstein, whose Circuit of the Americas (COTA) hosts a sprint race weekend on Oct. 19-20, told reporters.
The promoter had feared it would be the "weakest year in four since the pandemic" but said there had instead been a 'hockey stick' effect of sales trending upward.
The Grand Prix will also be the first since Red Bull-owned RB dropped Australian Daniel Ricciardo, a big favorite of the U.S. crowd, last month and replaced him with New Zealander Liam Lawson.
Epstein hoped Ricciardo might still attend in some other role. "I'm not sure necessarily people are buying tickets to come see him race if he's not in a competitive car, right?" he said.
"If you're coming, though, because he's part of the F1 community, I think he can still be part of the F1 community in a pretty meaningful way. And he's really, really loved in Texas, and I think he likes it here.
"I hope he's still coming here because we've got a lot of people that would love to shake his hand or get his autograph or take a picture or just see him around town. We'll keep him busy."
The circuit will host an Eminem concert after the Saturday sprint, and Epstein expects a crowd of 130,000 to 150,000 that day alone.
There will also be a college football game in town on Saturday between the Texas Longhorns and the Georgia Bulldogs, a heavyweight clash that has sent hotel prices soaring in the state capital.
"I think we'll have a weekend like we've never had before in terms of overall excitement and things to do," said Epstein.
"The fact that we've got the top-ranked college game happening on that Saturday is going to make for an amazing weekend."
