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Alpine team principal Flavio Briatore has revealed he partnered with Donald Trump on an abandoned Formula 1 project in the 2010s, attempting to bring a race to New Jersey before the sport's current American expansion took hold. The disclosure, made during a podcast with The Race, sheds light on an earlier chapter in F1's struggle to crack the United States market, one that involved the future president as a promotional partner rather than a racing enthusiast.
Formula 1 now holds three races on the American calendar: Austin, Miami, and Las Vegas. That footprint represents a dramatic reversal from a decade ago, when the sport struggled to generate sustained interest in a market dominated by NASCAR and IndyCar. Briatore's recollection underscores how marginal F1 was perceived in the U.S. at the time, even with high-profile backers.
"OK, Donald Trump understands nothing about Formula 1, but he is a great promoter," Briatore said. "At that time he promoted boxing matches, he promoted everything in Las Vegas, et cetera, et cetera." The Italian saw Trump not as a technical partner but as a means to generate the kind of spectacle and media attention the sport lacked in America.
Trump's pitch to Bernie Ecclestone
Briatore arranged a meeting between Trump and then-Formula 1 owner Bernie Ecclestone to explore the concept. "I made sure Donald spoke with Bernie. I was in Bernie's office. We made a video with Bernie to look at the best place in New York for a race," Briatore recalled. The collaboration extended beyond casual conversation; it involved site analysis and promotional planning.
Trump advised against a Manhattan-based event. "Donald told us that in New York it would be very difficult for millions of reasons, but Jersey was the place," Briatore said. Ecclestone subsequently entered negotiations with several parties over a potential New Jersey circuit, which was intended to offer skyline views of Manhattan and position F1 as a glamorous counterpoint to America's domestic racing series.
Why the project collapsed
Plans for a race in the New York metropolitan area were publicly promoted for several years but never materialised. Briatore attributes the failure not to logistical or financial obstacles alone, but to a fundamental misalignment between F1 and the American motorsport landscape. "We never succeeded because Formula 1 didn't. They didn't see it as something special. You're talking about NASCAR, you're talking about IndyCar, those are completely different businesses. And Formula 1 had absolutely no value back then."
The comment reflects a period when Liberty Media had not yet acquired the sport, when digital engagement was minimal, and when F1's commercial model in the United States remained unproven. What Briatore and Trump proposed required buy-in from American sponsors, municipal authorities, and a fanbase that did not yet exist at scale. Without that foundation, even a promotional heavyweight like Trump could not generate the momentum required.
From failure to three-race footprint
The contrast with today is stark. Liberty Media's acquisition in 2017, the Netflix effect of Drive to Survive, and a deliberate strategy to stage races in major American cities have transformed F1's commercial position. Miami and Las Vegas joined Austin on a calendar that now prioritises the U.S. market in ways Ecclestone never fully committed to.
Briatore's disclosure also adds texture to Trump's long-standing involvement in high-profile sports promotion, from heavyweight boxing to wrestling to golf. His role in the New Jersey F1 bid was consistent with that pattern: opportunistic, brand-focused, and ultimately dependent on partners who could execute the technical and regulatory complexities he was less interested in navigating.
The failed New Jersey project remains a footnote in F1's American expansion, but it illustrates how far the sport has come in a decade. What Briatore and Trump could not achieve through promotional flair alone, Liberty Media accomplished through structural investment, media strategy, and a willingness to treat the United States as more than an auxiliary market.
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