Flavio Briatore Reveals Donald Trump's Role in Failed Formula 1 New Jersey Grand Prix Project

Flavio Briatore, Alpine's de facto team principal, has revealed that he once worked alongside current U.S. President Donald Trump in an attempt to bring a Formula 1 race to New Jersey.According to Briatore, after the United States Grand Prix left Indianapolis, he introduced Trump to former Formula 1 commercial chief Bernie Ecclestone. Although Trump had no experience in Formula 1, Briatore described him as an outstanding promoter. Trump believed that staging a race in New York would be too complicated and instead proposed New Jersey as the ideal location, prompting discussions over a potential Grand Prix.The project, however, never came to fruition. Briatore explained that Formula 1 had very little recognition in the United States at the time and was overshadowed by NASCAR and IndyCar. The focus later shifted to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, which hosted its first United States Grand Prix in 2012, while plans for a street race in New Jersey were eventually abandoned.Briatore believes Formula 1's popularity in the United States has changed dramatically since Liberty Media acquired the sport's commercial rights in 2017. He praised the company's open commercial and marketing approach, noting that the Grands Prix in Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas now attract massive crowds and regularly sell out.