US GP happy Verstappen no longer winning

Promoters of the upcoming US GP in Austin are happy that Max Verstappen is no longer dominating Formula 1.

Bobby Epstein, executive chairman of the Texan track, says ticket sales for the race weekend later this month "took off" when Red Bull began to struggle.

Reuters quotes him as saying he had expected the "weakest year since the pandemic" in terms of attendance if Verstappen had simply kept adding to his win tally.

It’s a blow, however, that the highly-popular Daniel Ricciardo, who often refers to the US GP as his ’second home grand prix’, has been axed by RB owner Red Bull.

"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," said Epstein.