Cup Series driver Austin Cindric compares F1's "unfathomable" allure to NASCAR: "People are drawn to the untouchable"

NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Cindric recently shed light on what differentiates F1's allure to fans from that of NASCAR.

The motorsports community has been abuzz with excitement as the 2023 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix takes center stage. As racing action returned to the United States, the hype surrounding the race at Las Vegas Street Circuit has been extravagant.

Leading up to Saturday's (November 18) race, many drivers from America's top racing series dissected the build-up and excitement leading up to the F1 event.

One such driver was Team Penske's Austin Cindric. He spoke to Autosport, where he delved into the essence of what makes Formula 1 stand out.

Cindric said:

"You buy a general admission ticket (at NASCAR), and you can come take a selfie with your favorite driver and get an autograph nine times out of 10."

"Whereas if I go to Formula 1 race, I'm never seeing Lewis Hamilton. The only time I see him is when he is whizzing by me on the racetrack and then two minutes later when he comes back by again. So I think that's the biggest difference, and I think some people are drawn to the untouchable and being close to it," he added.

The 25-year-old also said:

"I think what defines star power is different in those scenarios. I think star power in this is—and in NASCAR—is purely just dominance, on-track performance-based. But I think there's an automatic star power when the level that you're at is completely unfathomable by the regular person."

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Austin Cindric on Drive To Survive and its impact on American population and F1

The Cup Series driver also touched upon the recent surge in Formula 1's popularity in the United States, attributing part of this to the Netflix docuseries "Drive To Survive."

The series, known for its behind-the-scenes portrayal of the F1 world, has played a pivotal role in boosting F1's popularity among American audiences. He said:

"I think it'll be interesting to see kind of how it pans out over the next couple of years. Obviously, the Netflix show definitely (showed) the scale of what that sport really is in comparison to maybe what most people would think."

Austin Cindric added:

"Most people would think it is maybe a European sport, but it's very international. So I think that the glitz and glamor of that are very attractive, because I don't think there's any other sport that really hits that untouchable percentage of the world's population."