F1 management has registered trademarks related to a Chicago Grand Prix, a move likely to fuel speculation about an F1 race in the Windy City.
First spotted by Planet F1, four applications were filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Jan. 18-19, 2024. All for use on clothing, the applications cover four variations of an F1 Chicago race name, including “Chicago Grand Prix,” “Grand Prix of Chicago,” Formula 1 Grand Prix of Chicago,” and “Formula 1 Chicago Grand Prix.”
As Planet F1 notes, F1 previously applied for similar trademarks ahead of its announcements of the Miami Grand Prix and Las Vegas Grand Prix, hinting that a Chicago race is being considered. F1 wouldn’t go ahead with a new race without having lucrative merchandise trademarks locked down, after all.
A Chicago Grand Prix would potentially be the fourth race in the U.S., alongside the Miami and Vegas races as well as the U.S. Grand Prix, held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. That’s assuming Chicago doesn’t bump one of the other U.S. races from the calendar.
Chicago could use a temporary street course like the Miami and Las Vegas races. NASCAR got a lot of attention for hosting its own Chicago street race in 2023, although that was partly due to the novelty of what was the first-ever street-course race for NASCAR’s top Cup Series and an improbable win by Australian Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen in his first NASCAR start.
F1 has been gradually expanding its calendar over the past few years. The 2024 F1 calendar has a record 24 races, but that’s also just one more than the 2023 season. The 2024 season is set to kick off Mar. 2 with the Bahrain Grand Prix, and is scheduled to wrap up Dec. 8 with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
This article was originally published by Motor Authority, an editorial partner of ClassicCars.com
