Donald Trump was involved in F1’s push into the USA in the early 2010s. Image: XPB Images
Briatore said the proposal took shape while the championship was searching for a stronger foothold in the United States following the loss of Indianapolis from the calendar after 2007.
The Alpine executive advisor turned to Trump, whom he knew through their separate versions of The Apprentice, believing the businessman’s experience promoting major events could assist F1’s return to the country.
“Sure, Donald had no idea as well about Formula 1 – but he’s a great promoter,” Briatore told The Race.
“At the time, he promoted boxing, he promoted everything in Vegas.
“And I made Donald talk with Bernie [Ecclestone]. I was in the office of Donald. We put in [a] video with Bernie to [find] what was the best place in New York to do the race.
“And Donald [told] us New York is very difficult for a million reasons, but New Jersey was the place. So Bernie started negotiating New Jersey with two or three different people.”
Trump’s assessment redirected the talks across the Hudson River, where organisers began examining the possibility of holding the event in New Jersey.
The proposal later developed into the Grand Prix of America, with a 5.1-kilometre route planned around Port Imperial and the neighbouring communities of Weehawken and West New York.
Its waterfront location would have placed the circuit opposite Manhattan, while the area’s elevation changes promised a distinctive challenge for drivers, with Red Bull even conducting a filming day on the proposed route in the lead-up to the event.
The race was listed for 2013 before being withdrawn and returned provisionally for 2014, only to again miss the final calendar.
Briatore said the sport’s limited standing in the American market at the time made finding the required commercial support considerably harder.
“But we never succeeded, because Formula 1 was not… considered something special,” he said.
“You talk about… NASCAR, you talk about Indy[Car], completely different business. And Formula 1 was not [valued] at all.”
The New Jersey effort came during a difficult period for F1 in the United States, where the championship had struggled to build continuity through previous events in Phoenix and Indianapolis.
The championship returned to the country in 2012 when the Circuit of the Americas in Austin joined the calendar.
F1 has since expanded to three American events, with Miami and Las Vegas added alongside the United States Grand Prix in Texas.
Briatore argued Liberty Media’s acquisition of Formula 1 in 2017 had transformed the championship’s ability to attract audiences, commercial partners and event organisers across the country.
“Now, you go to America, you go to Miami, 500,000 people [attend],” he said.
“You go to Austin, full, you go to Vegas. You see, Formula 1 is changing dramatically. You see, every race is sold out, sold out, [whether it’s] raining, not raining.
“And, what has changed is really the commercial side. Liberty is much more open. Bernie was very strong, very restrictive in the business.”