Formula 1 Track Facts With Amar — Las Vegas Strip Circuit — Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America 🇺🇸
Race 21
Viva Las Vegas! The time has finally come, after all the construction, controversy, and hype Formula 1 will be racing down the main strip in Las Vegas this weekend. With all that said, it begs the question, why was Vegas so controversial in the first place? This is something we are going to get into and more during this edition of Formula 1 Track Facts With Amar! Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Las Vegas!
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time the sport tried to race in Vegas, the first attempt was in 1981. With the removal of the Watkins Glen track from the calendar brought the idea of racing in the gambling capital of the USA. On paper, this made a lot of sense with Sin City having a lot of success in promoting other events such as boxing and tennis matches, so why not a Grand Prix that could bring in a lot of extra revenue? The main issue with bringing F1 to Las Vegas was the way that the Grand Prix was staged. It was hastily and quickly thrown together as a replacement track as the track was built in a parking lot behind the Caesars Palace Hotel. Not only was it in the back parking lot of a hotel, but the track layout was created by placing cement blocks in a way to create a series of turns and zig-zags. It had nothing more to offer after the novelty of being in Vegas had worn off. With poor conditions such as hot weather, tight turns, and a bunch of concrete thrown about to create a track, the Grand Prix ultimately failed after the sport staged two races here.
So what brought Formula 1 back to the desert? The answer solely lies in the surge of American interest the sport has received in the last 3 years. From having just one Grand Prix in Austin, Texas to three total, Vegas was brought in to simply create one of the biggest sporting spectacles that not only Las Vegas has seen, but Formula 1 in general. Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicalli saw the success of the Circuit of the America’s in Austin, and the rise of popularity in the Netflix series “Drive to Survive” and decided to roll the dice and play his hot hand in continuing the success in the USA and add Miami and Vegas. In the last 10 years, sports in Nevada have exploded with the addition of a new NHL, NFL, and WNBA team. It was also recently announced that the Oakland Athletics MLB team will be relocating to Las Vegas as well as an NBA team rumoured to be in the mix of new franchises coming to the desert. Naturally, it made sense for Formula 1 to join the trend as they signed a 10-year contract agreement to have Vegas on the calendar for the next decade!
Even though the idea of driving at ludicrous speeds at night under the bright lights of the iconic Vegas strip, having all kinds of celebrities, and creating yet another version of Monaco in the United States seems like fun, not everyone shares the same thought process. Construction for the event began back in June of 2023, just 5 months before the start of the race in November. It has created nothing but traffic delays and bottlenecks in an already very busy and populated area. The rise in traffic has created many disruptions for locals and tourists trying to either go to work or enjoy the city’s many amenities.
Much like the first race in Vegas over 40 years ago, this race seemed to be hastily put together as more controversy arose after a worker assembling temporary grandstands passed away due to injuries sustained after receiving major neck lacerations from a workplace incident. However with all that said, Formula 1 still managed to get everything ready for the race weekend in the nick of time and all things considered, the track and the newly built 300,000-square-foot paddock building looks visually stunning under the lights. Liberty Media and F1 have given us a 6.2-kilometre, 17-turn, upside down pig looking track. No, that is not a joke, many fans and pundits have said the overall shape of the new track looks like a pig resting on its back with its legs up in the air. After looking at a photo of the track, it is hard to disagree!
With all these fancy new buildings, new track, and accommodations, pricing has become a really big issue not only for fans hoping to travel to the USA to attend the weekend but for locals as well. Tickets are being sold at eye-watering levels, the highest the sport has ever seen! Just to get into the gates and see racing action for FP1 would run you $1000 USD and race day tickets exceeding well over $2000 USD. If you really wanted to splurge you could buy Paddock Club passes for over $15,000 USD. As the days started to get closer to the actual event, F1 was seen having issues selling tickets at these prices and just weeks before lights out, ticket prices dropped by almost 50% in the last month and roughly 75% since November of 2022.
So, will the hastiness of the construction, poor working conditions, and exorbitant ticket prices ultimately fail? Or will the glitz, glamour, and popularity take racing in the USA to even bigger heights? I guess we will have to wait and see until we see the cars actually battle it out for position come Saturday! It’s time to roll the dice and take a chance on Vegas once more. Enjoy the race!
Facts:
First World Championship GP: November 18th, 2023
World Championship GPs held: 0
Circuit Length: 6.201km
Laps: 50
Corners: 17
There are no current track kings or lap records as this is the first time a race has been held on this circuit.