Make no mistake, it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime event of sorts when Formula One returns to Las Vegas this week after 41 years. The name of the Sin City usually evokes images of world-class casinos, hotels, strip clubs, and Michelin-starred restaurants in fans the world over. If Greek god of wine and giver of ecstasy, Bacchus, were to create a place today, it would be similar to Las Vegas. To all intents and purposes, it’s heaven for hard-core party-goers.
The race track is around 4-mile long and the famous Las Vegas Strip will contribute around 1.25 miles to it. One can imagine what awaits the spectators, expected to be around 100,000 each day of the on-track action.
“One of the goals with Vegas is to raise the bar. A night race down the Strip on a Saturday is going to be a whole other level of appeal and attraction and promotion for the United States audience, and the world audience,” Greg Maffei, Liberty Media (F1’s parent company) president and CEO, has high hopes for the event.
The last time Vegas staged an F1 race was way back in 1982. The track was built in the parking lot of the Caesars Palace hotel. Italian driver Michele Alboreto drove to glory in Tyrrell. It was the second successive year the city had hosted the race. In 1981, Aussie Alan Jones with Williams claimed the top position on the podium. Sadly, both the events failed to capture the imaginations of fans, rather all parties concerned.
This time around, however, almost everyone is assured it’s not going to disappoint. A whopping $1.5 billion is expected to be generated from the event. The timings for the event differ from any other event on the 2023 calendar. A 12:00 am (Pacific Standard Time) start in Qualifying on Saturday and 10 pm start on Race Day the same day means the exciting sights the Strip has to offer will be used to great effect. Not just that, first practice on Thursday starts at 8:30 pm and the second at midnight, followed by third practice on Friday at 8:30 pm.
This means the event will be seen at odd hours in so many parts of the world, including Europe but the organisers appear to be following the motto: everything in Vegas happens at night. And rightly so, that’s the only way to use the Strip to the race and the sport’s advantage. The famous MSG sphere will also be operational during the course of the event.
A lot of money has been spent to realise the event. More than $600 million has been splashed out which includes the buying of the land, setting up a pit building and preparing the race track throughout its length and breadth. No stones are being left unturned. The Wednesday opening ceremony was an impressive statement of intent. A host of music stars like Kylie Minogue, Keith Urban, Journey, Jared Leto, Tiesto, Steve Aoki, John Legend, J Balvin, and Andra Day held the audience in thrall.
There is a three-year deal in place at present but there is every possibility that the agreement will get renewed for many more years. By all accounts, it’s going to be a surreal event, unheard of in the history of the sport. There have been many boxing events in the city with so much razzmatazz in the background but it’s going to be a whole new experience for F1 in many ways. Las Vegas Grand Prix can be a game changer for the sport. It can pave the way for more experimentation going forward.
As far as on-track stakes are concerned, the drivers’ championship is already settled with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen enjoying an unassailable lead with 17 wins. However, his team-mate Sergio Perez has plenty to fight for; the second-placed driver currently leads Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by 32 points with one more race to go in Abu Dhabi later this month. Similarly, the constructor championship has been kept alive to some extent by Mercedes and Ferrari who look to outdo each other for a second-place finish. Just 20 points separate the two teams.
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