1 Like
2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix 
Las Vegas Strip Circuit | Las Vegas | United States | 19 November
2023 F1 Season - Round 22 (Grand Prix 21 of 22)
The Formula 1 circus arrives in Las Vegas for penultimate round of the 2023 season and perhaps one of the most anticipated new F1 GPs in ages due to the inevitable razzle and dazzle that will accompany the event. If you thought Miami was as loud and brash as F1 could get, wait until the Las Vegas Grand Prix smashes that idea this weekend.
The all-new Grand Prix takes place over 50 laps around the all-new 6,2 km street circuit that includes a section on the iconic Las Vegas Strip. As a brand new circuit never before used in F1, the teams and drivers will go into the weekend with no historic data or knowledge on how to set up the car or what to expect over the course of the weekend.
And as an added complication, with the event session times all set for late evening and night in Vegas, temperatures in the Nevada desert area in mid-November will be some of the coldest seen all year. Track surface temperatures are expected to be so low that worries over the ability to maintain heat in the tyres are already surfacing. With the race scheduled to start at 22:00 on Saturday night, and temperatures expected to be in the low-teens, the track will have cooled significantly and it will be a challenge for the drivers to find grip on the newly laid asphalt surface. I expect the concrete barriers to taste carbon fiber and the Safety Car to make an appearance or two.
Hereâs just two (of the many!) examples of Vegas excess that F1 fans can expect this weekendâŚ
The paddock building has an F1 themed Race to the Altar wedding chapel:
MGM Resorts and The Bellagio Hotel are serving drinks in custom-made Sparco racing boots in their popup Shoey Bar:
Buying in to the hype, a number of the teams will be running special liveries this weekend:
Vital Statistics - Las Vegas Grand Prix
- First Grand Prix â 2023
- Track Length â 6.201km
- Lap Record â TBD
- Most Pole Positions â TBD
- Most Wins â TBD
- Estimated Pit Stop Time Loss â TBD
Trivia
- The 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix will be mark the 1,100th round of the Formula 1 World Championship.
- This event will be the third F1 Grand Prix held in Las Vegas, and the first since the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix.
Last Time in Vegas
Take a look back at the 1981 and 1982 Grand Prix held in Las Vegas, as F1 prepares to race in the Silver City once more.
And while the new circuit has been likened to an âinverted pigâ by some, it will surely be a more interesting venue for an F1 event than the previous abomination that was the Caesars Palace Circuit, the parking lot venue that has been called âthe worst F1 circuit everâ by more people than just yours truly.
The Schedule
The local time schedule has the LVGP set to go lights out at 22:00 on Saturday evening locally, with the podium celebrations and post-race conferences happening will after midnight and into the early hours of Sunday morning. Fortunately for us, Las Vegas is 10 hours behind us, so an early morning race start for us here on Sunday is on the cards.
The other sessions are at equally odd times in Vegas, and subsequently early morning here. FP1 and FP3 go at 06:30 on Friday and Saturday respectively, while FP2 and Qualifying are GO! at a decent 10:00 on those mornings.
Las Vegas will be the first time that the traditional Day 1 and Day 2 sessions are scheduled to take place on different days.
The Race Strategy
Bernie Collins, former Aston Martin F1 strategist
With Las Vegas being an all-new venue, pre-event simulator work and the pre-weekend track walk will be even more important than usual, with plenty for the teams and drivers to learn about the layout and set-up demands. A new track also often leads to issues on the first day of running, including slower car recovery and longer red flags, with a high risk of stoppages during the initial practice sessions and Safety Cars during the race.
There should be a significant improvement in track conditions throughout practice, partly due to the circuit cleaning up and partly due to drivers learning, though there will be the added challenge of temperatures dropping as night sets in, and potential changes in light conditions. Pirelli are bringing the softest three compounds to Vegas, which should cope best with the cooler conditions. It will still be a challenge under any prolonged Safety Cars, while with no support series and the track opened to normal traffic outside of sessions, conditions may reset in terms of grip across each day.
Being a night race, teams will try to sleep during the day. As per Singapore, the goal will be to get to the hotel before sunrise; however, the sessions in Las Vegas are two hours later. Teams will also have to adapt to the offset schedule that sees the race start on Saturday night, rather than Sunday. Other factors for consideration are wind being funnelled between the various iconic buildings and the high-speed straights that could lead to a sizeable pit lane time loss, but the layout should also lend itself to overtaking potential.
Read more of Bernie Collinsâ insights into how teams prepare for the first visit to a new circuit here: THE STRATEGIST: How do the teams plan for a new race like the Las Vegas Grand Prix with no historic data? | Formula 1ÂŽ
The Circuit
The feasibility of a new race in Vegas was first touted back in September 2018, with a site visit two months later. In total, 23 different configurations of circuit were mapped out across the city before a final decision was made in early 2022 on the 6.201 km route that will be raced on come Saturday night. The (mostly) temporary street circuit runs counterclockwise and features 17 corners and a 1.900 km straight.
âThe Strip was the selling point. A Las Vegas Grand Prix without that iconic backdrop wouldnât have made sense and every major casino and hotel owner could see that,â says Craig Wilson, Head of Vehicle Performance at Formula 1, who worked closely with track designers Tilke to create the route.
The pit and paddock complex has been specifically built just for this race, and is going to provide a stadium-like feel to the opening part of the lap. But then comes a long straight down towards the Sphere â another spectacular feature of the location â and this is where the first DRS zone is set to be that will provide plenty of overtaking opportunities into the braking zone at Turn 5.
From there, a technical section and sweeping wide chicane leads into Turn 12 and the left-hander onto The Strip, where there is a flat-out run of over a mile â and nearly two kilometres â through the slight kink at Turn 13 before the heavy braking for a three-part chicane at Turns 14-16.
That layout is set to see top speeds that can rival Monza, but also should mean plenty of overtaking opportunities either using DRS or on the brakes at the end of the two long straights. And Turn 1 could see plenty of action as well.
When was the track built?
- The 2023 Formula 1 season sees drivers tackle an all-new circuit in Las Vegas, encompassing the very best the City of Lights has to offer â including the famous Strip.
When was its first Grand Prix?
- Las Vegas previously staged two F1 races â under the Caesars Palace Grand Prix moniker â in 1981 and 1982. It played host to the season finale on both occasions, with Williams driver Alan Jones winning the 1981 race and Michele Alboreto taking his maiden F1 victory for Tyrrell at the 1982 encounter. Meanwhile, Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg clinched the title in â81 and â82 respectively with fifth-place finishes.
Whatâs the circuit like?
- Located in the heart of Las Vegas, the new 6.2km, 17-turn street circuit winds its way past iconic locations like Caesars Palace, the Bellagio and the Venetian. With average speeds expected to match Monza, otherwise known as F1âs âTemple of Speedâ, there promises to be plenty of action and overtaking.
The Driverâs View
Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver
The track comprises long straights and slower corners. The long straights will necessitate slashing the downforce levels so the cars will feel inherently skittish before you even factor in the cool temperatures. Building and maintaining tyre temperatures will also be tricky.
Turn 6 into 7 looks to be the toughest braking zone, accelerating through a long left-hander before hitting the brakes for 7 â itâll be easy to lock the inside front here. Turn 12 will also be crucial as it punctuates two long straights. Finding the balance between braking well and preparing the exit will be tough, and mistakes here will be punishing.
Having good braking ability and traction will be the key and, in general, corner exits will be crucial onto the long straights.
Read more of Palmerâs thoughts on how drivers go about learning a new circuit here: PALMER: How do F1 drivers prepare for an all-new race like Las Vegas? | Formula 1ÂŽ
The Weather
One of the biggest talking points leading to this weekend, and one of the biggest unknowns for the drivers and teams, is going to be the cool desert weather in Las Vegas during race sessions. Of specific concern is the impact the cool circuit temperatures will have on the tyres. The weather radar this weekend predicts that there is a small chance of rain hitting the track on all three days of action but the big question is how cold it will be, and how that will affect the cars.
All the on-track sessions are taking place at night, meaning it will be naturally cooler, with temperatures expected to drop to near-single figures. Of particular concern is the impact that a low teen temperature stretch of nearly 2 km straight circuit will have.
Friday â Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2
- Mostly a sunny day and starry evening.
- FP1: 13°C | FP2: 11°C
- Chance of rain: <20%
Saturday â Free Practice 3 and Qualifying
- Partly cloudy at first before becoming cloudier in the evening with the chance of showers not ruled out.
- FP3: 15°C | Q: 12°C
- Chance of rain: 20%
Sunday â Grand Prix
- Partly cloudy with a moderate chance of rain at the end of the day. Chance of the rain will decrease closer to the race.
- GP: 13°C
- Chance of rain: 40%
The Tyres
Las Vegas will be a major technical challenge for both the teams and us, as we head into this race with no real references apart from simulation. Nobody has ever actually driven the 6.12-kilometre Las Vegas Strip circuit before, which is second only to Spa in terms of overall length this year, characterised by three straights and 17 corners. The surface will be a mix of the usual street asphalt, especially on the actual Strip, as well as other parts that have been completely re-asphalted for the occasion; adding another unknown element. There wonât be any support races and the track will be opened again to normal traffic for long chunks of the day, which means that the surface wonât rubber in as usual and deliver improved grip.
Weâre expecting the cars to run quite low levels of downforce, similar to Baku or indeed Monza: hitting a high top speed will be key to being competitive. All the sessions will take place at night, with unusual ambient and track temperatures for a race weekend; more similar to those found back when pre-season testing used to take place in Europe. Those long straights also make it harder to warm up tyres in qualifying, as well as keep them in the right window: the same challenge as seen in Baku, which will probably be more pronounced in Las Vegas.
Bearing all this in mind, weâve selected the trio of softest compounds for this weekend: C3, C4, and C5, which should guarantee good grip. Minimum tyre pressures should be 27 psi at the front and 24.5 psi at the back, due to the expected low temperatures as well as the track layout. In cold conditions, the gap between cold tyre pressures and normal running pressures is greatly reduced â so when the car is moving, tyre pressure will increase a lot less than on other circuits due to the low asphalt temperatures. As a result, we think that running pressures will still be lower than on other circuits that are tough on tyres, such as Baku for example.
~Mario Isola - Pirelli Motorsport Director~
The Tyres on Track
- The Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend in Nevada will use C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow medium and C5 as P Zero Red soft: the softest selection of tyres in the range.
- For the first time in F1 history the sessions will overlap more than one day, with a different schedule for the night race weekend. The first free practice session will take place on Thursday at 20:30 while FP2 runs from 12 midnight to 01:00 on Friday. FP3 is on Friday at 20:30, with qualifying then taking place from midnight to 01:00 on Saturday. The race starts on Saturday at 22:00.
- The new Las Vegas street circuit consists of 17 corners and three straights, with two DRS zones. The lap is 6.12 kilometres long, with an estimated top speed of 342kph. The finish line is on the corner of Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane, with the layout stretching from Las Vegas Boulevard to Sands Avenue and a race distance of 50 laps.
- An opening ceremony is planned to celebrate Formula 1âs return to Las Vegas, starting at 19:30 on Wednesday. The artists scheduled to take part include Steve Aoki, Thirty Seconds to Mars, will.i.am, and the Cirque du Soleil troupe.
- More than 30 different variants of the street track were designed before the final layout was selected. The main infrastructure, including the pit building in the shape of the F1 logo, as well as the pit lane and paddock was built in just over a year.
- Formula 1 previously raced at Las Vegas as the last round of the 1981 and 1982 seasons, with both events called the Caesars Palace Grand Prix. On each occasion the race decided the championship: Alan Jones won the Grand Prix for Williams in 1981 but the title went to Brabham driver Nelson Piquet, while the following yearâs race was won by Tyrrellâs Michele Alboreto with Williams driver Keke Rosberg taking the championship (and Ferrari winning the constructorsâ classification).
Viva Las Vegas, indeed!!
Surprising no one⌠âI felt like a clownâ.
âMay the odds forever be in your favourâŚâ - The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Lights & Las Vegas
The drivers kinda felt like an afterthought in the proceedings. Some where already disappearing from view as they got introduced 
3 Likes
You can hardly blame them for having teething problems, itâs the first introduction to the Las Vegas grand prix!
2 Likes
The whole team is valued at ÂŁ1 Billion. Stroll has only sold a minority stake. Heâs still the boss. Lance still has his seat.
1 Like
Oh F1⌠
Maybe should have spent a little less on the flash and a little more on the fundamentals?
Sainz and Ocon both with significant damage. FP1 red flagged after just 9 minutes. FP1 cancelled, already talk that FP2 will not happen as it will take ages to inspect and check all the drain and manhole covers.
Visible damage to underside of Sainzâ Ferrari.
2 Likes
Thatâs pretty smol for a manhole. Gnomehole more like, innit.
1 Like
Theyâre calling it a âdrain coverâ?
Hereâs a funny thing. For all FOMâs gate keeping of F1 visuals, they didnât account for the Las Vegas live traffic cams, one of which produced the best visual of the impact it had on Sainzâ car.
ETA: Okay, now itâs referred to as a âwater valve coverâ in a statement from F1 and LVGP Inc.
1 Like
Start of FP2 has been delayed. This is gonna be a great race! 
3 Likes
Also Sainz now has to take a 10 place grid penalty? surely if a component is damaged due to track conditions there should be some leeway?
2 Likes
Laughs in FIA
3 Likes
They should interview Vasseur and ask him about it 
2 Likes
Oh FFS completely forgot to EarlyBru.
Also, I just had a thought, imagine Max and Gunther as his boss on the same team 
add in Kimi. Most brutal team, donât got on their wrong side lol.
1 Like
Letâs go Scuderia!!
Man imagine Sainz didnât have that 10 place. dammit. Anyways, hereâs hoping for a smooth race tomorrow. whenever Ferrari is doing well then I get nervous.
2 Likes
That was quite enjoyable. Pity Chuck couldnât convert, safety car as usual. But looks like the Red Bull were just better on the hards.
Glad he got that second place back that was intense.
2 Likes
It was a great move on the final lap!
2 Likes