Las Vegas GP Preview: Formula 1 returns to Vegas after 40 years

This weekend, Formula 1 will head to the streets of Las Vegas, where it will hold its first Las Vegas Grand Prix in 40 years. The venue of the race overlooks the famous Las Vegas strip, and the scenery we are being treated to is like nothing we have witnessed in any race so far. 

The Las Vegas GP was first held in 1981, then the year after. Since then, plans to host another GP in one of the finest cities in the world have failed to bear fruits, partly due to pushback, especially from the casinos that were springing up in the city at that time. 

The US has been one of the biggest markets for F1, and they have held races in a few cities across the country in the past. This year alone, we’ve had the Miami Grand Prix and the US Grand Prix, which was held in Austin, Texas. But there is something quite special about Las Vegas that has made F1 want to return there after all these years. 

The move to add Las Vegas back to the F1 calendar was directly propelled by the increasing interest in the sport, especially after the pandemic. This was also the main driver behind the Miami GP, which has been quite successful. 

Preparations for the Las Vegas GP have been quite grand, with over $500 million spent to make the race quite a memorable one. We have already seen the opening ceremony of the event, and it is nothing short of spectacular, exactly what you would expect from a race held in the city of Las Vegas. 

What makes Sunday’s race worth looking forward to is the fact that it will be held at night. This is not the first race held at night, but Las Vegas at night is a scene you won’t find anywhere else in the world, and adding sports cars to the roads is going to be quite the experience. 

If all goes well this weekend, we can expect the race to hold past the initial three-year contract currently in place.

Leon Osamor