FORMULA 1 racing is coming to Las Vegas. You’ve heard about it, you probably know it will take place on the Strip and may even recall it will be sometime in November. But beyond this, most know very little about FORMULA 1 racing, the cars, the track and/or why it is so popular worldwide.
However, once you know more about the fastest open-wheel race cars in the world and how they will be roaring down the iconic Las Vegas Strip at 210 mph – speeding though tight turns and flying past famous hotels and casinos – you’ll better understand why FORMULA 1 (or F1) is considered the most famous and prestigious motor sport competition on the planet.
Who knows, with just a little more information and insight, you just may become an aficionado… and one of its 500 million global fans.
Big Picture Stuff
Modern FORMULA 1 racing began in 1946 with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile’s (FIA) standardization of rules and was based on earlier European Championships of the 1920s and 30s… and today, it is called “Formula One Automobile Racing” because it is just that.
It is based on a precise set of formulas and specifications for just about everything – for the cars, the track, the drivers, the times – basically everything.
It starts with a grueling schedule of races spanning nine months and spread all around the world. The 2023 schedule begins March 5th in Sakir, Bahrain and ends November 26th in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates. This year’s series will visit 20 countries on five continents, with three races in the United States (Miami, Austin, Texas and Las Vegas) – more than any country globally – and representing a significant step in a new long-term ten-year commitment.
We also learn a classy new word: penultimate… which means second to last, as Las Vegas is scheduled as race number 21 in this year’s 22-race line-up.
Sound exciting? Probably not…yet… but here’s where it gets interesting.
Welcome to Las Vegas
“The city of Las Vegas is the world’s arena,” notes Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman. “From our Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights and WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces to the Raiders, boxing, MMA and NASCAR, we are known as a top sports destination. It is only natural that we add outstanding additional events such as F1.”
The FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN SILVER LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX 2023 (proper name) is the much-heralded return of FORMULA 1 racing to Las Vegas since two smaller Grand Prix events were held 41-years ago at Caesars Palace in 1982.
This time around (literally), the race will be on the streets of Las Vegas with a 3.8 mile course starting at the new 300,000 square-foot permanent F1 Paddock Club
complex and Pit Row at the corner of Harmon and Koval.
There will be 50 laps through 17 treacherous tight turns… and while a FORMULA 1 course can be run in either of two directions, the Las Vegas race will be run counterclockwise with left-hand turns – in traditional American style – versus clockwise with right-hand corners as in the majority of European races.
While there is no drop of a green flag, as in NASCAR, a row of overhead green lights will signal the start. A deafening roar of powerful engines will send the race cars speeding North on Koval toward and around the new MSG Sphere, through tight turns onto Sands Avenue an then into the hi-speed 1.9 mile straight away – where cars will reach speeds of 210 mph or more past famous Vegas hotels and casinos, like Treasure Island, The Mirage, Caesars Palace and Grandstands for 18,000 in front of the Bellagio fountains – then a quick turn onto Harmon Avenue and back to the Paddock Club and start/finish line.
Fastest Race Cars in the World
FORMULA 1 race cars are an amazing combination of state-of-the-art-engineering, cutting edge technology, creativity, daring design and deep, deep pockets.
Basically, the cost for a FORMULA 1 race car in 2023 is somewhere around 12 to 15 million dollars. The build itself is pricey and akin to your putting a car together one piece at a time out of a dealer’s parts department.
Engines are the most expensive component, with a custom turbocharged 1.6 litre V6 costing about 1.5 million. Teams will use about three per season. The Chassis (or frame it’s built on) costs around $700,000, a custom-built Gearbox (like your transmission) is $300,000 and the aerodynamic Front and Rear wings – that press the car down onto the track and allow it to negotiate hi-speed turns – is another $250,000.
Then there is the steering wheel, an extremely personalized, complicated, closely guarded conglomeration of buttons, switches and gizmos that rival the cockpit of a jet fighter… all squeezed onto a tiny centrally-located steering device. With the touch of a finger, drivers control everything from shifting and braking to traction and balance. There’s also a vast array of warning lights, sensors and digital displays noting engine status to avoid mechanical failures – along with paddle shifters, radio controls and even a push button that provides an automatic hands-free drink for the driver. Cost: about $50,000.
Add hi-tech hydraulics, space-age brakes (which glow orange at 1,832 degrees around the turns) and a super-safe fuel tank and you’ve got a price tag zooming skyward.
But wait there’s more
The car itself is just for starters. Then there are the drivers, pit crew, add-on items and logistics.
The 2023 race circuit will feature 10 teams with two cars per team for a total of 20 cars and drivers bringing the cost of cars alone to about 300 million.
In addition to hiring a team of world-class drivers and a top-notch pit crew – and getting them to 22 cities around the world plus housing – there is also the logistics and extra cost of shipping cars from race to race.
Even disposable items like tires are incredibly important. They are preheated to a precise temperature with electric blankets beforehand and all four can be changed in under three seconds. They are also insanely expensive. A single set of four special F1 tires costs about $2,700 and a typical 3-day race weekend uses 13 sets of tires per driver, costing over $35,000 per race and a whopping $700,000 expense per team per season.
When all is said and done, a sponsor can easily spend $150 million or more to compete in FORMULA 1 racing… and even a minor scrape, bump or ding can be very, very costly. A serious crash… devastating.
Lights, Camera, Action!
The full schedule spans four days – starting with a star-studded Opening Ceremony at the MSG Sphere on November 15th and F1 race events November 16th, 17th and 18th as follows.
Thursday, November 16
Practice 1 8:30 / Practice 2 12 midnight
Friday, November 17
Practice 3 8:30 / Qualifying 12 midnight
Saturday, November 18
F1 Evening Race 10:00 pm
Time-wise, the Las Vegas is one of the latest races on the 2023 schedule and all sessions will take place in darkness on the neon-drenched Vegas Strip course.
Las Vegas is another first for FORMULA 1 as well, in that the actual race is held on Saturday rather than Sunday, as is traditional with all other competitions worldwide. Why so? As a courtesy, promoters did not want to detract from America’s favorite sports pastime: Football. Very classy indeed.
This is also the “Entertainment Capital of the World,” and there is sure to be plenty of star-studded performances woven all throughout the entire schedule. “The Las Vegas Grand Prix is going to take F1 race weekends to the next level,” stated FORMULA 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali (Autoweek 9/22), “Staging an F1 Grand Prix in the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World allows us to plan a truly spectacular celebration that has never been seen in our sport before.”
Plan B: Must See TV
It is likely you and I will not be purchasing a ticket for this event for two reasons: (1) General admission is totally sold out and (2) Other prices are astronomical. Even the most affordable grandstand seats were going for thousands, and private skyboxes and super-duper premium VIP hotel “Room, Dining, Special Event and Race” packages range from tens of thousands upwards into the you-name-it stratosphere… and these too (believe it or not) are pretty much sold out. We told you… it’s a popular race!
But we are all in luck, as the race is scheduled to be aired commercial free on ESPN and possibly ABC… as well as streamed on a host of venues… with anticipated U.S. viewership well over a million and a total global TV audience of nearly two billion.
Live from Las Vegas…it’s Saturday Night!
You now know a heck of a lot more about the FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN SILVER LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX 2023 than you did before… and what makes it so special.
So, if you’re out and about, watching at a sports bar or casino, you can add fascinating personal commentary to each and every turn and straight away… or if at home, you can put on your pajamas, make some popcorn, grab a beer and impress others with your amazing intricate knowledge of all things FORMULA 1.
You now know just enough to either be the smartest person in the room… or a totally annoying know-it-all. Who cares? You just may become a fan too.
Fasten your seatbelt. It’s race time in Vegas!
Don Logay is an award-winning journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of three national magazines. Today he writes luxury lifestyle articles for numerous publications. He can be reached at (949) 240-4444 or [email protected].
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