Formula One will stage a grand prix in Las Vegas next year which will be run on a Saturday night. The addition to the calendar of the November race reflects the growing popularity of F1 in the US with two races already set to be hosted this year in Miami and Austin, Texas.
It will be the first time the city in Nevada has held a race since hosting two in 1981 and 1982, known as the Caesars Palace Grands Prix. Held in a car park adjacent to the casino, they did not prove popular.
The date has yet to be confirmed but a new 3.8-mile, 14-corner circuit will run past some of Las Vegas’s most famous landmarks including Caesars, the Las Vegas Strip, the Bellagio fountains and the Eiffel tower of the Paris Casino.
F1 has been enjoying a resurgence in the US, assisted by the huge interest in the Netflix documentary series Drive To Survive. The race in Las Vegas will be organised by F1 itself in partnership with the city and its businesses rather than by a race promoter. F1’s owners, Liberty Media, have made no secret of their ambition to grow the sport in America and this is a bold move in that direction.
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The 2023 season is now set to include three races in the US, only the third time in F1’s history the same country has had so many. In 1982 Long Beach hosted the United States Grand Prix West and was joined by the Caesars Palace GP in Las Vegas and the Detroit GP.
Only Italy in 2020 has also hosted three: Monza, Imola and Mugello, and that was due to the pandemic and the need to fill the calendar. This time the US is being actively pursued as a market in which to expand.
“This is an incredible moment for Formula One that demonstrates the huge appeal and growth of our sport with a third race in the US,” said F1’s chief executive Stefano Domenicali.
The race will, however, add further pressure to an already demanding calendar. This year 23 races are scheduled to be held while the commercial agreement between F1 and the teams allows for a maximum of 24 in a year. Domenicali has said the demand to host races was high enough to support as many as 30 in a season.
A race in South Africa is also expected to be added to the calendar and with the finite 24 slots available F1 has already floated the idea of rotating races – selected meetings being held one year and others the next. Given the huge financial return from state-sponsored meetings such as those in the Middle East, the races likely to face rotation are those in Europe.
The all-female W Series has confirmed its calendar of 10 races for 2023, all at F1 grands prix. It will open with a double-header in Miami, and race at Silverstone in July as well as at Suzuka in Japan for the first time. - Guardian
