{"id":296478,"date":"2025-11-21T00:03:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T00:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/296478\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T00:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T00:03:10","slug":"f1-stumbled-out-of-the-gate-in-vegas-but-has-become-a-staple-in-the-citys-calendar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/296478\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 stumbled out of the gate in Vegas, but has become a staple in the city\u2019s calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri arrives ahead of practice at F1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix on Thursday.DANIEL COLE\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Formula 1 returned to Las Vegas for the first time in 41 years determined to be the most glamourous event on the globe-hopping schedule.<\/p>\n

It was a street party and Max Verstappen openly criticized the focus, which targeted high-rollers with a hefty entry fee and a bright spotlight on celebrities, concerts, exclusive events \u2014 basically everything but the actual race. He characterized the event as \u201c99 per cent show, and one per cent sporting event.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time he collected the checkered flag, Verstappen was singing Viva Las Vegas over his in-car radio. When he returned last year, his fifth-place finish was enough to secure the Dutchman his fourth consecutive world championship. <\/p>\n

If his previous negative opinion has changed, Verstappen didn\u2019t say \u2014 he did not address the event itself but rather the city and the backlash he faced for voicing his opinion in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, the food is great. Had a good dinner last night. The hotel is great,\u201d Verstappen said. \u201cI also learned to not always speak too much because first of all, it\u2019s better for myself, and less headlines. So that\u2019s probably safer for everyone. But I have a good time. I\u2019ve been here many times even before F1, and I\u2019ve always enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The race is now in its third year and adjustments have been made as the Las Vegas Grand Prix has undergone tweaks to help its long-term viability in F1. One of the biggest changes is in pricing, which for this year offered a US$50 ticket in the Flamingo Zone for Thursday\u2019s two practice sessions.<\/p>\n

Most everything about the event is cheaper, according to an analysis from VegasInsider. F1, which is the promoter of the event, said long before the inaugural race down the famed Las Vegas Strip that the LVGP would be the most expensive to attend on the calendar and it was in the first year.<\/p>\n

But the analysis found that the cost to attend is down 66 per cent from 2023, when hotel stays were grossly inflated. VegasInsider found that accommodation prices have dropped to an average of just over US$700 compared to US$2,000 in 2023.<\/p>\n

The times when cars are on track have also been adjusted, with late afternoon practice sessions on Thursday and Friday and the race start time moved up two hours to 11 p.m. ET In Year 1, a water valve cover on the course came loose nine minutes into the first practice. Repairs took so long that on-track action went until 7 a.m. ET but fans had long been kicked out of the suites and grandstands.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc is greeted by an Elvis Presley impersonator as he arrives ahead of the first practice session for the Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix on Thursday.PATRICK T. FALLON\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Even though the actual race in 2023 was spectacular competition by F1 standards, all the negativity surrounding it \u2014 locals were enraged by traffic disruptions and closures that made accessing the Strip difficult \u2014 caused an attendance dip from 315,000 the first year to 306,000 in 2024.<\/p>\n

The first two years were still extremely commercially successful for F1 and a study by economic analysis and consulting firm Applied Analysis found the race weekend is the largest annual event in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

The event this year includes a business forum that includes discussions with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, another with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, a panel on investing in women\u2019s sports, pop culture and a tech-focused session entitled \u201cAccelerating the Future of F1.\u201d<\/p>\n

The driver championship is still being decided with Lando Norris and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri 1-2 in the standings, and Verstappen still mathematically eligible to win a fifth straight title with three races remaining this year.<\/p>\n

The one thing LVGP organizers can\u2019t address is the weather, and it has been cold and raining for a week in Las Vegas with heavy showers expected Friday. The Saturday night forecast is clear, though, which is a relief to drivers who aren\u2019t interested in racing in the rain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cold. I think it\u2019ll be an incredibly difficult track in the rain, pretty nasty,\u201d said Norris. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a hell of a challenge. Obviously not a lot of room for error, quite tricky and quite quick in terms of being a street circuit. It will be a pretty insane challenge, I think, if it stays wet \u2014 especially if it doesn\u2019t dry very quickly either because of the temperature. I prefer if it\u2019s dry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferrari criticism<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both responded to criticism from Ferrari Executive Chairman John Elkann, who said the team\u2019s drivers need to \u201ctalk less and focus on driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elkann was not pleased after both drivers failed to finish in Brazil two weeks ago, a disastrous result that caused Ferrari to drop from second to fourth in the constructor standings.<\/p>\n

Leclerc said he has spoken to Elkann since and the boss wants Ferrari back on top of F1.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn is a very ambitious person and wants the best for Ferrari, just like I do, and we are trying to do our best in order to make sure that Ferrari is back on top,\u201d Leclerc said. \u201cThat\u2019s John\u2019s priority, that is my priority, that is the priority of the whole team, and we are doing absolutely everything to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seven-time champion Hamilton, in his first season with Ferrari, said the team is united.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve just been focused on doing our job back at the factory, so everyone\u2019s super-focused on improving,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cI speak to John every week. We have an amazing relationship. The passion has not disappeared from our team. We\u2019ve obviously got a steep hill to climb, but we want to finish off strong this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piastri slump<\/p>\n

Piastri has been in a slump since his seventh victory of the season, on the final day of August at the Dutch Grand Prix. The Australian has just one podium finish in the six races since and his 34-point lead over Norris has turned into a 24-point deficit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last few races have been difficult for myself,\u201d he said. \u201cI think in terms of the way I\u2019ve gone about racing and the way the team has supported me, the way we set up the car and things like that, it has all been identical through the whole season. For me, it\u2019s just that there have been some tough lessons to learn, some tough moments to have to accept, and nothing more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

To win his first championship, Piastri will need to maximize every weekend as just 83 points remain available over the final three races.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t help that McLaren has struggled at Las Vegas the last two years with the street circuit\u2019s high-speed, low downforce nature and cold temperatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of driving style, we\u2019ll have to see what we get,\u201d added Piastri. \u201cVegas is very specific to \u2014 or very unique in conditions, and the downforce level, the temperatures, the track surface, so we\u2019ll see what we get. I\u2019m just trying to get the most out of what I can do. Drive as well as I can, adapt as well as I can to whatever it needs, try and get the car in the right place, and do that as often as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri arrives ahead of practice at F1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,578,894,887,576,577,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,82,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-296478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-f1","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}