Las Vegas GP was added to the 2023 F1 calendar, making it the third American race in this year’s schedule. F1 as a sport has seen an enormous growth in the US over the last few years, with Netflix’s Drive to Survive playing a major role in driving it.
Until 2021, the only American race on the calendar was the US Grand Prix which takes place in Austin, Texas. In 2022, we saw Miami being added to the mix and the inaugural F1 Grand Prix in Florida was a huge commercial success for the organizers. Las Vegas, which is one of the most recognizable and popular tourist attractions in the US, is now set to host the penultimate race this year.
Attending the Las Vegas GP won’t be cheap by any means. In fact, there are some tickets and packages, that cost more than $10,000. The Grandstand tickets which offer fans a track view cost $500, and so far only 1,800 were put on sale. These tickets must have been huge in demand because sources state that all of them are now sold out.
Potential of Las Vegas GP in helping F1 in America grow
The American market has always been intriguing for F1, but they failed to make a dent in it over the years. Previous attempts at making Vegas an F1 hotspot backfired miserably, but now, the tides have finally begun to turn.
A lot of money has gone into making the Las Vegas GP a potential spectacle. Organizers confirmed that they a total of $240 million in 39 acres of land, to make sure the race goes seamlessly. Talking about the total investment and future plans, they have $500 million put into the event and have plans of it being a mainstay on the F1 calendar for another decade at least.
Lewis Hamilton on America’s F1 super bowl
Ahead of the inaugural F1 race in Miami last season, Hamilton was involved in a promotional event for Tag Heuer alongside NFL legend Tom Brady. In that event, Hamilton was talking about F1’s potential in the US, and how important having a race in Miami and Las Vegas was.
In fact, Hamilton went as far as suggesting that the race in Miami could be so popular, that they could label it as F1’s super bowl.
“At one stage we didn’t have a Grand Prix here,” said Hamilton as quoted by CNN. “Then we only had one Grand Prix. Now we’re expanding. I think this is going to be like our Super Bowl.”
