Caesars Palace GP: Has the F1 race taken place in Las Vegas before?

F1 has added the Las Vegas GP to its 2023 calendar but this is not the first time that Las Vegas is hosting an F1 race.

F1 has added a brand new track to its 2023 calendar as it travels to a new destination in the US to have a glorious night of racing at the Las Vegas GP. However, this is not the first time that Las Vegas is hosting an F1 race.

Back in 1981 and 82, two F1 championships were hosted down the Las Vegas strip and were named as Caesars Palace Grand Prix. Later the track was used for the CART series in 1983 and 1984.

Now the circuit is commonly referred to as Caesars Palace Car Park due to its location. In 1981, Williams-Ford driver Alan Jones won the race as Nelson Piquet clinched his first championship title after finishing P5 while in 1982 Tyrell-Ford’s driver Michele Alboreto claimed victory.

The circuit was laid out in the car park of the Ceasars Palace hotel and its anti-clockwise layout had a lasting impact on drivers as it strained their necks going around the heated track.

The event did not bring a massive turnout of fans and in 1981 it even caused a huge loss to the hotel and therefore was removed from the calendar.

Also Read: MGM Resorts plans to buy $25 Million worth F1 tickets for inaugural 2023 Las Vegas GP

F1 returns to Las Vegas GP in 2023

F1 has been working towards making sports popular in America and Netflix’s docu-series Drive to Survive has played a major role in it.

Through the spectacular event, F1 is trying to tap into the American sports market and encourage more audiences. The new track which has been laid down on the Las Vegas strip is 3.8 miles long with 17 corners, three straights and two DRS zones.

The racing at the Las Vegas circuit will be held on Saturday instead of Sunday and it is supposed to start quite late.

Also Read: F1 acquires $240m worth land for Las Vegas GP

2023 Las Vegas GP tickets

To capitalise on the opportunity, MGM Resorts International announced its wish to buy $20-25 Million worth of tickets to club it with their room packages. These packages could go as high as $100,000.

Fans were left bamboozled by the overpriced tickets and rained criticism down on the sport for making the sport so unaffordable for a financially average F1 enthusiast.

Following this, Liberty Media, owner of F1, interfered and has now offered an alternate solution with a general admission ticket for the younger fans.

Also Read: F1 fans may have to spend $100,000 on tickets for Las Vegas GP