The 2023 Las Vegas GP is set to be one of the most anticipated races in F1 history. Vegas’ glamour and attractive streets are set to bring in a lot of eyeballs to the inaugural F1 race in the Sin City. However, after the full layout of the track became visible to fans through the F1 23 game, they are already giving up and betting on an easy Max Verstappen victory.
F1’s official game for this season, F1 23 is set to release in the coming weeks. For fans of the sport who are also into sim racing, it is an exciting time. This year, however, the excitement levels were even higher, particularly because of the introduction of new circuits. The Lusail International Circuit in Qatar will be added to the installment, but what really has fans on the hook is the Las Vegas Street Circuit.
Earlier this week, EA Sports and F1 released a video showing a full-onboard lap around the Las Vegas street circuit. Several notable content creators and e-sports drivers also got early access to the game and were able to drive around the track. The feeling after watching a full onboard lap, however, was overwhelmingly negative, to say to least.
The most common term used by fans to sum the track up was “boring”.
Las Vegas GP layout will suit Max Verstappen and Red Bull greatly
EA Sports posted a video on their Twitter account showing what a full-lap of racing in Vegas will look like. The full three-lap race that they recorded was uploaded to their YouTube channel, but fans on Twitter were too baffled to watch anything more than a lap.
The 306km race around the streets of Vegas drew in similarities to the Jeddah and Singapore track layouts. However, it seems as though overtaking opportunities are going to be very limited around the narrow corners. The one part of the circuit that stood out, was its unbelievably long straights.
Considering the fact that Red Bull has the fastest straight line speed this year, fans are predicting an easy win for Verstappen.
“Can’t wait to see Max lapping all the grid at the half of the race yaaaay,” Geezy wrote on Twitter.
Jess joked about it further by stating that the Austrian and Dutch National anthems are bound to be heard at the Las Vegas strip this November.
Paolo Maselli on the other hand, decided to look at the positives. He feels that the track on its own looks stunning. This is because of the lights, glitz and glamour around the streets of Vegas at night that fans can expect. However, he too, is concerned about the actual racing.
The track did not appeal much to the fans after it’s virtual release became official on the F1 game. Whether it turns out to produce exciting racing or just another snoozefest, is yet to be seen.
$240 million investment under threat?
It is no secret that F1 has been wanting to race in Las Vegas for a long time. They tried to make the race popular in with the Caesar’s Palace GP in the 1980s, but it turned out to be a disaster. This time, however, F1 waited for the popularity of the sport to soar in the United States.
Now that the country is finally opening up to F1, they are set to return to Vegas with a bang. The amount of money they put in to acquire the land in Las Vegas was staggering in itself. Spending $240 million to construct the track and paddock, F1 is expecting big financial returns.
However, if the race does turn out to be boring, fans could lose interest after the first few years. This could put their mega investment in the circuit under threat but the overall outcome of what could happen can’t be decided after watching a lap on the F1 23 game. To find out how the race actually looks like, we have to wait till the 18th of November.
