With F1 finally at Las Vegas for what they have claimed will be the grandest show of the year, drivers are ready to explore uncharted territories. Ahead of taking to the track, as per a recent report by RaceFans, George Russell claimed that there’s no reason for F1 to ban red, yellow, and blue colors from being displayed on the giant ball in Vegas.
Russell said (as quoted by Race Fans), “I recognize they’ve banned those three colors but I think with the vastness of that, if I saw a big red ball on there I don’t think I’d be backing off thinking it was a red flag.” He explained that they often race with lots of LED displays around them. However, it doesn’t affect their peripheral vision.
Check out all 20 #F1 drivers’ graphics on the Sphere overlooking turns six to nine at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.#LasVegasGP #RaceFans pic.twitter.com/DJp1nz1vy1
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) November 15, 2023
F1 has taken over the iconic sphere for the Las Vegas GP weekend. They are using it for marketing an array of things ahead of the race. The exosphere that overlooks the track, happens to be the largest LED display in the world. However, F1 has put some restrictions regarding its usage throughout the weekend.
As per the rules, three colors – Red, Blue, and Yellow, cannot be displayed on the sphere during track sessions. The argument is that the drivers may confuse them for the red, yellow, and blue flags that they often encounter on the track.
#F1 and the FIA have agreed to ban the colours yellow, red and blue from the MSG Sphere during the Las Vegas GP to avoid distracting the drivers ⬇️https://t.co/cL3HV9iqIi
— Autosport (@autosport) November 16, 2023
However, Russell believes that the structure is so huge, that there is no chance of a driver mistaking it for something else. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas too, backed Russell in this case.
Valtteri Bottas backs up George Russell and claims that things will be fine
Bottas explained that drivers have to deal with quite a lot of lights and reflections when they are racing in general. On top of that, Bottas claimed that the drivers are seated extremely low and the sphere is very high. As a result, it should not be affecting their field of vision.
Catch us on the big screen during F1 Las Vegas.
📍 @SphereVegas #MercedesBenz #Sphere #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/FLnGpFuGRc
— Mercedes-Benz USAㅤ (@MercedesBenzUSA) November 16, 2023
He added that drivers also have the facility to use dimmable visors on their helmets. They can adjust the amount of dimness they want which will help them overlook the bright sphere if they want to. He said, “I think it’s going to be fine. Probably a bit more going on, but normally we tend to look ahead.”
Overall, drivers do not see a problem with the $2.2 Billion sphere and Russell has also admitted that it looks spectacular. With on track action kicking off from Thursday night, it is to be seen if all the noise surrounding the Las Vegas GP can be drowned out by some good racing action.
