Forget tradition. Forget elevation. Forget grip. The Las Vegas Street Circuit, debuting in 2023, doesn’t care what Formula 1 “used to be.” It’s here to blow up expectations, drop a million LEDs, and see what happens when you throw 20 of the world’s fastest drivers into the most artificial, absurd, adrenaline-soaked playground on Earth—at night, in the cold, with more money than sense.
Welcome to Sin City’s answer to Monaco—if Monaco had fewer yachts and more strippers.
Biggest Moments at Las Vegas – So Far, So Ridiculous
2023 – The Strip Slapfest
A manhole cover eats Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari during FP1. Vegas is instantly trending for all the wrong reasons. But come race day? Magic.
– Verstappen muscles past Leclerc after a messy start.
– Charles fights back and retakes P2 on the final lap.
– Pérez leads, loses it, still lands on the podium.
– Vegas delivers actual racing—with overtakes, chaos, and 340 km/h down the Strip.
The National Anthem… and Driver Intros
John Legend, boxing-style ring walks, smoke machines. F1 crosses the line into full-on WWE meets Cirque du Soleil.
Divisive? Yes.
Forgettable? Not even close.
The Track’s Character – Style & Myth (Still Loading)
Vegas is flat, fast, and flagrantly extra.
At 6.2 km, it’s one of the longest laps on the calendar, with three straights, 17 corners, and a layout that looks like it was drawn by a drunk roulette dealer—but somehow, it works.
- Sector 1: Twisty, fiddly, feels like a warm-up act.
- Sector 2: Launches onto the Las Vegas Strip—a 2 km straight at full throttle with hotels, billboards, and brake dust in the air.
- Sector 3: Braking duels and late moves into the final chicane.
Grip? Questionable.
Temperature? Ice-cold desert air.
Tyres? Freezing.
Brakes? Crying.
Drivers? Still figuring it out.
But make no mistake—Vegas isn’t just a gimmick. The racing was good. And the energy was insane. It’s already a wildcard classic in the making.
Outside the Track – Vice, Velvet, and Viva F1
The Las Vegas GP doesn’t exist in the same dimension as the rest of the calendar.
It’s a 3 a.m. slot machine hit with a billion-dollar backing. Neon floods your vision. EDM thumps through the paddock. You can hear dice rolling from the pit wall.
It’s glitzy. Shameless. Completely over the top.
But for the fans who showed up? It was a party.
Liberty Media wanted to plant an American flag in F1’s bloodstream—and this is it. They bought the land, built the paddock, and now own the circus. This isn’t just a race. It’s a show with laps.
Circuit History & Stats – We’re Just Getting Started
- Debut: 2023 (not to be confused with the parking lot Caesars Palace GPs of the ‘80s—don’t ask)
- Length: 6.201 km
- Corners: 17 (with varying levels of actual existence)
- Top Speeds: ~340 km/h on the Strip
- First Winner: Max Verstappen
- First Pole: Charles Leclerc
- Overtakes: Surprisingly plentiful
- Casinos Within Walking Distance: All of them
It’s early days—but this is a track that might age like tequila: dangerous, loud, and always one shot away from disaster.
Legacy – Excess in Overdrive
Some will always hate Las Vegas.
It’s too fake. Too cold. Too American. Too loud.
But that’s exactly the point.
F1 isn’t just about tradition anymore. It’s about eyeballs. Markets. Noise.
And Vegas? Vegas is the loudest possible answer to “How far can we push this?”
If it keeps producing real races alongside all the madness, it might just carve out its own slot on the calendar roulette wheel.
Because when the lights go down on the Strip, and the engines scream down Las Vegas Boulevard, one thing’s certain:
The house doesn’t always win.
But the spectacle?
Always does.
