“A lot of things will be ready last-minute” for first Las Vegas race – Domenicali

2023 F1 season

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Senior Formula 1 figures including CEO Stefano Domenicali have given an update on plans for new Las Vegas Grand Prix including estimates of the income it is expected to generate.

Domenicali was joined by the event’s CEO Renee Wilm, who is also chief legal officer for F1’s commercial rights holder Liberty Media, at Preview Las Vegas, an annual economic forecasting event for the area.

The series used the event to promote its third race in the United States on the 2023 F1 calendar. Simulators and a full-size 2022 F1 car model were set up at the venue.

In a joint appearance, the CEOs detailed the projected economic impact for the local area of November’s grand prix. They projected that F1 operations and support alone would have an economic impact of $316 million (£257m) for Las Vegas, with $102m (£83m being spent by them on wages and with a recruiting target of 2,054 people.

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The financial benefit of grand prix visitor spending was estimated at $966m (£786m). Some resorts have already announced they are selling premium attendance packages for as much as $5 million. A requirement to have over 5,700 people working to provide services around the event meaning there could be $259 million-worth (£211m) of work for locals in those jobs alone.

Those working in F1 operations will be put to work in April, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Steve Hill, with the grand prix scheduled for 18th November. Some of the work may be finished last-minute to make the city streets race-ready.

“It’s a relatively short timeframe, but Las Vegas knows how to do these big projects,” said Hill. “We’re going to make sure that it’s done.”

Local resort and casino operators are especially sensitive to potential affects on their businesses of any disruption caused by construction work. Wilm told local television station KTNV that F1 will attempt to build the track in sections to minimise disruption.

Domenicali added: “There will be a lot of things that will be ready at the last minute. That’s part of the game. But there is an incredible professionality here that we found in the community working with us.”

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The F1 CEO intends to visit the circuit site repeatedly this year, in addition to following the series record-breaking 23-event schedule around the world, while Wilm will personally oversee the progress of the project until the race date.

“Construction on the paddock building is in full swing,” said Wilm at Preview Las Vegas. “Timelines for construction and set-up will vary in each zone depending on installations, but we’re really planning to start the build in earnest as early as June.”

Las Vegas Formula 1 street circuit tack map - November 2022 revised layout
Track data: Las Vegas Street Circuit
The event team had already committed to installing bridges and other crossings for pedestrians (residents, workers and users of the businesses in the area who are not ticket-holders) to cross the roads being used for racing and access facilities on either side of the track. Wilm revealed that has now been extended to crossings for vehicles too.

“We do have plans for vehicular bridges, pedestrian walkways, business access points, and we are working very closely with Metropolitan [police] and Fire [rescue departments] to ensure that we’re mitigating traffic and working with our local partners to try to mitigate any inconvenience.

“We know it’s going to be a difficult, challenging traffic weekend, but we think that the value we’re bringing to the city and the experience we are creating will far outweigh the inconvenience factor.”

“We are less than 10 months out, and there is still much to be done,” Wilm concluded. “But I am incredibly proud of our amazing team that are working so hard to make this the greatest spectacle in motorsport’s history, if not sport’s overall. And we looking forward to continuing to share new developments and exciting updates as we get closer to race weekend.”

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Ida Wood
Often found in junior single-seater paddocks around Europe doing journalism and television commentary, or dabbling in teaching photography back in the UK. Currently based...

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18 comments on ““A lot of things will be ready last-minute” for first Las Vegas race – Domenicali”

  1. Someone please remind Liberty Media that the circuit will require FIA approval before any action takes place on the circuit.

    Approval maybe very very last minute

    1. There is exactly zero chance the track won’t get FIA approval.

  2. Like with Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Also a last-minute thing completion-wise.

    1. @jerejj I hope this time the smell of gun powder comes only from fireworks

      1. some racing fan
        25th January 2023, 20:37

        You know that might be funny to you but as an American that is not funny to me or I imagine any other 330 million American, and yes our gun laws are humiliatingly lax and 11,000 people a year are killed by gun violence every year here. You should be ashamed of yourself for making such a tasteless joke. Those statistics It’s not only tragic but embarassing.

        1. some racing fan
          25th January 2023, 20:38

          *Americans
          *it’s not only tragic but embarassing.

        2. some racing fan
          25th January 2023, 20:38

          *are not only tragic but embarassing.

        3. People can die to everything. Comedy is one of the toughest things to handle. But comedy is only one of many ways of speaking and it mostly tells the truth. I could have said these thing in a way I would have been banned from this side but I say I’m not a perfect person but I’m also not a person that laughs to these kind of things.

  3. If they’re building it in sections, I hope they can get the ends to join up, and they put in plenty of lame changes and wiggle track.

    1. “lame changes” Gulp!

      1. Lane, of course. No idea why my phone is associating the Las Vegas GP with “lame”…

  4. Hope they will have all the tracks ready and tested till then. Curios to now how it will go with all the heat for the fans too

  5. some racing fan
    25th January 2023, 20:42

    The prices for this race are a total ripoff. The cheapest 3-day pass is US $1,650. And aside from its myriad of great restaurants Vegas is not a place that will endure itself to people of decent taste.

    1. This race aint for you and me, the actual fans.

      1. some racing fan
        26th January 2023, 7:32

        Yes clearly. Not a good omen if you ask me.

  6. some racing fan
    26th January 2023, 7:36

    Also- somebody did a simulated lap on Assetto Corsa of the changed version of this track. They averaged 237 km/h (148 mph). Obviously not as ludicrously fast as the original design but still fast.

  7. When was the last time a new F1 track was actually finished properly in the time frame the FIA rules state? (Or maybe they’ve been changed, but I vaguely recall reading that there should be quite a gap between the final inspection and the GP itself). Seems like every time we go to a new venue since Korea in 2010, the construction work is still going and there have been zero running by any racing cars.

    1. Old one from the Project Management world.
      “Were it not for the last minute, we would never get anything done.”

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