Las Vegas Grand Prix: Race Preview

Las Vegas first featured on Formula 1’s schedule in the early 1980s but two races held in the car park of the Caesars Palace Hotel proved underwhelming and the championship quietly moved out. Fast forward four decades and the landscape for Formula 1 in the United States was transformed, and Las Vegas joined the championship in 2023. Las Vegas’ addition marked the third annual grand prix in the United States, joining the Miami Grand Prix at the Miami International Autodrome, and the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.

The 6.2km Las Vegas Strip Circuit takes drivers through the heart of Las Vegas, with the focal point being the 1.8km stretch of the Strip, passing the famous hotels, casinos and entertainment establishments for which the city is renowned. A section around the spectacular Sphere is preceded by a lengthy straight along Koval Avenue, while a high-speed blast through the curved Sands Avenue leads drivers onto the Strip. A challenging left-right-left chicane brings drivers onto East Harmon Avenue, with a high-speed left-hand kink completing the 17-turn lap.

 

The abundance of straights means a low-downforce set-up is favored by teams for the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, with an average lap speed of almost 150mph making it among the fastest street tracks in the world. There are also additional challenges, with the championship encountering a low grip surface and cold conditions during its debut in 2023. Las Vegas will retain its Saturday night race placement, holding the latest start time of any race at 22:00 local time, with track activity commencing Thursday, and qualifying taking place Friday.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team enters the Las Vegas Grand Prix in seventh position in the Constructors’ Championship, on 46 points, and is striving to bounce back from a challenging São Paulo event. Kevin Magnussen will return to the driver line-up alongside Nico Hulkenberg, having been sidelined due to illness in Brazil.



Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:  

“The Las Vegas Grand Prix offers a very unique challenge for various reasons. Similar to Baku, it’s a street circuit with low-speed corners and a very long straight. What is very different from Baku is the temperature. It’s pretty cold, hence it’s challenging to manage tires in particular. Last year saw multiple incidents in Vegas, so we need to stay sharp and take every opportunity we get to score points.”



Nico Hulkenberg:

“We're about to enter the last three races and of course we want to regain P6 in the Constructors’ Championship to finish this season on a high. The first stop, Las Vegas, is truly a unique track with the backdrop that can’t be beaten, it’s a very different vibe for F1. I am looking forward to this weekend and I’m going to be putting it all on red this time around.”



Kevin Magnussen:

“I like the track, it’s cool to be racing down the strip. I really like street circuits and Las Vegas is a pretty cool street circuit. There’s a lot of high-speed, not maybe so technical in high-speed, but you’re going very fast around corners on these streets and that’s exhilarating. There’s no doubt when you race down the strip and see Vegas so clearly, it’s a cool feeling. It’s still a tough schedule, it’s a late night race so the whole schedule moves towards the late evening and it shifts your routine a lot.”