F1 Las Vegas: A flashy event with a risk of a messy race

Formula 1 takes the next step into ridiculousness this weekend with a race headlining down the iconic Las Vegas strip. While the event will undoubtedly be spectacular, the racing has the potential to embarrass the sport.

Las Vegas Strip via Flickr

When Liberty Media agreed to buy controlling interest in the Formula One Group in 2016, the progression of the sport has led to an entertainment-centred model, where the racing calendar has shifted gradually from circuits which provide enthralling racing to street circuits who put on a fantastic events.

Exhibit A, Hockenheim and Sepang were fantastic racetracks, and they have been swiftly replaced with the likes of Baku and Jeddah. Las Vegas is the latest instalment of the shift, as this upcoming race undoubtedly satisfies the entertainment craving, but the racing could be so abhorrent that fans could be polarised.

via WikiMedia

The track map is enough to make any racer wince, with a host of ginormous straights following slow corners. Keeping the tyres in check with the cold November temperatures in Nevada will be challenging enough, but the track layout married with the freezing temperatures is a recipe for disaster.

Ross Brawn recently admitted to talksport.com that the cold temperatures were not considered during planning, but solutions are being worked on. “The one thing we hadn’t considered initially but the tyre company have dealt with is it gets very, very cold at night. So, when the race is happening, which is Saturday night, it has been known to drop down to three or four degrees.

Brawn, continuing on; “It can be really quite cold and of course getting the cars to work in those temperatures can be a challenge. The tyre companies have done some work to make sure the tyres can cope with that”.

Just for context, Ross Brawn was Formula 1 managing director, motor sports and technical director until last year. The lack of consideration for the racing is frightening, frankly. The pressure for the racing to be successful should be far greater than the entertainment, as that is a given is Las Vegas.

It is important to mention the backlash which the sport has been receiving in order to make the race happen in Las Vegas, with construction destroying much of the beauty which draws thousands of tourists to the city.

A YouTube video by a content creator 'Show Me Vegas who commentates on Las Vegas has evidently displayed resistance to the event, as have other creators in the Las Vegas area, with many frustrated with the construction which has occurred on the strip, which has affected and annoyed plenty of those in the area.

As the race edges nearer, Formula 1 must be feeling a pressure to deliver, because annoying locals and racing in the predicted conditions has potential of failing on a big scale, with the eyes of the world on the event this weekend.

The last time the world’s eyes were so fixated on the sport was the dramatic conclusion of the World Championship in 2021, and that left a sour taste in the mouths of many, so a worthwhile event with a degree of excitement on the racetrack is what is needed.

Las Vegas is likely to not become the only event where Formula 1 sacrifice the racing for the sake of the event – yes, there will be a lot of interest generated, but failure is not an option for the progress which Liberty Media want. Drive to Survive and all the changes which has been met with resistance has come down to this.