Motorsport

FORMULA ONE’s owners have been forced to apologise to the residents of Las Vegas for messing up Sin City.Locals are outraged by road closures causing traffic and grandstands blocking tourist hotspots.
F1 is set for its first race on the famous Las Vegas stripCredit: Splash
F1’s arrival in Vegas has seen Liberty Media spend around $500millionCredit: Splash
Locals have been left outraged by the logistical nightmare the event has createdCredit: Splash
The logistical operation caused by F1’s first race along the famous Vegas strip, has sparked fury from the residents.
Work has been going on for months and now Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media who own F1, has said sorry.
He said: “I want to apologise to all the Las Vegas residents and we appreciate that they have their forbearance and their willingness to tolerate us.
“We’re going to bring something like $1.7 billion of revenue to the area. So it’s not just for the benefit of fans who want to view.
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“We hope this is a great economic benefit in Las Vegas.
“We hope this is the most difficult year with all the construction that went on and things will be easier in the future.”
Liberty have spent around $500million, or £400m, putting on the race, resurfacing the roads, building a new paddock and garages and putting up grandstands.
They hope to cash in on the sport’s popularity in the US, driven by the Netflix ‘Drive to Survive’ TV series.
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However, rather than hitting the jackpot, there are serious concerns the race, which is Saturday night Las Vegas time but Sunday morning in the UK, will be a massive flop with hundreds of seats and hotel rooms left unsold.
Ticket sales too have been slow with many reluctant to spend the ridiculous sums being suggested.
CNN reported that ticket website TickPick had seen prices slashed, although the average price for Saturday’s race is still an eye-watering $1,060, roughly £800, for grandstand seats.
It is the same story for the unsold hotel rooms – but do F1’s owners really care about the paying fans? In part they do, however, like other US sports the main focus is on the TV audience.
The race is on Saturday at 10pm local time, later than they would have hoped, for the majority of the East coast will be asleep by then.
There have been mixed reactions to the race from drivers, while the race could be chaos with track temperatures set to be around five degrees, far from optimal for F1 tyres which thrive in warmer conditions.
It is not the first time F1 has raced in Vegas with previous events at a now-abandoned circuit in 1981 and 1982.
However, the expected 100,000 spectators will be able to experience a never-before-seen feature at F1 – a wedding chapel.
Complete F1 2023 race calendar – details on every Grand Prix this year More

FORMULA ONE owners Liberty Media will get to discover if their huge gamble on Las Vegas will come off in this weekend’s Grand Prix.They have spent around $500million, or £400m, converting the famous strip into a race track and building a new paddock in the heart of Sin City.
Stands going up for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in front of the iconic Bellagio hotelCredit: Splash
Liberty hope to cash in on the sport’s popularity in the US, driven by the Netflix ‘Drive to Survive’ TV series.
However, rather than hitting the jackpot, there are serious concerns the race, which is Saturday night Las Vegas time but Sunday morning in the UK, will be a massive flop with hundreds of seats and hotel rooms left unsold.
There are also complaints from locals who are upset about the impact F1 is having on the city, with a number of its famous landmarks obscured from view by the temporary grandstands.
Would they be happy with the same process each year when the race comes around causing mass disturbance? I doubt it.

Ticket sales too have been slow with many reluctant to spend the ridiculous sums being suggested.
CNN reported that ticket website TickPick had seen prices slashed, although the average price for Saturday’s race is still an eye-watering $1,060 for grandstand seats.
It is the same story for the unsold hotel rooms – but do F1’s owners really care about the paying fans? In part they do, however, like other US sports the main focus is on the TV audience.
The race is on Saturday at 10pm local time, later than they would have hoped, for the majority of the East coast will be asleep by then.
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That said, it will still be a spectacle under the lights as the F1 cars race past the iconic buildings and landmarks.
It is perhaps best not to think of it as a race, but like the Miami GP earlier in the season, an F1 tradeshow.
An event that is more like the heavily edited Netflix offering than the Max Verstappen domination we have been watching all season.
Rather like the punters who will still continue to play in the city’s famous casinos, it could be a case of all-in or bust for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is a big gamble trying to cash in on F1’s US popularityCredit: Getty
SHIVER, LAS VEGAS
TEMPERATURES could drop as low as 5°C in the evening in Vegas when the race starts.
That would set a joint-lowest record with the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix, which is currently the coldest ever F1 race held — which had a peak temperature of just 5°C.
The track itself is the second-longest on the calendar after Spa, and promises to be the second-fastest after Monza, with a top speed estimated at 212 mph.
DRIVE TO, ER, SURVIVE
THE “Netflix Cup” will kick-off on Tuesday with F1 stars playing a golf competition alongside some PGA professionals.
It marks the streaming service’s first live sport broadcast as it tries to fuse together Drive To Survive with similar golf documentary, Full Swing.
MOTOVATION
MOTO GP’s championship looks set to go down to the wire with reigning champ Francesco Bagnaia and Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin separated by just 14 points with two races to go.
Meanwhile, former champion Fabio Quartararo accused the stewards of “choosing people they don’t like” after he was fined €1,000 for undoing his helmet strap as he arrived in the pitlane during practice.
Francesco Bagnaia (centre) is vying for the Moto GP titleCredit: Rex
“The stewards are not doing their job,” Quartararo told TNT Sports. “I think they [give] penalties by closing their eyes and choosing the people that they don’t like. That’s me.
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“I did it [untie my helmet strap] a lot of times. All the years I was doing it.
“And just yesterday they gave me a fine. So I don’t think they are doing their job properly.” More

WHEN Formula One takes over Las Vegas this weekend, it won’t be for the first time.The Nevada-based city hosted two races in 1981 and 1982, however, it failed to become a success.
Las Vegas has previously held F1 racesCredit: Getty
The old track was built on Caesar’s Palace’s car parkCredit: Getty
Alan Jones won the first F1 GP in Las Vegas back in 1981Credit: Getty
The old track was compared to paper clips
This is the layout of the new track that will be used this weekendCredit: https://www.f1lasvegasgp.com/track-layout
A deal had been agreed for the race to feature as the final stop in the 1981 season and it benefited originally from the track in New York suffering financial difficulty.
Despite excitement about the event taking place in Sin City, there were plenty of issues with the track.
It was labelled the Caesar’s Palace Circuit and was built in a casino car park.
This meant that the terrain was totally flat – making it very tough for drivers – and the course was incredibly windy due to the lack of space available.
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The one positive is that spectators managed to have a good view of most of the 2.27m long course.
The track was disliked by drivers due to its layout and was considered the “least appealing” of all the races on the circuit at the time.
Former racer John Watson said: “You had this totally flat ground and three-foot high concrete barriers so you had very little sense of reference points.
“It was probably the least appealing Grand Prix circuit I think I’ve raced on.
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The new Las Vegas track is 1.68 miles longer
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“‘If you put three paper clips side-by-side that was the layout.
“The facilities weren’t great for the teams, but that wasn’t the reason it fell by the wayside — it was fundamentally because the big spenders didn’t show up.”
The cars did produce exciting races on the track, that saw Alan Jones win in 1981 and Michele Alboreto claim victory in 1982.
Despite this, the attendance did not rise and faded which led to the Caesar’s Palace bosses and F1 to part ways going forward.
F1 took its business around the United States and had races in Dallas, Detroit and Phoenix.
The track in Vegas remained however and was developed into an oval circuit for Indycar racing.
The circuit was criticised by driversCredit: Getty
They said the facilities were not greatCredit: Getty
This only lasted for a couple of years and the track was last raced on in 1984.
It has since been demolished with a Polynesian-themed Mirage casino resort being built on one end of the former track.
The rest of the course was then ploughed through to make way for an extension for Caesar’s Palace as well as a shopping centre.
It is not the only abandoned F1 track with the Buddh International Circuit in India also not in use.
The new track that the likes of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will race is considerably longer, 3.8miles, and is located on the other side of the Las Vegas Boulevard.
Fans will also have the opportunity to get married at the Las Vegas GP.
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The chapel – appropriately named ‘Race To The Altar’ – has a feature wall adorned in flowers along with a sign that reads: “Lights Out And Together We Go.”
There is also an F1 show car in the chapel that says “Just Married” on the rear wing.
Driver Michele Alboreto won the last F1 race on the track in 1982Credit: Getty
The track was then used for Indycar racesCredit: Getty More