The Las Vegas GP made its debut on the F1 calendar in the 2023 season. The circuit shows off the best of Vegas, with the track being lit up by iconic landmarks such as the Vegas Strip and The Sphere.
The Vegas GP is different to a traditional race, to say the least. Apart from being one of the 6 night races to feature in the F1 season, it has many unique quirks that set the venue apart from the other 23 tracks on the calendar. One of these is the timing of the race.
Why is the Las Vegas GP scheduled close to midnight?
Lights out at the Vegas GP is set to be at 22:00 local time. This is the latest start time for a race relevant to the local time zone. However, this makes the start time in the UK 06:00. One of the core reasons that the Vegas Grand Prix is starting so late is due to F1’s huge following in Europe.
Speaking last year ahead of the inaugural race, Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm said the later start time was “actually a compromise to make sure we are broadcasting at a time when our European fans can get up with a cup of coffee and watch the race six, seven in the morning, very similar to how we [in the US] watch the European races.”
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Las Vegas is also situated in a broad desert valley in southern Nevada, which is claimed to be the driest state in the USA. Due to the climate, Vegas gets extremely chilly in the evenings, reaching temperatures as low as 8°C. As a result, keeping heat in the drivers’ tyres will prove to be a problem as they drive under the neon lights of Sin City, and could lead to graining and inconsistent grip levels.
P2 finisher in the race last year Charles Leclerc has provided insight into Ferrari‘s chances of a win in Vegas. Speaking to Sky Sports recently, he said “I think on paper it’s a track where we should perform well. However, the fact we have improved a lot with tyre management means on a track where it is so cold, it will be difficult to put the tyres in the right window.”
Is Vegas the only F1 race that takes place on a Saturday?
In 2023, the Las Vegas GP was the only race to take place on a Saturday. However this year, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were also held on Saturdays.
The main religion in Saudi Arabia is Islam. In this religion, the holy month of Ramadan begins in March. In 2024, the Saudi Arabian GP was set to be on Sunday 10th March, which also happened to be the same day as Ramadan commencing. To prevent the two from clashing, the FIA made the decision to bring the F1 weekend forward by a day.
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Due to the FIA’s ruling that there must be seven days between F1 races, Bahrain also had to adjust the usual format of a race weekend to comply with the pushback in Saudi Arabia due to Ramadan. As a result, the season opener under the lights of Bahrain also took place on Saturday 2nd March.
However, with changes to the F1 2025 calendar such as the reintroduction of Melbourne as the season opener, Las Vegas will be the only Saturday race next season.
