Formula 1’s newest jewel in the crown will be neon-drenched – but are the top drivers looking forward to racing down the infamous Las Vegas Strip? Beneath the glittering lights, not all hearts will be racing with excitement. Take Max Verstappen – a man not easily swayed by bright lights and big cities. “A lot colder. Full of surprises for sure,” says Verstappen, the triple world champion said when asked about the new blue-riband event that could extend his jaw-dropping 17-race winning record so far in 2023. “The last time I tried it on the F1 game, I think I hit more walls than I was going straight.” Dive a little deeper, though, and we discover the ripples of concern beneath the desert mirage’s surface.
Set against a totally-untraditional and highly-American 10pm race start, the Las Vegas GP is the American dream as envisioned by F1’s owners, Liberty Media, who spent at least $240 million buying the land for the paddock and pits – a daring play, leveraging the sport’s burgeoning stateside fame, fueled in no small part by the phenomenon that is Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive.’
Yet, while the series races ahead in popularity, some of the sport’s most celebrated names aren’t buying into the binge-watching craze. Bernie Ecclestone, the man who crafted Formula 1 into amainly Euro-centric powerhouse, remains distinctly uncharmed by the new direction, dismissing the Las Vegas spectacle with a terse: “It has nothing to do with Formula 1.”
Verstappen also holds no torch for the dramatised depiction of his world, his old-school soul yearning for a time when social media was the stuff of science fiction. “Freedom of speech, right?” he says.
But his thoughts find an echo in Fernando Alonso, who admits: “I never saw any of Drive to Survive, even season 1.”. Youthful phenom Lando Norris is under no glitzy illusions either, acknowledging the entertainment value but craving the pure, unadulterated thrill of the drive. “It’s a show, it’s to entertain people. Formula 1 is also a business, right? But I just want to do the driving. That’s why I’m here,” said the impressive McLaren driver.
F1’s new spectacle doesn’t end with the on-screen drama, either, as Formula 1 plans an opening-ceremony extravaganza to kick off the race weekend. Music, Cirque du Soleil, and a mandatory gathering of the entire grid – it’s a script straight out of Hollywood, yet it’s not the blockbuster all stars crave. Alonso, with the wisdom of his 42 years, sums it up: the ceremony is far from “our dream preparation.”
“We know it’s important for the sport but I think drivers, teams, even for you guys in the media, it’s a very long season, a lot of travelling,” said the Spaniard. “We just go for racing, this is what we love, but the outside package is sometimes a little bit too much but we understand it.”
