F1 coming to Vegas !

[Southwest Dave]

Yeah just about every driver on the grid will have their own personal jet, not to mention the Team bosses and their bosses !!

think the attitude of the local F1 organization will set back fan interest in this sport ten-fold here

The organisation now in charge of F1 (Liberty media) aren't too popular with some of the drivers either. A lot of the top drivers dislike the new 'Sprint race' format introduced at some tracks to basically boost revenue over the course of the weekend. Since 2016 they have been trying to rebrand the image to appeal to younger generations, get more into on line Streaming and discussing more races per year. I think 3 more USA venues are under discussion for the future to keep pushing the growth in America. Not considering the Locals is right on the money!(Excuse the pun!) It seems that rather than considering the Locals they just remind them that F1 is bringing 1.7 billion dollars of revenue to Las Vegas.

Back to the racing, I think it will be epic!!

Dave

[Mark Sedenquist]

We also drove to the private jet staging area at the Henderson Airport -- clearly, that is the place for the intended F1 traffic. They have reserved parking spaces for about 50 jets. There are 5 or 6 in there now.

So, Megan and I drove back to the Quail Aviation Center -- which is part of the Henderson Airport where they have added a HUGE parking area for jets. Photos follow:


Entrance near the staging area for the Private Jets


A couple of jets that arrived while we were sitting on the adjacent road.


There are maybe 200 people staged here to assist with deplaning arriving guests.


A few of the jets lined up on the front row


Another view looking west -- more jets

Mark

[Southwest Dave]

Yeah that's pretty cool and a few dollars worth sat at the airport! I have just watched the drivers being introduced, very 'Showbiz' in true Las Vegas fashion. The world champ Max Verstappen is not impressed by it all and has made it clear he is just there to race.

Dave

[Southwest Dave]

Max Verstappens thoughts as reported.

Formula One’s hopes to open the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend with a bang were dealt a blow when its reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, dismissed the meeting as “99% show and 1% sporting event”. The Dutchman was scathing about what F1 hopes will be its biggest race of the year and a showcase for the sport.

This weekend’s meeting is the first to be promoted and organised by F1’s owners, Liberty Media, and what certainly was a show had begun in the early evening of Wednesday with an extravagant opening ceremony held on the start-finish straight. A series of acts including Kylie Minogue and John Legend were accompanied by lasers and fireworks before the festivities climaxed with the drivers elevated on lifts on to stages to wave to the crowd of approximately 30,000 in the new pit and paddock grandstand complex F1 has purpose built in the city.

Verstappen had not enjoyed the experience. “For me, you can skip this,” he said. “It’s not about the singers. We are just standing up there, looking like a clown.” So unenamoured was he that he had also declined to attend a party at the Wynn casino held by the F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, because as he put it bluntly he had “zero interest”.

A tad disrespectful to the sport that will pay him a reported $55 million in 2023 I think.

Dave

[Mark Sedenquist]

I just turned on the channel, in time to find that the race stewards have red flagged the course. They raced for 30 minutes -- and the replays I saw sure looked cool.

Here is the situation that caused the red flag:

FIA confirm concrete frame on manhole cover is the issue

As we mentioned earlier, the FIA have now confirmed is the framing around the manhole cover.

They have said: "Following inspection, it was the concrete frame around a manhole cover that has failed. We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time.

"We will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve and will update with any resultant changes to the schedule."

A big bummer.

Mark

[Southwest Dave]

Yeah a few red faces for sure! That could of got real messy! Well into the second Free practice session as the drivers learn the circuit and get the feel of the car in different race trims. I would imagine getting the tyres up to the optimum temperature in the cold desert night air is tricky. It's quite a sight as they hurtle pass the pits at over 200mph, skid plates sparking off the tarmac!

[Mark Sedenquist]

Dave,

I didn't stay up to see the Second practice session, because I thought the issue with the manhole covers would red-flag the course.

The most alarming part was that race management cleared the grandstands for Practice 2. A bunch of people paid $$$ for that practice run. What the heck?

I plan to watch all of the qualifying tonight.

Mark

[Southwest Dave]

I didn't stay up to see the Second practice session, because I thought the issue with the manhole covers would red-flag the course.

They wasn't sure how long it would take as they had to check every other drain cover on the track and make them secure. The session started around 2:30am and didn't end untill 4am local time after sending everyone home. I feel for those that could of travelled and only afford the practice sessions, even a refund isn't going to compensate them anywhere close.

[Southwest Dave]

The real crazy thing is that Carlos Sainz (the driver who hit the faulty drain cover) has been given a 10 grid place penalty because they have had to repair parts that were affected by said drain cover (Regulations make swapping parts on race weekend an offence)

Dave

[Mark Sedenquist]

I feel for those that could of travelled and only afford the practice sessions, even a refund isn't going to compensate them anywhere close.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the grandstands were emptied because there was insufficient staff to work the venues at that hour.

And I agree that penalizing the Ferrari team by imposing a ten space grid penalty to replace the battery (that was damaged by the faulty manhole cover) is bonkers.

Mark