More details on Formula 1 2023 in Las Vegas: Now the length of the contract is known, as well as the exact start time on the Saturday night after Thanksgiving
It’s a common misconception that Formula 1 has always run its races on Sundays. And that doesn’t just apply to the sprint races that were added to the programme on Saturdays in 2021. Even the very first Grand Prix in World Championship history, at Silverstone in 1950, was run on a Saturday so as not to disturb Sunday rest.
A total of nine Formula One World Championship races have been run on a Monday, one on a Tuesday, two on a Wednesday, one on a Thursday, three on a Friday and 57 on a Saturday.
The « Grand Prix of Las Vegas », as it will officially be called, is scheduled for a Saturday evening in November. It is planned for the Thanksgiving weekend, i.e. 25 November 2023, but there are still some bureaucratic hurdles to be cleared.
10 p.m. on Saturday night in Vegas, at the height of the party atmosphere in the casinos, means 7 a.m. on Sunday morning in Germany. « That’s the perfect time for a race, » thinks Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
The time late on Saturday evening is also « perfect for the audience in Europe », Domenicali underlines, because fans there have the opportunity to watch the race for breakfast. That would have been more difficult if the night race had been held on Sunday evening, because many people don’t have time to watch Formula 1 comfortably at 7:00 a.m. on Mondays.
The fact that a Grand Prix on Saturday represents a break with tradition is not something Domenicali sees so narrowly: « I have no problem with it. Formula 1 must not be static. It must not be the case that we cling to the idea that every race has to start at 15:00 in the afternoon. That would be a serious mistake. That’s why we are more flexible now. »
Basically, Domenicali is convinced that the start time is secondary to the success of the event anyway: « We could have gone even earlier or later. It doesn’t matter at all. On this night, everyone will be looking at Las Vegas, » he says.
And that for three years initially, as was confirmed at the press conference on Wednesday evening. Formula 1 is also acting as promoter itself, which is unusual. Normally, national promoters pay high licence fees to Formula 1 in order to be allowed to stage a Grand Prix and collect the income from ticket sales in return.
The self-confident strategy of being a promoter in Las Vegas itself suggests that Formula 1 is convinced of the event’s success. This is also due to the fact that the premier class is booming in the USA right now – and this in turn is largely thanks to « Drive To Survive », the documentary series of the streaming provider Netflix.
Season 4 was No. 1 in 33 Netflix markets and has already been watched more times than Season 3. « It’s a huge success, » says Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei. « Among many other factors that have helped drive our popularity. But it’s certainly one we don’t underestimate. «
