At the end of the day, the Las Vegas Grand Prix is another F1 race, and come race day I'll be bouncing from wall to wall with the excitement of it being just that, "race day." But until then my perceptions of this event are running wild - and not necessarily in a positive way.
I wasn't born when the last Formula One race was held in Las Vegas. That was in 1981 and 1982, and was officially known as the Caesar's Palace Grand Prix. The one that became infamous for taking place around the car park of the Caesar's Palace Hotel. However, after only two races there, Formula One pulled out. With numerous drivers suffering from heat exhaustion in both races, and only a small percentage of the grandstands filled; it just wasn't worth it, with both F1 and Caesar's Palace reporting huge financial losses. However, in 2023, the financial forecast for Formula One has significantly changed thanks to the ever growing number of fans, especially in the United States. Finally, a race on the streets of Vegas looks viable, but is that a good thing? Personally, it doesn't sound like my "cup of tea." Or coffee, I'm not overly fond of tea.
There are plenty of factors as to why this race gives me a sense of dread. From it's location, the "hype" surrounding it and the fact that it's yet another street circuit. Do we really need ANOTHER street circuit?
I grew up in a time where F1 was predominately raced on purpose built race tracks. Yes, there was Monaco and then Singapore, even Australia, Canada and Valencia are/were supposedly classed as street circuits. But, in 2023, it's seems as if street circuits is where the money is. It's become more than evident that F1 is more concerned with securing a race in high-profile, expensive places rather than with the racing itself. And, unfortunately, that makes me dislike street circuits even more.
But why Las Vegas? Why the United States? They already have two other races. Now don't get me wrong, I am completely under the impression, that with the current popularity of the sport, F1 should be branching out into different places. But, is the demand actually there for three F1 races in the USA? Where are the races in Africa or in the hidden depths of southern South America? Not only is there not enough time in the year to visit this many places, there is considerably less money involved in places that are not classed as "high-profile."
Liberty Media, F1's current owners, want nothing more than an overly, extravagant event. With lavish opening ceremonies, grid ceremonies and eye-watering ticket prices; even some drivers think it's too much. "We just go for racing, this is what we love, but the outside package is sometimes a little bit too much." - Fernando Alonso.
What interests me most, however, is the disdain that a large proportion of Las Vegas locals have against the upcoming race weekend. "As much as I love F1, it just disrupts everything on the strip. It’s already crowded all the time, and hosting a race for the weekend seems like a disaster." This was what one Vegas local was reported as saying. Comments such as these, alongside extortionate ticket prices, make me believe that this isn't an event for your regular F1 fan. In fact, this is what Liberty Media are turning our sport into - an unaffordable mess, with many races, such as Silverstone, hiking their prices considerably.
I get that F1 was always going to change thanks to the success of the Netflix show; Drive to Survive, which has taken the popularity of Formula One to the next level. But right now, Liberty Media are taking the sport in the completely wrong direction. Us fans, specifically long time fans, don't want Las Vegas Grand Prix's. We want old school tracks. Sepang, Instanbul, Hockenheim, just to name a few. I don't know about you, but I feel as if fans are the least of Liberty Media's concerns. That's for another time though.
But hey, like I said, come race day, maybe the Las Vegas Grand Prix won't be as bad as I'm making it out to be. The track looks... boring but with cold weather, it could make for some interesting on track strategies and chaos. We like chaos. It's one of those "let's wait and see," type of events.
I'm really trying to talk myself into liking this event but gosh, I miss the F1 of my childhood.
コメント