For the first time since 1982, last year saw the return of Formula 1 Las Vegas, on a different street circuit than the one that hosted the Circus in the early 1980s in the Caesars Palace area. In this case, the cars battled on a track that includes the Strip, a street known throughout the world for the presence of luxury hotels and casinos.
The event, which will take place at night until 2025, is the third scheduled in the United States together with Austin and Miami, but among the various controversies it had sparked, one had come directly from the reigning world champion Max Verstappen. The Dutchman, in fact, hadn’t liked them in the slightest activities and the lavish pre-race shows, such as the presentation of the pairs of drivers in front of the main grandstand. Events contested by the Red Bull driver with a short and at the same time heavy sentence: “99% entertainment, 1% sporting event”.
Immediately after the checkered flag, Verstappen celebrated his victory in the team radio by correcting his previous statements by humming “Viva Las Vegas”, but during the last Monaco Grand Prix the Commercial Manager of F1 and the Las Vegas GP , Emily Frazerreturned to the issue of pre-race shows, promising that they will no longer be so demanding for the drivers.
“There was one driver in particular who was very loud that weekend, but I think in the end we all saw that he was singing ‘Viva Las Vegas’ on the radio – he commented referring to Verstappen – the drivers were subjected to different stresses in the new race. They had never driven on this track and didn’t understand what they were getting into. Having said that, on the other hand, they have been incredibly supportive in the preparation phase, doing promotions with us to help the race move forward. They attended the opening ceremony without complaint. I think there was a bit of nervousness and there was a lot for them to do over the weekend. But none of them did not participate in the activities we asked them to do. This year we will definitely reduce the time a little. Last year we definitely went too far with them, but in Miami they were dancing wearing Las Vegas Grand Prix merchandise, so I think they like it.”
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