There is a huge buzz around F1 at the moment in America. The Vegas grandstands are up, the crowd has been partying to a live performance from Kylie Minogue, while colourful fireworks are popping ahead of a weekend like no other.
The 20 drivers were also presented to the Vegas crowd on Wednesday night as part of an opening ceremony, but it was not to everybody’s liking. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen said he felt like a “clown” as drivers were lifted onto huge platforms on the pit straight adding “it’s 99% show, and 1% sporting event”.
Vegas is going against the grain, and that can also be seen in the schedule. All 2023 grand prix weekends have taken place from Friday to Sunday, but not Vegas. Track time begins on Thursday with the race taking place on Saturday night, but why has F1 changed its schedule for the Las Vegas GP?
It is essentially a bid to get as many global viewers as possible due to the Vegas time zone. The city, which is in the western US state of Nevada, is eight hours behind the UK and nine behind central Europe.
If F1 kept to a traditional schedule with a race start time at 10pm on Sunday, it would be Monday morning in Europe with many citizens leaving for work and an underwhelming audience size would not be ideal. This way, by staging everything 24 hours earlier, more people should have the opportunity to watch.
But an argument to avoid that early start in Europe is to host the race at noon making it 8pm in the UK, however the Las Vegas GP was always going to be a night-time race.
F1 wanted it to be held during the city’s primetime, where the famous skyline is lit up for the huge occasion with cars racing down the iconic Strip. And if it were to be held just a few hours earlier, then it’s the middle of the night in Europe meaning more people would probably just watch it all on catch-up.
This is one event that F1 has been building up to for a very long time, and the weekend needs as many viewers as possible. CEO Stefano Domenicali said last year that the series must be flexible and such a start time makes watching the Las Vegas GP viable for everybody.
Source: Autosport