Is Las Vegas The Most Expensive F1 Race to Attend?

The expansion of the 2023 F1 season is a testament to the growing popularity of the sport worldwide. F1 was ready to have  23 races on the calendar, but the cancellation of the Grand Prix in Imola reduces that number. Nevertheless, more venues have joined the calendar, and the newest of them all is the Las Vegas GP. It will be the third American race of the year and also the penultimate Grand Prix of the season. With the surrounding infrastructure still under construction, the event has already sold out most of its tickets. The ones still available are among the most expensive and that became a reason for the fans to lash out at the sport’s management. But is it the most expensive if we count other races in the season?

When it comes to building the hype around the Vegas GP, F1 is leaving no stone unturned. For most other races, the organizers take care of all the expenses relating to the construction of the paddocks, the grandstands, and every other infrastructure required for the Grand Prix event. However, knowing the massive money-making potential of the Vegas GP, F1 is investing its own money in collaboration with Liberty Media and the organizer. They are combined putting in $240 million on the project that almost every F1 fan is eagerly waiting to unfold.

F1 Grand Prix with the most expensive tickets

The Vegas GP recently created a storm on the internet when it announced the ticket pricing. Fans lashed out at the organizers for charging exorbitant prices for the tickets. They even accused them of pricing it that high only to entertain a certain elite class while the real fans of the sport miss out completely. Despite that, the tickets for the Grandstand 6.4 and the SG3 are already sold out. Tickets for SG1 are still available for 1,847.81 Euros (almost $2000). The tickets for the Hospitality section, at the time of writing this article, are available as well and the price has slightly come down since March. They are currently on sale for 7391.23 Euros (almost $8000).

As exorbitant as that might be, it is still not the most expensive ticket on the calendar. The Monaco GP is one of the most celebrated legacy races on the calendar. One would even call it the crown jewel of F1 given its rich history. The most expensive ticket for the event that gives the holder access to the Paddock Club for all three days costs an eye-watering 13858.55 Euros (almost $15,000), as per F1’s official website. However, there are other tickets available for single-day and Saturday-Sunday access that cost a lot less. But that obviously does not give the holder exclusive Paddock Club access.

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Even the most expensive ticket at the Singapore GP is costlier than the ones in Las Vegas. The already sold-out Paddock Club passes, as per Moneycontrol.com, cost 11,000 Singapore Dollars which roughly comes to 8,200 USD. However, if you compare the ticket pricing by taking the average of all the available different sections, Vegas trumps them all. The most expensive average ticket pricing, as per F1Destinations, is $1,667 (Vegas), followed by the recently concluded Miami GP ($1,113).

A Different Schedule for the Las Vegas GP

One of the biggest attractions of the Grand Prix in Vegas is the extravagant event that F1 is building around it. Much to the dismay of the local fans, the night-time race will start at 10 PM PST, which will make it 1 AM for fans on the East Coast. But not to worry, you don’t have to go to work the next day. That’s because the race is scheduled for Saturday, not the traditional Sunday race day.

Moreover, it will not be a traditional 3-week race weekend but a complete 4-day extravaganza. Because this is going to be the inaugural edition of the Las Vegas GP, we are going to have a starry opening ceremony on Wednesday. Surely the sport’s management will rope in the most exclusive A-list artists to perform.

Making big promises, F1 boss Stefano Domenicali, as per Racer.com, said, “The Las Vegas Grand Prix is going to take F1 race weekends to the next level. Staging a Grand Prix in the sports and entertainment capital of the world has allowed us to plan a truly spectacular celebration that has never been seen in our sport before, in the greatest arena on earth.”

The real on-track action will start on Thursday. Because it is not a Sprint Race weekend, we will have the traditional 2 Free Practices on Thursday. One Free Practice and Qualifying will take place on Friday. And finally, the lights will go out for the Main Race on Saturday. The timing will, however, make it very difficult for the fans from Europe to follow.

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The Race will start as early as 6 AM for the fans in the UK. Asian fans, however, can rejoice as the sun will be up way before for them than their European counterparts.