Las Vegas GP Gets Bittersweet Rating From F1 Insider for the Sport’s Incomplete Efforts

Fans were super critical of the Las Vegas GP ever since the idea was put to plan. The construction, the ticket prices, having a third race in the US, multiple concerns were quick to rise to the top. And it didn’t get off to a great start either with Carlos Sainz’s manhole cover incident in FP1. Nonetheless, as it is said, all is well if it ends well and that’s the story of the Las Vegas GP. The main race was amazing, with loads of overtaking and action. Now an F1 insider has come out and given a bittersweet rating to the Las Vegas GP. 

Even since Liberty Media’s takeover of F1, the emphasis has somewhat shifted towards the entertainment side of the sport. There’s a major uproar within F1 to make it big in the USA and hence the three races in the country. However, amid all this, some classic tracks like the Nurburgring have lost their place. As Max Verstappen suggested, the Las Vegas GP was 99% about the show and 1% about the sporting event. 

And while the race turned out to be a great one, we all can agree that making the Las Vegas strip a part of the circuit was definitely a part of the show side of F1. But that’s the view of a regular fan about the Las Vegas GP. What about an insider who has been in the sport for decades? Let’s see what Darren Heath, the F1 photographer, thinks about the Las Vegas GP from his point of view. 

Talking positively about the Las Vegas GP during Peter Windsor’s YouTube video, Darren Heath said, “I have been to Vegas a number of years before a number of times but when one sees just the logistics involved, the construction involved that Liberty and F1 had managed to carry out and all the politics with the three main casinos backers, the casino group backers, and all the local politics, I thought they did an incredible job.”

Heath was, however, critical of the circuit layout as he added, “As far as the circuit is concerned, it was a little bit simpler than perhaps I’d hoped. In a photographic way which is obviously how I look at most circuits in a purely visual way first and foremost. As a photographer, you’re looking for lots of corners because obviously, cars do things as you very well know in corners and that provides photographic opportunities. Vegas really was devoid of many corners.”

Read More: From Las Vegas to New York: Will F1’s Decision to Add Another Race in the US Backfire?

The Las Vegas GP caused a huge fiasco within the city as blinds and screens were placed at many places to stop the bystanders from watching the race. The same did pose some problems for Heath as well. Nonetheless, despite the backlash, F1 seems to have taken an even more aggressive approach toward the US audience.

New York is amongst the two new races proposed in the USA

F1 had a hard time during the construction of the Las Vegas GP. With the plans to host a race in New York City, one can only imagine how difficult the construction is going to be. While F1 dreams of racing around the central park, Mayor Eric Adams suggested Randalls and Wards Island as an alternative. However, nothing is finalized as of yet and it’s just the initiation of what might be. 

Along with New York, if things go well, US citizens will also see a race on the west coast of the country by the year 2030. F1 plans on extending the calendar with a total of 30 races a year. However, despite Lewis Hamilton’s efforts, there is no update on having a race in the African continent.

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