The first night race on the Las Vegas Strip in 2023 will include practice on Thursday and qualifying on Friday as part of a four-day event, Formula 1 has announced.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix will be held as the first race of a season-ending back-to-back doubleheader alongside Abu Dhabi next year, taking place on November 18 as the only Saturday night event of 2023. The race itself will start at 10pm Pacific Time — meaning a 1am start time on the East Coast — but it will be preceded by what F1 says will be “unprecedented levels of F1 activity and events.”
The Las Vegas Grand Prix week kicks off with “a star-studded opening ceremony, featuring music acts and staple Las Vegas entertainment” on Wednesday November 15, as F1 and Liberty Media work with a number of partners as part promoters for the first time.
Fans have been asked to donate $7.77 to the Las Vegas Grand Prix Foundation upon sign-up for pre-registration ticketing, with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali saying demand has exceeded expectations.
“The Las Vegas Grand Prix is going to take F1 race weekends to the next level,” Domenicali said. “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 entire city is buzzing with excitement for next year’s race. We are truly overwhelmed by the response on our pre-registration portal and the donations received. We have far surpassed our goal of providing over one million meals to the local community. Our fans simply don’t want to miss this event. It is clear the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the must-have ticket for 2023.”
Vegas is the 23rd round on a record 24-race calendar that was announced on Tuesday, although RACER understands a planned flyaway triple of USA-Mexico-Brazil still requires approval from the teams.
