Ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, the race’s chief executive Renee Wilm gives Sky Sports F1 the inside track on how the event came to life.
The story of Vegas’ return to F1 began back in 2021, with the impact of Netflix’s Drive to Survive and a thrilling title battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton taking the sport’s popularity in the USA to new heights.
Liberty Media, the American owner of F1’s global commercial rights, were considering the best ways to ensure the momentum built on the other side of the pond wasn’t wasted.
A deal for the first Miami Grand Prix, which took place in 2022, had just been confirmed, but that spectacular event alone wasn’t the end game.
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Wilm recalls: “So about two and half years ago, I started coming out to Las Vegas to meet with the regulators and the property owners in order to get their buy-in on basically shutting down the strip for what we knew would be an epic event.”
Getting that buy-in was undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges facing Wilm and her team, with compromise required from both the owners of Vegas’ many famous institutions and the city’s residents.
“Once we were able to gain traction and support for our project, we announced that we would be holding the first-ever Las Vegas Grand Prix in March of 2022 and from that point forward, it has been full speed ahead,” Wilm says.
With Liberty Media self-promoting an F1 event for the first time, Wilm moved over from her position as the company’s chief legal and administrative officer to head up the new project.
A billion reasons for staging the event
Ultimately it wasn’t goodwill alone that convinced the key figures, perhaps most crucially some of the iconic venues stretched along The Strip, to agree to unprecedented disruption to their usual operation.
While Las Vegas isn’t short of visitors on a standard weekend, F1 is going to bring an all-star crowd and clientele that should theoretically make up for any inconvenience experienced by businesses.
Wilm explained: “So we are projected, with help of our consultants, that we will be bringing $1.2 billion of economic value to the valley that weekend.
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“And that is inclusive of all of the personnel that we have engaged as well as all of the revenue that will be generated by our local partners, and then obviously the tax revenue that is being generated for the benefit of the state of Nevada as well as the Clark County.
“So all in this is going to be tremendously impactful, economically.
“I think our partners, including our founding partners, MGM, Wynn, Caesars, are very excited about bringing their level of Ultra VIP Entertainment and hospitality to the F1 fan base.”
Additionally, thanks to F1, some of the city’s most used roads have had a makeover.
“We have re-asphalted the entirety of the 3.8-mile track,” Wilm said. “That includes much of the public right of way as well as the private land that we Liberty Media acquired on the corner of Harmon and Coval, which is the home of Formula One in North America and houses our brand new pit building.”
‘Drivers will be happy to not be racing in heat’
One of the biggest talking points ahead of the event has been how the relatively cold evening temperatures could impact the performance of the cars.
F1 largely follows the sun around the world, while the other night races on the calendar take place in countries where the heat remains even after the sun has gone down.
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When the cars take to the track for qualifying and the race, on Friday and Saturday night (local time) respectively, the temperature is forecast to be in the region of 10 degrees Celsius.
It appears likely to be the sport’s coldest race since the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix, in which the temperature dropped as low as five degrees Celsius during the race.
While the conditions are sure to create some challenges for drivers and teams, mainly with keeping their tyres within optimum operating windows, Wilm isn’t overly concerned.
“I think the drivers will be quite happy to not be racing in the tremendous heat that they have experienced of late,” she said. “You can always put layers on, it’s hard to take layers off.”
“And we have been working closely with the teams, the sporting department at Formula 1 and having conversations with Pirelli to ensure that we will have a high-quality degree of racing and that the tyres that will be brought to town for this event have been carefully chosen, given the variety of temperatures that could be experienced at night here in November.”
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As for the spectators, Wilm says: “The electricity and the excitement that will be coming off the track and just the throngs of people that are going to be enjoying the race weekend together, I think will definitely raise temperatures enough so everyone will be comfortable.”
And if you’re wondering why the race is starting so late, it’s for you! The start times were pushed later largely to provide European ‘legacy’ audiences with the opportunity to watch qualifying and the race live over breakfast, rather than in the middle of the night.
“So we in America get up early with a cup of coffee and enjoy watching the European races,” Wilm says. “And now that is essentially being reversed and we would invite everyone in Europe to enjoy watching what will be a historic event with their morning coffee.”
‘A whole new level of entertainment and engagement’
While the show is sure to look spectacular on television screens, the organisers are also aiming to provide an unrivalled experience for those attending the event.
“I think we are bringing a Formula 1 race weekend to a whole new level of fan engagement and fan entertainment,” Wilm said.
“We have taken steps that are quite different from any other races on the calendar. For example, our grandstands and general admission are all-inclusive, non-alcoholic food and beverage, catered by the very well-known Wolfgang Puck.
“This is an opportunity for fans to engage and enjoy the experience, not have to stand on long queues, not have to spend a tonne of money on food because they purchased a ticket where we are basically embracing them and providing them with that great experience on track.
“Our Paddock club is the largest paddock club on the calendar and we have held nothing back in terms of creating that ultra-VIP hospitality opportunity, coupled with Las Vegas’ unique entertainment.
“So think about the roaming Cirque du Soleil’s and Blue Man Group and just really creating this new level of entertainment that we’re hoping will set a new standard across our calendar.”
For Wilm and Liberty media, they are hoping the event to be the final piece of their American jigsaw, at least for now.
“You look at the three American races, each with its own unique identity,” she said. “Austin, the heartland of America. Miami, the glamour, the Latin flavour and now Las Vegas, the home of glamour, and now to be married with speed.
“So those three races together really highlight what we think are some of the greatest aspects of the United States and how we can bring our sport into the everyday lives of Americans.”
Get ready for the big one: Formula 1 in Las Vegas! See drivers race down the Strip, and past landmarks like Caesars Palace and the Bellagio, on F1’s newest street track. Watch the whole Las Vegas GP weekend live on Sky Sports F1 on November 17-19. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
