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Text of the press release:
I did not expect the track to look like that, I must admit. I was expecting a long spindly thing going up and down the strip along both sides. What they've come up with makes a bit more sense and looks to me like it'll be the highest speed track on the calendar, even faster than Monza with its artificial chicanes. Other than the hairpin, all the curves you see in the track layout are quite broad and likely full-throttle or close to it. Interestingly, the Sphere's current construction site shows no signs of having a circuit loop around the outside of it so I'd expect that project's plans to evolve slightly to accommodate the track. Also the backside of the track runs past several condo developments so we're going to have several people just chilling on their balconies for free like in Monaco.
I'm really curious to see where they put the paddock. It would be rad to have it along the Strip but visibility and space might be a concern. The hairpin area of the track - the dreaded "parking lot" that European fans keep talking about - has a lot more room for a paddock and other track services to be placed.
To pick up on discussion in another thread...
The problem with swapping tracks is that it eliminates half the race-related revenue stream of a track and that's basically a death sentence. The track swapping Germany did was a ridiculous exercise that ended up dooming both tracks, combined with German folks' general disdain for buying race tickets which I don't really understand. Germany's situation is a bad comparison because while their market for F1 has all but dried up, the US market is just started to get tapped.
Another possibility is that adding more races in a stable and secure place with a huge potential market will allow F1 to drop controversial races, of which there are several. Russia has already been dropped, Saudi Arabia is under fire, literally, Azerbaijan is sketchy, among others. Plus there is still room to create a more efficient schedule to reduce travel time for the teams - Canada, Indy, Miami, Texas, and Vegas could all be run on 5 consecutive weekends in spring to avoid Florida's hurricane season.
Edit: Another important point is that this will be a night race in the US Pacific time zone, UTC-8 in November. According to a video on F1.com the race will start at 10pm, that means it'll be on at 6am in the UK. Oh, how the turntables.
Btw, the main straight at Vegas is about 2km long. To put that into perspective, that's about half a kilometer longer than the front straight at Monza including Parabolica, a half kilometer longer than Fuji's main straight, and nearly the same length as the first section of the Mulsanne from tertre rouge to the first chicane.
Text of the press release:
I've yet to find video of the announcement event which took place. Overall, this race stands to be quite the spectacle as I'm sure several of you who have been to Vegas can imagine. Picture a race in the Middle East - under the lights, clear skies and fine temperatures, all the colors of the rainbow shining down - minus the bombs and oil and controversy. Las Vegas is already a massive international tourist destination and offers much more to vacationers than just a race. Fans who plan correctly could turn this one race into an entire week's vacation in Vegas and the surrounding areas, visiting the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Lake Mead, etc.
I did not expect the track to look like that, I must admit. I was expecting a long spindly thing going up and down the strip along both sides. What they've come up with makes a bit more sense and looks to me like it'll be the highest speed track on the calendar, even faster than Monza with its artificial chicanes. Other than the hairpin, all the curves you see in the track layout are quite broad and likely full-throttle or close to it. Interestingly, the Sphere's current construction site shows no signs of having a circuit loop around the outside of it so I'd expect that project's plans to evolve slightly to accommodate the track. Also the backside of the track runs past several condo developments so we're going to have several people just chilling on their balconies for free like in Monaco.
I'm really curious to see where they put the paddock. It would be rad to have it along the Strip but visibility and space might be a concern. The hairpin area of the track - the dreaded "parking lot" that European fans keep talking about - has a lot more room for a paddock and other track services to be placed.
To pick up on discussion in another thread...
I absolutely do not think the US market will be oversaturated with races and I'd argue that at least a fourth one at Indy should also return. COTA is a consistent sellout and is actually so busy that fans are complaining about a lack of permanent seating and regular events while the track operators are building an amusement park. This initial Miami race has extreme ticket prices which will likely drop considerably in the future making it much more friendly for general admission. The Vegas race basically has all the attendees baked in, it couldn't be easier to find a bunch of people who want to spend a bunch of money on such a cool event. And Indy has obviously never had any difficulties drawing fans for any type of race, previous F1 mismanagement notwithstanding.
The problem with swapping tracks is that it eliminates half the race-related revenue stream of a track and that's basically a death sentence. The track swapping Germany did was a ridiculous exercise that ended up dooming both tracks, combined with German folks' general disdain for buying race tickets which I don't really understand. Germany's situation is a bad comparison because while their market for F1 has all but dried up, the US market is just started to get tapped.
Another possibility is that adding more races in a stable and secure place with a huge potential market will allow F1 to drop controversial races, of which there are several. Russia has already been dropped, Saudi Arabia is under fire, literally, Azerbaijan is sketchy, among others. Plus there is still room to create a more efficient schedule to reduce travel time for the teams - Canada, Indy, Miami, Texas, and Vegas could all be run on 5 consecutive weekends in spring to avoid Florida's hurricane season.
Edit: Another important point is that this will be a night race in the US Pacific time zone, UTC-8 in November. According to a video on F1.com the race will start at 10pm, that means it'll be on at 6am in the UK. Oh, how the turntables.
Btw, the main straight at Vegas is about 2km long. To put that into perspective, that's about half a kilometer longer than the front straight at Monza including Parabolica, a half kilometer longer than Fuji's main straight, and nearly the same length as the first section of the Mulsanne from tertre rouge to the first chicane.
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