Already a commercial success, can F1’s Vegas GP deliver more?

LAS VEGAS — After weeks of controversy, angry local feedback and even criticism from reigning world champion Max Vertstappen himself, the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix produced the best race of the 2023 season. Not only that, it delivered the most financially lucrative weekend in Sin City’s long and storied history, even eclipsing February’s Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium.

It was not to everyone’s taste. During the build-up to last year’s event, which featured a very over-the-top driver presentation, Verstappen said the race was “99% show and 1% sporting event,” adding that the ceremony had left him feeling like “a clown .”

As if to prove that victory makes everything better, the Dutchman acknowledged his victory in the opening race later in the weekend by singing “Viva Las Vegas” over the radio. Asked how he felt about the second year of racing during Wednesday’s media session, Verstappen started with a typically honest answer.

“I see,” he said with a wry smile. Pressed on what he meant, he added: “I understand. I understand why we’re here and business-wise, race-related. For me, the opening ceremony is … if you ask me whether I want to do it or not, I always choose not to, but that’s not why anything is more positive or not, but I’m happy to be here, I’m happy to be in Vegas, it’s a great city.

“Is it my favorite track on the calendar? No, but everyone has their favorite tracks. But I’m happy to be here. Last year the racing was very exciting, there was a lot of racing going on, a lot of straights, it’s good for overtaking, the shots are great, you know, driving on the Strip So I hope you don’t write too negatively about what I think of Vegas, because the race last year was great.”

Glowing praise, which will have been music to the ears of the organizers of the race: Formula 1 itself. The event is unique on the sport’s schedule as it is the only one to see F1 double up as a promoter, having invested in building the permanent paddock facility in the middle of the city. Verstappen will also be relieved to know there is no driver presentation this time.

His comments and the other negative headlines the race generated – which peaked when Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was destroyed by a loose drain cover, with the subsequent delay in fixing the others on track, negating any practice that ran the rest of it first day – ended up being a blip on the overall event and the money it generated.

The striking numbers were historic.

A Clark County report issued in April totaled the economic benefits of the first race at $1.5 billion, while $77 million was generated in tax revenue. To give these staggering numbers some context, Super Bowl LVIII totaled $1 billion in economic impacts, with $33.6 million generated in taxes.

Pulling off America’s biggest sporting event was not something F1 would have dared predict 12 months ago. It was a massive vindication of a project that cost the series an estimated $400 million. Most impressively to those on the Las Vegas side, the debut race managed to do something previously thought impossible: generate big money on the weekend before Thanksgiving, traditionally the leanest on the calendar in terms of revenue.

F1 and Las Vegas have been careful to play down the chances of replicating or beating those figures this year, also dismissing reports of lower ticket sales this time around – the city is notoriously a late market when it comes to people buying holidays and attending events.

Asked if the race had seen a late boost in tickets this year, Las Vegas GP CEO Renee Wilm said Wednesday: “Yes, we’re seeing a lot of what we expected. We have a number of zones that are already sold out, our general admission is sold out , the main stand is sold out, but we’re very excited about the conversion rates we’ve seen this past week.

“Once we got past Austin and the election, that’s when (ticket) traffic picked up and so did conversion. This is a last minute market and we didn’t get on sale as early as we did in Year 1. Year 1 we had our big launch event, it was six months significantly earlier than we went on sale for Year 2.”

On how to measure success this time around, she said: “Obviously we have a lot of targets, but there are the (Las Vegas Grand Prix) targets and then there are Formula 1 targets. I think from an F1 perspective that It obviously continues to grow and educate the sport in the U.S. We still believe it is our most important strategic growth market.”

However, it was not only cases on the trail that generated negative headlines. The long build-up to the first race, which included extensive construction of the barriers lining the circuit and the building of scaffolding near iconic landmarks such as the Bellagio fountain, angered locals, who dealt with disruption. But with the first event requiring everything to be done from scratch, this year has felt like a much lighter lift.

“We’ve been much more engaged in a constructive way in the community and we just did a better job of communication, right around road closures,” Wilm said. “We also didn’t have nearly as much construction as we had in Year 1. Year 1 was 3.8 miles of re-paving. This year we (just) put up some lighting lures, patched up a few areas and put up some security . barriers.”

However, the locals were not only upset by the disruption to the roads. While the money generated last year was impressive, some critics have suggested that the impact was felt by a small minority rather than society as a whole. Wilm countered this proposal by saying that $22 million of the tax generated last year has been redirected back into the local school system.

“We’ve seen such a turnaround in local sentiment,” added Wilm. “I think when you really look at the numbers, and then take away the negative vibe, it’s definitely hit home with the locals that we’re creative. We’re here to stay. We’re here to be a part of the community and to give back both financially and in other qualitative ways.”

Creating an event that has a happy community at its center has become the driving force behind all future plans for the race.

“It has to work for everybody,” said Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “It has to work for the businesses, the sponsors of the race, the resort community, and it has to work for the community itself. This year, I think we’re much closer to that balance than we were last year. It was a great performance. last year and a great achievement to pull it off.”

And what about the final product? Most in F1 expect another great race, with the colder November temperatures creating a rare challenge for teams with their tyres.

Another bonus, ironically centered around Verstappen, is also tantalizingly close. The Dutchman can wrap up the title at the race if he finishes ahead of Lando Norris or avoids losing more than three points to him. The race has played several scenarios in case it happens to mark the occasion. Whether Verstappen will triumphantly manage another interpretation of Elvis Presley on Saturday night remains to be seen.