Follow all the build-up, analysis and latest news ahead of Formula One's first Grand Prix in Las Vegas, Nevada since 1982

Patrick Iversen, Alex Davies and more

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F1 Las Vegas GP — times, track info and how to watch

• Timings: Opening ceremony 7:30pm PT Wednesday/10:30pm ET Wednesday/3:30am GMT Thursday morning in the UK; Qualifying: 12am (midnight) PT Saturday/3am ET/8am GMT; Race: 10pm PT Saturday/1am ET Sunday and 6am GMT Sunday.
• Track: Las Vegas Strip Circuit, 50 laps around the 6.201 km/3.853 mile course.
• Why is the race at night?
• How to watch: Tune in via Sky Sports F1 in the UK or ESPN in the US, with Channel 4 offering a highlights package in the UK.
• Subscribe to The Athletic using our latest offer here.

F1’s coldest race ever?

Formula One has invested over half a billion dollars in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, its newest, shiniest race it hopes will be a calendar highlight for decades.

Yet around the glitz and glamor of holding an event in one of the world’s most vibrant entertainment cities, there is still a race to run that holds the same value as any other: 25 points and a trophy for the winner.

The drivers will go through their usual preparations. They’ll complete laps in the simulator to learn the new circuit incorporating the Vegas landmarks. They’ll anticipate the car setup requirements for the street track. They’ll even adjust their sleep schedule for the 10 p.m. PT start time.

But the late lights-out time is also set to impact one of F1’s biggest variables, and thus the nature of the race: the performance of the tires.

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So what about this opening ceremony?

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You think you've seen it all? Wait until you see this opening ceremony.

All 20 drivers will be in attendance, plus loads of iconic names from the music world, including John Legend, Journey, Keith Urban, Steve Aoki, Swedish House Mafia, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Tiesto, will.i.am, and others.

The Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil will also perform, in front of an expected crowd of around 30,000, with a display of 1,000 lights, 100 lasers and fireworks set to illuminate the Nevada skies.

Pretty cool.

F1 Brazil GP driver rankings

Interlagos has a reputation for delivering drama and surprises when Formula One makes its annual visit to Brazil. The past weekend was no exception.

Through challenging conditions and a race of attrition, it was easy to slip up at Interlagos. Yes, Max Verstappen won again — that’s 17 for the year if you’re losing count — but a number of drivers who have gone quiet in recent months issued reminders of their class.

The apocalyptic skies at the end of qualifying made it a challenge just to stay on-track as the wind and rain rolled in, while tire wear and degradation proved a challenge for everyone in both the sprint and the grand prix.

Here’s our top 10 for the Brazil’s Sāo Paulo Grand Prix.

F1 Brazil GP takeaways

The São Paulo Grand Prix held promise after an action-packed sprint. But after hectic formation and opening laps that knocked out three drivers and knocked the two Australians a lap down, the race turned rather quiet.

The battles for second, fourth and seventh in the constructor standings tightened with two grands prix to go. Formula One is headed into a well-deserved non-race week before flying over to the U.S. for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

But before we set our sights on the Strip, here are our takeaways from the São Paulo Grand Prix.

Looking back: How Alonso outfoxed Perez in Brazil

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“What a drive, what a drive! World champion drive!”

Fernando Alonso has produced world champion-worthy drives at Brazil before – literally. Both his Formula One titles, in 2005 and 2006, were clinched with podium finishes at Interlagos.

But the passion in the voice of Mikey Brown, Alonso’s number one mechanic, as he embraced the Spaniard in parc fermé made clear just how much third place meant, even if it wasn’t worth a world title.

The fashion in which Alonso outdueled Sergio Pérez and his vastly faster Red Bull in the closing stages, defending valiantly, losing the place and then repassing the Red Bull on the last lap, was a reminder of Alonso’s enduring class and ability.

Las Vegas GP history

This is not the first time there's an F1 race in Las Vegas. But it is the first time for a while.

Last time Sin City hosted the sport was the 1982 Caesar's Palace Grand Prix, the 16th and final race of that year's championship, won by Tyrrell-Ford driver Michele Alboreto. It was a short track, essentially in the car park of the Caesar's Palace Hotel and Casino.

Keke Rosberg, father of future champion Nico, came fifth in his Williams-Ford to take the drivers' title. Also driving that day: Alain Prost, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. Decent company, eh?

Las Vegas also hosted the race for the first time ever the previous year, in 1981.

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Starting at 10pm: Compromise with a touch of irony

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When Formula One makes its long-awaited Las Vegas debut this weekend, it promises some of the most spectacular images in all of sport.

The sight of 20 cars racing down the Strip, illuminated by the floodlights over the track and the neon signs against the night sky, sparks flying at speeds of more than 200 mph, is the sort of glamor F1 has dreamed of.

This will not be F1’s first night race.

But with the five red lights scheduled to go out at 10 p.m. on Saturday night, the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix will set a record for the latest start time in F1 history — creating a challenge for the paddock and a conundrum for many of the American fans whose passion got the race off the ground.

Why is the race at night?

It's a good question. Basically, to get the full 'Las Vegas' experience it will be under the specially erected floodlights. It's the latest Grand Prix ever, starting at 10pm local time, and the first time drivers will go beyond midnight, as they will in P2 and qualifying.

Evening temperatures this weekend are likely to be as low as 10-13 degrees Celsius, which is chilly. And I'm from England. That will likely pose a problem for drivers in warming up their tires.

The coldest ever Grand Prix race? That was Canada, back in 1978. A cool five degrees Celsius.

Why F1’s first Las Vegas GP was an utter failure

When Formula One announced in the spring of 2022 that it would stage a race in Las Vegas, it made too much sense not to happen. The city’s glitzy, entertainment-focused nature perfectly fits the sport. All the key players were invested not just in 2023 but in giving it a permanent place on the calendar.

So, the F1-Las Vegas union can’t fail, right?

It can, actually. We know that because it has failed before — and somewhat spectacularly. All one has to do is look back to 1981 and 1982 to understand why this bet doesn’t offer a guaranteed payout.

My Las Vegas GP journey: From Netflix to trackside

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Growing up in Illinois watching the typical American sports like football and baseball, I knew very little about F1 for the first 25 years of my life. Like many Americans, though, what attracted me to the sport was the Netflix series “Drive to Survive.”

When F1 became one of the first sports to return during the pandemic in July 2020, I started watching every qualifying and every race, either tuning in live or streaming later.

Max Verstappen ultimately won Sunday’s race, but a late safety car provided some drama and helped Carlos Sainz push the Red Bull driver to the finish. I went home thrilled by what I had seen but even more excited about what was coming next for the sport.

And in March 2022, when F1 announced the introduction of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, I immediately knew it would be the second race I would attend.

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Preview: F1's biggest spectacle

Coming up in five minutes is a superb article from my brilliant colleague Michael Dominski.

Please do yourself a favour and read it.

F1 apologises to Las Vegas for disruption this week

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The Formula One circus has completely taken over Las Vegas for this week’s Grand Prix which, while exciting for race fans, has caused something of a nuisance to those who live and work in the area.

And the CEO of Liberty Media, who own Formula One, apologized to local residents ahead of this week’s event for the disruption they face.

Greg Maffei told FOX: "I want to apologize to all the Las Vegas residents and we appreciate that they have their forbearance and their willingness to tolerate us.

“We’re going to bring something like $1.7 billion of revenue to the area, so it’s not just for the benefit of fans who want to view the race.

“We hope this is a great economic benefit in Las Vegas. We hope this is the most difficult year with all the construction that went on and things will be easier in the future.”

Locals have complained about the daily disruptions caused by construction of the 3.85-mile (6.2 kilometer) street circuit, which utilizes a large portion of the famous Las Vegas Strip.

Current standings: Constructors' Championship

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1. Red Bull 782
2. Mercedes 382
3. Ferrari 362
4. McLaren 282
5. Aston Martin 261
6. Alpine 108
7. Williams 28
8. AlphaTauri 21
9. Alfa Romeo 16
10. Haas 12

How to watch: Las Vegas GP

You can tune in to the action, alongside this live blog, via the below channels.

US: ESPN.

UK: Sky Sports F1 (live), Channel 4 (highlights).

Current standings: Drivers' Championship

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 524
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 258
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 226
4. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 198
5. Lando Norris (McLaren) 195
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 192
7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 170
8. George Russell (Mercedes) 156
9. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 87
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 63
11. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 62
12. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) 46
13. Alex Albon (Williams) 27
14. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) 13
15. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) 10
16. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) 9
17. Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri) 6
18. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) 6
19. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 3
20. Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri) 2
21. Logan Sargeant (Williams) 1
22. Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) 0

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How construction has affected local community

F1 is hard to miss for anyone in Las Vegas at the moment. Lighting trusses extend more than one mile down the west side of the Strip, major side roads are being bisected by racetrack fencing, and grandstands are going up in front of iconic attractions like the Bellagio Fountains and Mirage Volcano (partially atop the water).

F1 signage is everywhere, and it all serves as a giant promotion for what’s to come.

“This is F1 right here!” a man said to his group of friends said, as he emerged from Harrah’s and pointed to the trusses on the other side of the street.

Further down the Strip, outside the Cosmopolitan, a man looked at the fresh asphalt laid down on the southbound lanes of Las Vegas Blvd. and said to his group: “If I can find tickets for November, do you guys wanna go?”

Our venue this weekend

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The track hosting the F1 drivers and teams this weekend is the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.

It is a brand new, purpose-built street track comprising some of the famous Las Vegas Strip (hence the name).

There will be 50 laps around the 6.201 km/3.853 mile circuit.

It's a hell of a place to host the fastest show on Earth.

What's the schedule for this weekend?

Great question.

• The opening ceremony (think glitz, glamor, glitterati) is at 7:30pm PT Wednesday/10:30pm ET Wednesday in the US and 3:30am GMT in the early hours of Thursday morning for those of you following in the UK.
• Qualifying starts on Saturday at 3am ET/12am (midnight) PT, which is 8am GMT.
• The race itself begins at 10pm PT on Saturday night local time. Which is 1am ET and 6am GMT.

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