What Makes the Las Vegas Grand Prix Different? It’s More Than the Lights on the Strip. Here Are Five Reasons.

I love a night race, especially when the cars look as good as they did in Singapore. Mind you, Saturday night in Las Vegas means a 4am Sunday start for me here in England, so what makes this Grand Prix worth the alarm? The Strip gives us a proper fight for position, the city has a stranger F1 history than I realised, and even after the podium there’s a good reason to stick around. So before we get to race weekend, here are five things that make Vegas a bit special for me.

1. The best view in Vegas is also a very good place to overtake

My favourite shot is the one looking down the Strip at night. You can see the Bellagio, the lights bouncing off the cars and, if we’re lucky, two drivers getting closer and closer before they have to brake for Turn 14. They’ve had nearly two kilometres to line up that move. I start off admiring how beautiful the cars look and end up shouting, “Go on, George!” at the same bit of television. That’s a decent straight, that is.

2. F1’s first Vegas circuit was in a hotel car park

Looking at the Strip today, you’d think F1 came to Vegas specifically for that view. Then you find out where they put the original circuit. In 1981 and 1982, the Caesars Palace Grand Prix took place in the hotel’s car park. Both races were season finales, and both decided the drivers’ championship. Imagine asking someone where they saw an F1 world champion crowned and getting “round the back of Caesars Palace” as a completely serious answer.

3. Second-Longest Circuit

From the Caesars Palace car park to the second-longest circuit on the 2026 calendar. Vegas has come a long way, hasn’t it? A lap here is 6.201 km, with 17 corners and a run of nearly two kilometres down the Strip where the cars can reach around 350 km/h. Over 50 laps, that’s just under 310 km of racing.

My favourite number, though, is 1:33.365. That’s the lap record Sir Max set in 2025. And when did he decide to do his fastest lap? On lap 50, when he was already winning.

4. Every race on the Strip has gone to George or Sir Max

I cheer for George Russell and Sir Max, so Vegas has been good to me. Max won the first race on the Strip in 2023 and won again in 2025, but it’s the race in between I’d happily watch again. In 2024, George started on pole and won, with Lewis Hamilton coming through to finish second for Mercedes. Max finished fifth, which is usually where I’d start telling you how much I wanted him on the podium. That night, fifth was enough to make him world champion for the fourth time. George got the race win, Max got the title and, for once, I had absolutely nothing to complain about.

5. In Vegas, the podium isn’t the end of the evening

This year, fans get the drivers’ parade, 50 laps under the lights and then The Backstreet Boys at the Sphere for the official afterparty. By the way Backstreet Boys is still my favorite band. That’s what I love about the whole star-studded weekend. You could go with someone who knows absolutely nothing about F1 and still end up arguing over which of you got the better ticket. Meanwhile, back in England, my big decision after the podium will be whether to make breakfast or go back to bed.

The one thing I’m still waiting for is a special Vegas livery. No team has sent me anything official about one yet, but my gut says somebody will bring something. After Audi’s blue shimmer in Singapore and that dark São Paulo design, I’m curious to see who makes the most of those lights.

If George or Sir Max wins and the Backstreet Boys start singing, I owe my neighbours an apology. They didn’t set a 4am alarm. I did 🙂
aKi Malik