Grand Prix ComingBack To Sunny Las Vegas

The Las Vegas Grand Prix was a temporary street circuit race that took place in downtown Las Vegas from 1983 to 1984. The race was part of the Formula 1 World Championship in 1983 and was then changed to a non-championship race in 1984. The race was held on a 3.6-mile (5.8 km) street circuit and was popularly known as the “Caesars Palace Grand Prix” due to its location near the Caesars Palace hotel and casino.

The track layout was designed by Australian racing driver Chris Pook, who also designed the street circuits for the Long Beach Grand Prix and the Detroit Grand Prix. The track featured 14 turns and several long straightaways, as well as a tunnel that passed underneath Caesars Palace. The circuit was a challenging one for drivers due to its high-speed nature and tight corners.

The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix took place on September 25, 1983, and was won by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet, driving for the Brabham team. Piquet’s victory secured him his second Formula 1 World Championship. The 1983 race drew an estimated 100,000 spectators and was considered a success.

In 1984, the Las Vegas Grand Prix became a non-championship race, meaning that it did not count towards the Formula 1 World Championship. The race was held on October 13, 1984, and was won by Italian driver Teo Fabi, driving for the Brabham team. The 1984 race was marred by a serious accident involving French driver Philippe Streiff, who suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down.

Despite its popularity, the Las Vegas Grand Prix was discontinued after the 1984 race due to financial and logistical difficulties. The race was briefly revived as a CART IndyCar race in 1986, but was cancelled after just one year. Today, there are no major auto racing events held on public streets in Las Vegas, although the city does host several other motorsports events throughout the year.

Plans for The Future of Vegas F1?

In 2019, it was reported that the Formula 1 organization was in talks with Las Vegas officials about the possibility of hosting a Grand Prix race in the city. The proposed circuit would have been located near the Las Vegas Strip and would have required the construction of new infrastructure, including grandstands and barriers. However, the talks ultimately did not lead to a deal.

In addition to the Formula 1 proposal, there have been other efforts to bring a street race to Las Vegas. In 2018, a group called the Las Vegas Grand Prix Foundation announced plans to host a new street race in the city, but those plans have not yet materialized.

It’s worth noting that hosting a street race in Las Vegas would require significant investment and planning, as well as cooperation from local authorities and businesses. There are also logistical challenges to hosting a major motorsports event in a densely populated urban area. However, given the popularity of the previous Las Vegas Grand Prix and the city’s status as a major tourist destination, there may be interest in bringing a new street race to the city in the future.