The stars are out in force at the Las Vegas Grand Prix: David Beckham is coming to the track along with a number of famous names for the race on Saturday evening.
Beckham hosted a race night party with Shaquille O’Neal and the two arrived in Vegas together about three hours before the race began.
The Inter Miami co-owner and Manchester United soccer legend was there with his son Cruz – the two also posed for photos together ahead of their Sports Illustrated party.
Usain Bolt, the fastest man on two legs, was also pictured arriving in Las Vegas for the penultimate race of the season.
Gordon Ramsay – a big Formula 1 fan – also arrived at the racetrack early and some well-known influencers were also there.
David Beckham and Shaquille O’Neal pose before their race night party in Las Vegas
Beckham brought his son Cruz to Vegas and they got a father-son photo
The influencers Veronika Rajek (left) and Alix Earle (right) were also on their way to the track for the race
Usain Bolt, the fastest man on two legs, was also in Vegas on Saturday to watch the race
There was even former LA Galaxy and AC Milan soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attendance to greet O’Neal.
Veronika Rajek left little to the imagination in her purple outfit that defied the chilly 52 Fahrenheit temperatures around the track in the hours before the start.
Alix Earle, the TikTok star who is dating NFL and Miami Dolphins player Braxton Berrios, also shared pictures from the track.
Race organizers’ expectations for Sin City were enormous after a difficult few days leading up to the showpiece event.
The first practice session was interrupted by a loose drain cover on the track and the spectacle ended after just eight minutes when Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was damaged.
Charles Leclerc, Sainz’s Ferrari teammate, will start the race in pole position on Saturday evening.
Given the concerns about race week, ticket sales were also disappointing.
Sales in the secondary ticket market for Saturday night’s Las Vegas Grand Prix were booming, but tickets for the Formula One race earlier in the afternoon were plentiful on Ticketmaster’s website.
Race CEO Renee Wilm promised at Formula One Group’s November 3 earnings call that “we will be sold out by the time the event happens.” Unless there is an eleventh-hour surge, the race will not meet that forecast.
Shaquille O’Neal hugs Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the grid before the start of the race
O’Neal poses for a photo with Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner (right)
Beckham, Shaq and Jamie Salter – a Canadian billionaire and businessman – pose for a photo
The 27-year-old model and influencer Rajek defied the cool temperatures with her outfit
Gordon Ramsay and his daughter Holly pictured arriving at the race track on the Las Vegas Strip
The LVGP, which has struggled in its first year with a series of problems on and off the track that have dampened the enthusiasm of race fans, Las Vegas residents and even drivers, wasted no time in offering tickets for next year for sale. Starting Saturday, fans can make a deposit starting at $250 for the race, which takes place Nov. 21-23, 2024.
When tickets for Saturday’s race first went on sale about a year ago, the cheapest price was $500. Nevada residents were later offered a limited number of tickets starting at $200.
While there were some missteps, the increase in ticket sales on the secondary market also shows a lot of interest in Saturday night’s race.
Gametime reported early Saturday afternoon that the cheapest ticket was $1,387, which was the cost of a three-day pass offered Wednesday. The high-end three-day ticket was $4,613 on Wednesday and on Saturday the top single-day ticket was $10,635. Gametime later reported that the lowest-priced ticket price had increased again, this time to $1,613.
TickPick saw a similar increase. The cheapest ticket rose from $771 on Monday to $980 on Friday to $1,128 on Saturday afternoon.
Betting on this race was strong from the start, with BetMGM and Caesars Entertainment predicting record-breaking returns for a motorsports race. Attempts to find out Saturday whether those expectations were met were unsuccessful, but if the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas is anything to go by, then it’s a big weekend for these sportsbooks.
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX
Red Bull superstar Max Verstappen survived a collision and a five-second penalty to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Verstappen was penalized five seconds after pushing Charles Leclerc off the track in the first corner. The Dutchman also damaged his front wing in a collision with Mercedes driver George Russell.
However, that didn’t stop Verstappen from securing a record-breaking 18th win of the season and 53rd career win, equaling Sebastian Vettel’s record and moving into third place on the all-time F1 winners list.
But how did the action go? Well, Verstappen started second on the grid and wasted no time or energy pushing pole man Leclerc to the point where the Ferrari driver was almost at the Harbor Island Apartments on the outside of the left-hander.
Verstappen refused to admit his mistake and argued over the radio that he was ahead. He was. But as we said, it was hardly a legitimate argument this far off the track. He was given a five-second penalty. “Yes,” he said sarcastically to the stewards. ‘That’s fine. Send them my greetings.’
Before the usual conclusion, Verstappen had a collision with Russell in Turn 12 – the corner leading to Las Vegas Boulevard. This is where most overtaking events occurred.
Russell was to blame as Verstappen pushed his demands inwards with his usual enthusiasm, a brilliant performance. Russell didn’t seem to notice that the Red Bull had flown towards him like a rocket and was right next to him. He turned around.
This resulted in minor, but not major, damage to both cars. The safety car came out and they pitted. The stewards gave Russell a penalty.
Verstappen now had the bit between his teeth. He’s a rider with a short touch paper and you could feel the fireworks popping inside him. He overtook his teammate Sergio Perez and eventually finished third, and then came the killer move against Leclerc.