When Formula One makes its long-awaited debut in Las Vegas next month, it promises some of the most spectacular visuals in all of sport.
The sight of 20 cars racing down the strip, lit by the floodlights above the track and the neon signs against the night sky, sparks flying at speeds of more than 200 miles per hour, is the kind of glamor that Formula 1 has dreamed of .
This will not be Formula 1’s first night race. But with the five red lights set to go off 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 – a challenge for the paddock and a conundrum for many American fans whose passion got the race rolling.
Why Las Vegas chose 10 p.m
A session in Las Vegas will start no earlier than 8:30 p.m. for FP1 on Thursday and FP3 on Friday. Both FP2 and qualifying start at midnight, meaning qualifying and the race technically start on the same day. Sunrise is just before 6:20 a.m. on race weekend, and at this point many in the paddock will start thinking about sleeping.
Start times are always chosen to accommodate as many interest groups and F1 fans as possible. For Las Vegas, the added task of turning a major thoroughfare into a race track and taking over one of the world’s entertainment capitals made finding the right balance particularly difficult.
Renee Wilm, CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, told The Athletic that the 10 p.m. start time was “a compromise after numerous discussions with all local stakeholders in Las Vegas.”
“We really tried to figure out what was a good time for the locals,” Wilm added. “We want to be a good neighbor in Las Vegas. We’re here to race for decades to come.”
Unlike other shows or sporting events that take place in stadiums or arenas, the LVGP requires that main streets be closed from around 5pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and reopened to traffic from 4am. (Monaco works in a similar way.)
Wilm felt that the planning of the Grand Prix fit in with other major events in Las Vegas. “If you think about some of the later shows or even boxing matches and other events, it’s common for a show to start later if you eat dinner first,” she said. “This is where everyone will enjoy our dinner on our route.”
For a city known for its nightlife, such a late start to the race fits with the Vegas vibe.
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How teams and drivers will adapt
The teams and drivers will probably have dinner much, much later. When all post-session debriefings are complete, the paddock staff will be out foraging in the middle of the night. The hardest workers probably tend to offer breakfast service in their hotels first.
For all night races, teams balance their schedules to accommodate the local time zone. The most extreme case is usually Singapore, where most flights operate at European times despite an eight-hour time difference. They are making similar adjustments for Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both of which start at 8:00 p.m. local time.
“It’s just strange,” said Williams driver Logan Sargeant. “They have a completely balanced sleep schedule, go to bed at 3 a.m. and sleep as long as possible. It’s a bit strange.
“We will go to bed very late and get up very late. You just have to do it because if you don’t you’re just going to be tired by qualifying and that’s not ideal.” Sargeant said his team had “placed a lot of emphasis on sleep issues this year,” which meant he had no concerns to find the right rhythm.
Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg agreed that it was “a similar case to Singapore” where “you just compensate for your day”, but jokingly suggested a bolder solution: “I never sleep. It’s overrated.”
What it means for the fans at home
Sleep might be overrated for die-hard F1 fans eager to watch one of the most hyped races in the sport’s recent history – especially those whose keen interest helped make a Las Vegas race possible in the first place.
According to Wilm, the decision to start the race at 10 p.m. was made with the “old F1 fans on the other side of the Atlantic” in mind. The race starts at 6am in the UK and 7am in Europe, making it comparable to waking up in Australia or Japan.
“We wanted to make sure they could get up with a cup of coffee and watch the race, just like we do here in America at the European races,” Wilm said.
“All of these concerns were largely addressed and we arrived at the 10pm start time as the best of the available options.”
But the 10 p.m. PT kickoff means a brutally late start for half of Americans living in the country’s Eastern time zone.
So there’s a certain irony in Las Vegas’ 10 p.m. start time: a large portion of the American fans, whose keen interest in Formula 1 helped make the race possible, will be in one of the worst time zones for it Watch races live.
In every respect, Las Vegas will be a race like we have never seen before in F1 history. No event has been as hyped or received as much raw investment or support from Formula 1, nor is anywhere else likely to be as visually spectacular.
The 10pm start time means Las Vegas will be a night race like no other – but from a time management perspective it could also be one of the most demanding events F1 teams and fans have ever faced.
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(Main Image: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Design: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic)