After 41 years, Formula 1 is finally making a return to Las Vegas in what will be a far cry from the 1982 Grand Prix, in which drivers struggled to race around a 14-turn, counter-clockwise circuit in the Caesar’s Palace car park. Instead, this year’s race will take place on the iconic Las Vegas strip, promising to be a race to remember.
The announcement of this race coincides with a big push from F1 management to boost their presence in the United States after the success of Netflix’s Drive to Survive in the country, and according to chief executive Greg Maffei, F1 is targeting $500 million in revenue from this race alone. This race will be the third to have taken place in the US this year, demonstrating Formula 1’s clear intention to engage their new audience.
However, despite this intention to provide more races for their American viewers, it is clear that there needs to be a connection between Las Vegas GP organisers and the local community in the build-up to the Grand Prix. One clear example of this was the use of the term “paddock building” during the construction of the track.
In Formula 1, the paddock is used to refer to the area where the teams are based over the weekend, taking its name from horse racing. However, this name is a sensitive topic for many residents. In 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on people at a Las Vegas festival, killing 60 people and injuring 867 others. Responding to an article on casino.org about the new building, one commenter wrote, “They cannot name it the Paddock building. Doing so would be completely insensitive, disrespectful, and tone-deaf.” Formula 1 has since announced that the term paddock will be replaced temporarily by the name ‘pit building’ throughout the race weekend, but this particular instance exemplifies the importance of communicating and addressing the concerns of local residents prior to the start of construction.
Although Formula 1 will, without a doubt, contribute to the economy of the city over the course of the weekend, it is service workers who have been and will continue to be disproportionately affected by the problems concerning the race. As the Grand Prix will be taking place on the streets of Vegas, there have been significant road closures. “I work on the strip, and it has been very aggravating trying to get to work the last half year,” the local told GP Fans, “random, unannounced road closures have been horrible and just show how little they care about workers.”
Despite this major disruption to the lives of many workers, the race will be almost impossible to view if you have not bought a ticket. Film and barriers have been placed on the pedestrian bridge between the Wynn Las Vega and the Venetian to block the view of the racetrack. In a statement to FOX5, F1 officials stated that “the safety scrims and barriers, once completely installed and secured, will play an important role in ensuring a safe event for drivers and pedestrians alike”. The film, which was put in place by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department with the aim of stopping congestion on the bridge, has largely been peeled off in what is likely a protest against the implementation of these view obstructions.
The divide between residents and the Grand Prix organisers is clear, and it can only be hoped that Formula 1, as they have done with the renaming of the pit building, will listen to the community and their feedback for future races. What is clear, though, is that Formula 1 needs to engage with the communities within which it races if it wants to not only retain its audience but also increase local interest in the sport.
“Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” by mkoukoullis is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.