Las Vegas GP date leaked, F1 race could be paired with Abu Dhabi

F1 pulled off a major coup earlier this year by getting all the agreements and permissions necessary to use the Las Vegas city streets and run its cars past some of the city’s major casinos.

A letter of intent from Liberty Dice, a new entity created by the championship’s owner Liberty Media, lays out the terms of the five-year deal for the F1 race on a track that includes a section on Vegas’s world-famous ‘Strip’.

The 17-page letter was posted on social media, and its veracity has been substantiated by Adam Stern at Sports Business Journal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the government agency that markets events in the city.

The letter is dated 28 March, two days before the event was formally announced – when no precise race date was given beyond “November 2023” – and its contents are subject to change.

It reveals the planned inaugural race date next year of 18 November, a week before America’s Thanksgiving weekend, and that the contract runs through to 2027.

That opens the door to it being a regular penultimate round of the season, with F1 wishing to end its schedule on the final weekend of November in Abu Dhabi.

Las Vegas track map

Photo by: Liberty Media

The letter commits to keeping this same weekend slot for the five-year duration, and the schedule for the night race will be planned so that track activity will end no later than 1:30am local time each day.

The document also lays out the commercial terms of the event, as well as the groundwork for the temporary street circuit’s construction and maintenance. It includes guidelines for a requirement of 900 marshals, 1200 fire extinguishers, 15 cranes and 18 ambulances and tow trucks.

It does not cover the plans for the permanent pit and race control facility, which Liberty CEO Greg Maffei revealed in May would be built on a plot of nearby land in central Vegas purchased for $240 million.

Maffei said: “Notably and differently than most places, F1 and Liberty Media are self-promoting the race in partnership with local stakeholders and Live Nation.

“The build out for this track will require increased CapEx and OpEx to develop. I would note that Liberty Media did enter an agreement to acquire 39 acres east of the strip to lock in circuit design and create capacity for the pit and paddock, among other hospitality and race support venues.”