As we may all be aware, F1 is taking to the streets of Las Vegas this year with the Vegas GP. While it’s great that F1 are branching out to the American market more, I feel that there’s a missed opportunity here.
For one, the track layout is boring, you’re flat out drag racing for most of it with a few turns that on paper allow for overtaking but won’t. These issues compounded with the fact that we aren’t 100% certain it’ll be done in time are why I believe they missed on this one, but before I make a baseless argument allow me to provide solutions.
Solution 1: Pick a better city. While Vegas is great, there are other cities that have way more to offer. We saw NASCAR hold a race in Chicago which went extremely well, and cities like Los Angeles, Houston, and even Nashville all hold street course promise! Picking one of these cities will also give fans a more realistic grasp of the sport rather than hiding uncompetitive racing with flashy lights and a giant ball in the middle (no literally… look up the Vegas Sphere). Give the fans a product that actually produces!!
Solution 2: Return to Indy!! The Indy road course left a bad taste in the mouths of F1 in 2005 when the worst race on US soil took place, but the cars are far more advanced and capable than they were almost 20 years ago and if you need a market to reach, that’s the way to do it.
Solution 3: Stick with 2 US races. If you can’t reach the eyes of American motorsport fans with 2 US races than you’ve arguably done all you can do without physically forcing it down their throats. Vegas is a showpiece that is ultimately amounting to be a live action drive to survive episode, diehard American motorsport fans don’t care about it, and European motorsport fans wish it took place in London, so it is only appealing to the showtime crowd, bulldoze it and regroup your thoughts over the next season or two.
Now will F1 listen to any of these from a random sports writer from Boston, probably not, but will it be there to read in the event that the race is a failure? Absolutely! So with all of this being said, it’s a swing and a miss in my humble opinion but I will thoroughly enjoy being proven wrong. Thank you!