F1 last night announced that there will be three Formula One Grand Prix in the United States on the 2023 calendar, with the arrival of the Las Vegas GP at night in November.
Nevada will return to Formula One, 41 years after the much maligned original race in a hotel car park. The Las Vegas Grand Prix will join the F1 calendar in 2023, having previously hosted events in 1981 and 1982.
“The race will take place at night on a Saturday in November on the famous Las Vegas Strip, passing some of the world’s most legendary landmarks, hotels and casinos,” Formula 1, the championship promoter, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Further evidence of F1’s growing popularity in the land of IndyCar and Nascar is that this will be the latest F1 race to be held in the United States, following the GP in Austin, Texas, which has been run since 2012 and is scheduled to run until at least 2026, and the Miami GP in Florida, which will be run for the first time on May 8th.
“This is an incredible moment for Formula One and demonstrates the huge appeal and growth of our sport with a third race in the United States. Las Vegas is a destination known around the world for its excitement, hospitality, thrills, and of course, the famous Strip,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali was quoted in the release as saying.
The 6.12km long circuit will have 14 corners and three straights, with top speeds estimated at more than 342km/h, according to organisers.
The announcement of the race comes at a time when the 2022 season calendar already includes a record 23 Grands Prix. While several of the races contested this year are not yet guaranteed to be on the calendar next year – notably the French GP – Stefano Domenicali had assured earlier in March that there is “potential to go up to 24” Grands Prix in a season.
With growing interest from local organisers to host F1, Domenicali even assured Sky Sports in an interview that “there is potential to go up to 30” races. However, the Concorde Agreement governing F1’s governance and revenue distribution currently limits the number of races per season to 24.
