Formula One in Vegas: Another choice that puts finances over fans
By Ryan Brolly
In the penultimate round of the 2023 Formula One campaign we have been able to see in action a recurring flaw within the current climate of F1. Money.
Las Vegas’ first Formula One race in more than 40 years was always going to present teething problems, but the decision to have it take place in the increasingly popular ‘street circuit’ format has created a headache for the residents of Sin City. To create the vision set forth by Liberty Media the owners of Formula One some disruption was going to be present and it has materialised as you may expect. Extreme amounts of traffic throughout the city and pedestrian routes becoming narrow walkways, alongside this when the cars take to the track access to accommodation along the strip will be limited. This disruption has forced Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei to issue an apology with him trying to justify it citing the financial benefits to the local economy ‘We’re going to bring something like $1.7bn of revenue to the area. So it’s not just for the benefit of fans who want to view. We hope this is a great economic benefit in Las Vegas.’
Away from the unnecessary disruption the race weekend itself has been nothing short of farcical, the Friday Practice ended after eight minutes into the first session after Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz hit a loose drain cover seriously damaging his car which simply should not happen when half a billion dollars had been spent on setting up the track. Due to this damage stewards were forced to inspect each drain cover on the track and fans were asked to leave and were unable to return by the time the second practice session was due to begin at 2:30am local time without offering refunds on their $200 tickets showing how little the fans matter when decisions are being made by the FIA and Formula One.
This problem is a fatal flaw of modern day Formula One as we can often see they are eager to sign deals for the best financial reward possible, whether this be through becoming a vehicle for sportswashing in states with appalling human rights records that make it so women and LGBTQ+ fans of the sport are not 100% safe visiting the race. Or disrupting life for the people by opting to race on the narrow streets which make for a less than entertaining product as racing becomes so difficult and dangerous which it would not be on a traditional race track, Formula One need to re-evaluate where they stand as it is now beginning to simply be a cash grab capitalising on the wave of popularity afforded to them by an exceptional marketing team and the creation of the behind the scenes documentary series ‘Drive to Survive’
Ryan Brolly is a History and International Relations student at Queens University Belfast and Sport Editor at The Scoop