Greedy return to Las Vegas
Formula 1 relies on disturbing entertainment spectacle
November 16, 2023, 8:48 p.m
“What happens here, only happens here”: The motto emphasizes how unique Las Vegas wants to be. This fits in with Formula 1, which is offering its first spectacle in the gambling mecca with its opening party. Much more is to come. Not everyone involved in the show is enthusiastic about it.
In Las Vegas, Superman is homeless. The man with the threadbare superhero costume crouches at a shopping center not far from the luxury Wynn Hotel on one of the temporary bridges that span the temporary Formula 1 circuit so that the flow of tourists can circulate. If it weren’t for the privacy screen on the steel structure, Superman could look down on the track of the billion-dollar racing series that has drilled its way into the legendary Las Vegas Strip.
The poor at the top, the rich at the bottom. A snapshot. Las Vegas is bizarre, as Formula 1 makes clear, as it is pursuing one of the most important projects in its history in the US mecca of gambling with all its commitment.
You can imagine Max Verstappen as an unhappy world champion.
(Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AP)
“If you consider the speeds the cars will reach and against the backdrop of the nightlife in Las Vegas – there will be no comparable spectacle in the world,” announced the chief organizer of the penultimate race of the season, Renee Wilm, in the best marketing speak. Higher, faster, further also means: more, more, more.
Five million dollars for luxury package
The opening party in the drizzle delivered what the tens of thousands of spectators in the stands liked. Kylie Minogue, John Legend and the band Thirty Seconds to Mars provided the sound carpet, a light show with drones illuminated the impressive night backdrop and the drivers around Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who has long been established as world champion, were presented on the start-finish straight.
If you want to be here, you have to pay. The cheapest ticket for the show on the Strip on Saturday at 10 p.m. local time, which is unusual for European Formula 1 fans, is not less than $700. The most expensive package is available for five million dollars – but the promise is that you can feel like an emperor.
Jared Leto was of course there too.
(Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AP)
It is the so-called Emperor Package. In return, you and your entourage receive five nights in the Nobu Sky Villa, which is located right next to Caesars Palace, in whose parking lot Formula 1 produced two Las Vegas flops in 1981 and 1982.
From the more than 400 square meter terrace of this roof villa you have an excellent view of the motorsport premier class roundabout below. Meanwhile, multi-Michelin-starred chef and hotelier Nobu Matsuhisa prepares an exclusive dinner for twelve people. If you actually want to leave the luxury hostel, you can do so in a Rolls-Royce with a chauffeur. There are also twelve VIP tickets for the Grand Prix in the Nevada desert.
Las Vegas is the Mount Everest of Formula 1
Do you get jealous or do you think it’s crazy? Both are possible. “Tell me, whoever buys this VIP package, I want to marry them,” says Chelsea sarcastically, who lives in Las Vegas with two children and a husband and whose reality couldn’t be further away from a VIP package. “Isn’t it great that you can work your way up to the point where you can eventually buy a leisure experience for millions of dollars?” says Tracy, who moved to Nevada from California because of the lower taxes, and would share his question Answer yes. The American spirit comes through.
Elvis Presley was there several times.
(Photo: picture alliance / ANP)
Las Vegas is constantly competing to win visitors. If one hotel entertains its guests with the Blue Man Group, another does with Cirque du Soleil. In a city where stars are part of the inventory, you have to offer more than the competition. Formula 1 has invested half a billion dollars in its new location because the US market promises so much money.
“It’s a Mount Everest that needs to be climbed,” said Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff about the prestigious project from Formula 1 rights holder Liberty Media, especially since the city of Las Vegas is “very complex” in its requirements. “It will be difficult not to stick with Formula 1 after Las Vegas,” speculated the CEO of Liberty Media, Greg Maffei. “It will be loud and we will get a lot of attention.”
The world champion is just annoyed
You also break with traditions when a Grand Prix is held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday. The organizers still try to create the illusion of local peculiarities. A wedding chapel in the paddock is a reminder of Nevada’s history as a US state where marriages have been possible quickly and easily since the 1930s. Till death do them part, or: love in the fast lane.
Formula 1 is dressing up for this. Teams like the former world champion racing team Mercedes call their headquarters, where they entertain selected guests, the “Vegas Club”. The large neon circus has its own entertainment units with live music, DJ sets and gourmet cuisine on three floors. They want to capture “the essence of Sin City”.
You don’t have to like that. He had “zero interest” in the combination “99 percent show, 1 percent sporting event,” said world champion Verstappen after the opening party. “I always just want to focus on the performance. I don’t like all that stuff.” It sounded like an attempt to escape from the force of the entertainment industry. That also exists in fun-loving Las Vegas.