It’s Race Week. Don’t panic. The Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix is Saturday at 10 p.m., preceded by two nights of practice laps. For the first time, the weekend will also include a support race, Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, to take greater advantage of a 3.8-mile track on Las Vegas Boulevard and other city streets.
If you can survive the road closures and traffic delays — which admittedly were much worse the first time we tried this last year — you might be able to actually have fun and enjoy yourself over the next few days.
🏎️ Watching the Race in Person
Choosing your F1 experience really comes down to how much you want to spend. At the moment, general admission bleacher tickets remain for Thursday ($99+) and Friday ($300+) in the South Koval Zone across from the Pit Building. Not a bad deal with food and soft drinks included. A three-day Caesars Palace Experience ($638+) doesn’t have the food priced in, but you get a prime view of the straightaway on Las Vegas Boulevard.
Grandstands provide nicer seats and — yes, they’re assigned — with food and soft drinks included. You can still get tickets at the T-Mobile Grandstands at Sphere ($250+) and the Heineken Silver Main Grandstand ($300+), which surrounds the Pit Building.
From there, prices jump dramatically for Hospitality Suites. Club Paris ($450+) is the most “economical” option, covering Cheri, Beer Park, and Alexxa’s with food, beer, and wine included.
🍸 Bars and Restaurants
Gilley's at Treasure Island, Sushi Roku at the Forum Shops at Caesars, Giada at the Cromwell, Ocean Prime at CityCenter, and the Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan all have viewing parties with views of the track. These options are more about the booze and food than watching the race like a hardcore fan.
Drive your own Go Kart at the Pit Stop (Resorts World)
🏁 More than the Grand Prix
Remember how everyone in Vegas loved the Super Bowl this year, but resented F1 last year? Well, some lessons have been learned from that. An official free F1 Fan Experience has already reached maximum capacity, but you can try visiting pop-up activations like The Pit Stop at Resorts World, Jack's Garage at the Park MGM, Shoey Bar at the Bellagio (where you can drink a cocktail out of a shoe, just like a winning racer 🍸), and F1-themed lobby exhibits at the Wynn, Venetian, New York-New York, Cosmopolitan, and Fontainebleau.
🍽️ Festivals and Food
As Circa CEO Derek Stevens revealed back in September, the inaugural Neon City Festival is designed to bring some attention and business to Downtown during F1 weekend. The three-day event is free and includes live performances by the likes of Neon Trees and the All-American Rejects on five stages throughout the Fremont Street area. The Arts District and Fremont East are getting in on the action with food trucks, art, pop-up shopping, and special deals. The Neon Museum, for example, is offering two-for-one admission throughout the weekend.
Resorts World is hosting Indulge ($149+), a food festival on the AYU pool deck and a pop-up brunch by Giselle Miami ($99+) at FUHU on Saturday.
This week brings a vast lineup of culinary experiences by MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment as well. As discussed in Monday’s events eblast for City Cast Las Vegas members, a few of them are reasonably priced (well, compared to last year) at $250 per person: the Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Dinner at Bugsy & Meyer’s on Thursday, an omakase dinner at Morimoto Thursday-Friday, brunch with Gordon Ramsay at Hell’s Kitchen Saturday, and Wagyu & Whiskey at Station Social Prime on Saturday.
🎧 Racing to the Finish Line
F1 is getting better, but it’s not perfect. Some businesses near the track continue to lose money and resort companies are seeing a drop in revenue from last year’s race. With that in mind, City Cast Las Vegas co-host Dayvid Figler spoke to marketing executive Nehme Abouzeid about the challenges that continue to face the Las Vegas Grand Prix, just two years into a decade-long commitment. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
