Las Vegas GP date leaked – and could stay in same spot for next five years

Sam Cooper

The drivers will be taking to the Las Vegas strip in November in what looks likely to be the penultimate race of the 2023 season.

Ever since the announcement of a third race in the States for 2023, the final question everyone has been asking is exactly when it will take place.

Well that question now appears to have been answered in a document between F1 owners Liberty Media and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which was leaked on Twitter.

The 17-page document is a letter of intent from Liberty Media and among the details discussed is the slated dates for the inaugural race in the City of Sin.

The race is slotted for November 18, a week before Thanksgiving, and would see it become the penultimate race in the F1 season.

The letter also confirms the date will remain the same and that the contract runs until 2027.

Some other details released include the logistics behind the event which will include 900 marshals, 15 cranes, 18 ambulances and tow trucks and 1,200 fire extinguishers.

Earlier this week, Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei announced their hopes that the $240 million (£198 million) plot of land they are using to build facilities such as the pit and paddock will be used all year round.

Leaked Las Vegas date flies in the face of Formula 1 chief’s promise

Having just travelled 7,549 km (4,690 miles) from Miami to Barcelona, the team bosses reportedly met with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali in regards to the schedule and the pressure it is putting on them.

The 57-year-old Italian reportedly agreed to introduce a region-based approach to the calendar but the leaked date for Las Vegas suggests Domenicali has not been true to his word.

Already this season, teams have travelled 67,163 km (41,733 miles) between races, not including returning to their factories, with a further 47,802 km (29,703 miles) to come in the second half of the campaign.

This comes against the backdrop of not only rising freight costs but also a greater focus on the sport and the impact it has on the environment.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has been most vocal on the issue saying that some of the logistics do not make sense.

“Some of the calendar this year when you look at the geographics of it, Azerbaijan to Montreal doesn’t [make sense].

“Going to Australia for a weekend is about as expensive as you could make it.

“Stefano is sympathetic to it but, of course, he has got many challenges with the different promotors to get a calendar that he wants.”

The calendar is broadly broke down into sections with an Asian leg preceding a Europe run and then it is off to the Americas. But it is the shoehorned races that are causing the issues.

This year, the team went from Italy to Miami and then back to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix. This was repeated later in the year when following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the teams then travelled to Montreal only to return to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.

The 2023 season features 23 races, the most in history, with the trip from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi adding a 13,188 km (8,195 miles) to the total and, with the calendar looking only likely to swell further, it seems these shoehorned races are here to stay.