The 2024 Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix will again take place under the lights of the Strip.
The FIA, F1’s governing body, released start times for all races on this year’s circuit revealing that no change has been made to what time the second Las Vegas Grand Prix would take place Nov. 23. The 10 p.m. start time is the same as the 2023 race.
Keeping the start time the same comes despite many of the drivers who participated in the inaugural race hoped the race would start earlier in 2024. The main reasoning behind a hopeful time change was the late night race after traveling through multiple time zones during a season drains drivers’ energy.
“I don’t know what they can do with track opening times, but if they do have flexibility, yes I think for everyone’s health and safety, bring it forward,” F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo said following the 2023 grand prix.
Race officials said 300,000 people attended the inaugural race weekend, leaving an economic impact of over $1 billion.
The 2024 grand prix weekend will take place Nov. 21-23 with practice and qualifying round times to be announced at a later date, the FIA noted.
Formula One and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have a three-year deal to host the race in Las Vegas. But all involved have interest in hosting the race far beyond the initial contract length.
Clark County and F1 entered into a 10-year partnership last year that would allow the race to occur over that time on a mix of public and private roads in and around the Strip, should the LVCVA and F1 strike a new contract following the 2025 grand prix.
Liberty Media, F1’s parent company, has invested $500 million in Las Vegas with the securing of land and constructing Grand Prix Plaza on the northeast corner of Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane. There a permanent three-story pit building was constructed where some of the highest-end hospitality areas on the track were located. The drivers’ garages, pit lane and the start/finish line for the race are also located in that area.
F1 plans to use the facility year round, recently hiring former Las Vegas City Manager Betsy Fretwell as the LVGP’s chief operating officer. Fretwell will be tasked with populating the event schedule for Grand Prix Plaza.
The first major non-race event to be held at Grand Prix Plaza is the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee’s media party, scheduled for Feb. 6. There the committee will host a party for thousands of media members who will be in Las Vegas to cover Super Bowl week.
