Las Vegas loves a show, so in the week that Formula One descends on the city an unholy mash-up of golf and F1 was sport as entertainment writ large and with the emphasis on entertainment.
The streaming platform Netflix staged an unlikely tournament – “So, we have the F1 series and the golf series, right? Well how about we put the two together in our first ever live sport broadcast” is perhaps how the pitch went – at the golf course at the Wynn casino overlooking the circuit where the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be held on Saturday.
Netflix has done gangbusters from its F1 series Drive to Survive and the sport has equally benefited from the exposure, particularly in the US. Its golf series Full Swing has also been well received, not least among the young generation of F1 drivers who enjoy nothing more than taking to the fairways and greens when released from their team commitments. This was a chance to tie up the talent of the two disciplines.
Playing two four-ball matches, Alex Albon and Max Homa went up again against Pierre Gasly and Tony Finau, while Lando Norris and Rickie Fowler took on Carlos Sainz and Justin Thomas. They would play eight holes, with the two winning pairings then going head to head for the Netflix Cup (literally, a big cup with “Netflix” written on it) in a closest-to-the-pin shoot-off.
All four of the drivers have made clear their love of playing golf. Norris and Sainz will happily change the subject to golf when given half the chance.
When asked if he might like to return the favour and have a pop in an F1 car Finau, who was one of the stars of Full Swing, said with a grin:“Our sport is way less dangerous. You make a mistake driving a car, you might not survive.” Thomas said: “We might just get a big blister.”
They duly struck their first shots and, aficionados of the Royal & Ancient should look away now, then leapt into golf karts to race each other on a track painted on the fairway to the green. It all had an air of Wacky Races until Finau rinsed a 15-footer to win it while all the others putted around him.
More typical play resumed for the remaining holes and it was noticeable how the fiercely competitive F1 drivers really were giving it their all. Including at the 5th, a 150-yard par-three. With added Squid Game. The series’ iconic doll was there on the tee, flanked by a phalanx of the show’s pink-clad guards with batons.
The players faced a penalty should the doll’s head turn to face them before they hit their shots. Norris had to try several times and Gasly topped his shot straight into the lake. It was more entertaining than any F1 sprint race this season and would make a welcome replacement for the format.
In the background the entertainment venue the Sphere displayed giant likenesses of the players: “Team Lando Norris and Rickie Fowler”, digital colossi looming over their puny human equivalents. Hip hop thudded away in the background from a bar with DJ set up at the 4th tee. Marshawn Lynch, the former NFL running back, was seemingly everywhere, hosting, interviewing and hamming it up for the crowd.
Then as the sun set and floodlights lit the final hole for the playoff between Sainz and Thomas and Gasly and Finau, they rolled a pair of giant dice down the hill to decide who would shoot first. It’s not going to catch on at the Open but it made perfect sense in Las Vegas.
Thomas came out on top to share a champagne moment with partner Sainz. No one really cared, it was never about the result but perhaps something more. It is hard not to believe that there will now be some golf fans watching F1 for the first time this weekend and some F1 fans who might in future consider golf more than a good walk spoiled.
