There is a huge buzz around F1 at the moment in America. The Vegas grandstands are up, the crowd has been partying to a live performance from Kylie Minogue, while colourful fireworks are popping ahead of a weekend like no other.
The 20 drivers were also presented to the Vegas crowd on Wednesday night as part of an opening ceremony, but it was not to everybody’s liking. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen said he felt like a “clown” as drivers were lifted onto huge platforms on the pit straight adding “it’s 99% show, and 1% sporting event”.
Vegas is going against the grain, and that can also be seen in the schedule. All 2023 grand prix weekends have taken place from Friday to Sunday, but not Vegas. Track time begins on Thursday with the race taking place on Saturday night, but why has F1 changed its schedule for the Las Vegas GP?
Why the Las Vegas Grand Prix is on Saturday
It is essentially a bid to get as many global viewers as possible due to the Vegas time zone. The city, which is in the western US state of Nevada, is eight hours behind the UK and nine behind central Europe.
If F1 kept to a traditional schedule with a race start time at 10pm on Sunday, it would be Monday morning in Europe with many citizens leaving for work and an underwhelming audience size would not be ideal. This way, by staging everything 24 hours earlier, more people should have the opportunity to watch.
But an argument to avoid that early start in Europe is to host the race at noon making it 8pm in the UK, however the Las Vegas GP was always going to be a night-time race.
F1 wanted it to be held during the city’s primetime, where the famous skyline is lit up for the huge occasion with cars racing down the iconic Strip. And if it were to be held just a few hours earlier, then it’s the middle of the night in Europe meaning more people would probably just watch it all on catch-up.
This is one event that F1 has been building up to for a very long time, and the weekend needs as many viewers as possible. CEO Stefano Domenicali said last year that the series must be flexible and such a start time makes watching the Las Vegas GP viable for everybody.
Las Vegas Grand Prix full schedule
Thursday 16 November/Friday 17 November
Las Vegas GP Free Practice 1: 8:30pm local time, 4:30am GMT
Las Vegas GP Free Practice 2: 12am local time, 8am GMT
Friday 17 November/Saturday 18 November
Las Vegas GP Free Practice 3: 8:30pm local time, 4:30am GMT
Las Vegas GP Qualifying: 12am local time, 8am GMT
Saturday 18 November/Sunday 19 November
Las Vegas GP: 10pm local time, 6am GMT
Is the Las Vegas Grand Prix the first F1 race not held on a Sunday?
In short, no. Vegas will become the 74th official F1 world championship race to not be held on a Sunday as every day of the week has actually hosted one.
It began with the 1950 British GP on a Saturday, and the race continued to be held on a Saturday every year until 1975. Back then, it was quite common for world championship races to not be run on Sunday, especially when the Indianapolis 500 was officially part of the championship between 1950 and 1960.
Traditionally the Indy 500 was on 30 May, regardless of the day of the week, but if that fell on a Sunday then cars would race around The Brickyard the next day. This meant the Indy 500 used to happen on different days each season with it on a Tuesday in 1950, before being held on all of the other days in subsequent years.
As seasons went by, though, it became more of the norm for F1 grands prix to be run on Sundays. Vegas will be the first one not on that day since the 1985 South African GP, held on a Saturday, which is another race that used to alternate its days. In 1968, for example, it was even held on New Years’ Day which was a Monday.
Meanwhile, although it is the inaugural Las Vegas GP F1 has actually visited the city before but the event was held under a different name. The Caesars Palace GPs took place in 1981 and 1982 which were also on Saturdays.
The introduction of sprint races in 2021 added extra complexity, especially when it came to the championship. In 2023, Verstappen sealed his third drivers’ world championship after the Qatar GP sprint race on a Saturday, which made him the first driver to win the title not on a Sunday since Nelson Piquet in 1987.
The Brazilian triple world champion clinched it after Friday qualifying at the season’s penultimate round in Japan, as Nigel Mansell crashed heavily which ruled him out for the rest of the weekend meaning he could no longer catch rival Piquet in the standings.
Despite Piquet’s three championships, not one of them was won on a Sunday. His maiden title (1981) was clinched in Vegas on a Saturday, while Piquet’s second (1983) came in South Africa also on a Saturday.
List of F1 World Championship races not held on a Sunday
*The list excludes sprint races
|
Race |
Race winner |
Day |
|
1950 British Grand Prix |
Giuseppe Farina |
Saturday |
|
1950 Indianpolis 500 |
Johnnie Parsons |
Tuesday |
|
1951 Indianapolis 500 |
Lee Wallard |
Wednesday |
|
1951 British Grand Prix |
Jose Froilan Gonzalez |
Saturday |
|
1952 Indianapolis 500 |
Troy Ruttman |
Friday |
|
1952 British Grand Prix |
Alberto Ascari |
Saturday |
|
1953 Indianpolis 500 |
Bill Vukovich |
Saturday |
|
1953 British Grand Prix |
Alberto Ascari |
Saturday |
|
1954 Indianapolis Grand Prix |
Bill Vukovich |
Monday |
|
1954 British Grand Prix |
Jose Froilan Gonzalez |
Saturday |
|
1955 Indianapolis 500 |
Bob Sweikert |
Monday |
|
1955 British Grand Prix |
Stirling Moss |
Saturday |
|
1956 Indianapolis 500 |
Pat Flaherty |
Wednesday |
|
1956 British Grand Prix |
Juan Manuel Fangio |
Saturday |
|
1957 Indianapolis 500 |
Sam Hanks |
Thursday |
|
1957 British Grand Prix |
Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss |
Saturday |
|
1958 Dutch Grand Prix |
Stirling Moss |
Monday |
|
1958 Indianapolis 500 |
Jimmy Bryan |
Friday |
|
1958 British Grand Prix |
Peter Collins |
Saturday |
|
1959 Indianapolis 500 |
Rodger Ward |
Saturday |
|
1959 British Grand Prix |
Jack Brabham |
Saturday |
|
1959 United States Grand Prix |
Bruce McLaren |
Saturday |
|
1960 Indianapolis 500 |
Jim Rathmann |
Monday |
|
1960 Dutch Grand Prix |
Jack Brabham |
Monday |
|
1960 British Grand Prix |
Jack Brabham |
Saturday |
|
1961 Dutch Grand Prix |
Wolfgang von Trips |
Monday |
|
1961 British Grand Prix |
Wolfgang von Trips |
Saturday |
|
1962 British Grand Prix |
Jim Clark |
Saturday |
|
1962 South African Grand Prix |
Graham Hill |
Saturday |
|
1963 British Grand Prix |
Jim Clark |
Saturday |
|
1963 South African Grand Prix |
Jim Clark |
Saturday |
|
1964 British Grand Prix |
Jim Clark |
Saturday |
|
1965 South African Grand Prix |
Jim Clark |
Friday |
|
1965 British Grand Prix |
Jim Clark |
Saturday |
|
1966 British Grand Prix |
Jack Brabham |
Saturday |
|
1967 South African Grand Prix |
Pedro Rodriguez |
Monday |
|
1967 British Grand Prix |
Jim Clark |
Saturday |
|
1968 South African Grand Prix |
Jim Clark |
Monday |
|
1968 British Grand Prix |
Jo Stiffert |
Saturday |
|
1969 South African Grand Prix |
Jackie Stewart |
Saturday |
|
1969 Dutch Grand Prix |
Jackie Stewart |
Saturday |
|
1969 British Grand Prix |
Jackie Stewart |
Saturday |
|
1969 Canadian Grand Prix |
Jacky Ickx |
Saturday |
|
1970 South African Grand Prix |
Jack Brabham |
Saturday |
|
1970 British Grand Prix |
Jochen Rindt |
Saturday |
|
1971 South African Grand Prix |
Mario Andretti |
Friday |
|
1971 British Grand Prix |
Jackie Stewart |
Saturday |
|
1972 South African Grand Prix |
Denny Hulme |
Saturday |
|
1972 Spanish Grand Prix |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
Monday |
|
1972 British Grand Prix |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
Saturday |
|
1973 South African Grand Prix |
Jackie Stewart |
Saturday |
|
1973 British Grand Prix |
Peter Revson |
Saturday |
|
1974 South African Grand Prix |
Carlos Reutemann |
Saturday |
|
1974 British Grand Prix |
Jody Scheckter |
Saturday |
|
1975 South African Grand Prix |
Jody Scheckter |
Saturday |
|
1975 British Grand Prix |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
Saturday |
|
1976 South African Grand Prix |
Niki Lauda |
Saturday |
|
1977 South African Grand Prix |
Niki Lauda |
Saturday |
|
1977 British Grand Prix |
James Hunt |
Saturday |
|
1978 South African Grand Prix |
Ronnie Peterson |
Saturday |
|
1978 Swedish Grand Prix |
Niki Lauda |
Saturday |
|
1979 South African Grand Prix |
Gilles Villeneuve |
Saturday |
|
1979 British Grand Prix |
Clay Regazzoni |
Saturday |
|
1980 South African Grand Prix |
Rene Arnoux |
Saturday |
|
1981 British Grand Prix |
John Watson |
Saturday |
|
1981 Caesar’s Palace Grand Prix |
Alan Jones |
Saturday |
|
1982 South African Grand Prix |
Alain Prost |
Saturday |
|
1982 Dutch Grand Prix |
Didier Pironi |
Saturday |
|
1982 Caesar’s Palace Grand Prix |
Michele Alboreto |
Saturday |
|
1983 British Grand Prix |
Alain Prost |
Saturday |
|
1983 South African Grand Prix |
Riccardo Patrese |
Saturday |
|
1984 South African Grand Prix |
Niki Lauda |
Saturday |
|
1985 South African Grand Prix |
Keke Rosberg |
Saturday |
