(Bloomberg) -- Toto Wolff’s first Formula One race in Las Vegas was “chaos.”
“It was learning on the job,” said Wolff, chief executive officer of Mercedes AMG Petronas, during a wide-ranging interview ahead of the second-annual Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix. He was speaking about the construction, logistics and general organization of the inaugural event that drew in an estimated $1.5 billion for the local economy last year—50% more than the Super Bowl. “I don’t think that Vegas really knew what to expect.”
“It’s better this year,” he said, and that was even before his team went on to take the trophy. “What makes it special is Vegas, how exciting it is that we are actually racing on the Strip, not in a parking lot but right in the middle of the town, and the city embraces it.”
Despite lowered ticket prices and slow-building demand early in the year, the 2024 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix retained its signature Sin City glitz as organizers push to make it the flagship F1 destination in North America. At an average of $1,617 per ticket, it remains the most expensive F1 event in the racing calendar, costing nearly twice as much on average per ticket than the Miami Grand Prix, according to data compiled by F1 Destinations.
The event saw a total weekend attendance of 306,000 fans, down slightly from its 315,000 attendance in 2023 but with a sell-out crowd at the Saturday night race where Mercedes’ George Russell clinched victory and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who placed fifth, earned enough points to secure his fourth F1 drivers championship. (The season ends in early December in Abu Dhabi.)
America is a critical fanbase, he continued, and indeed organizers are doubling down on their $500 million investment to grow F1 here. On Monday, Formula One confirmed it had reached an agreement with General Motors to add an 11th team to the grid for 2026, with the new team likely to use the Cadillac brand. Wolff noted that Las Vegas in particular gives F1 unparalleled marketing and partnership opportunities.
“We are not having the numbers yet here that we are having in Europe or in South America or some of the Asian countries, but that’s okay because Formula One is 70 years old, and we know in the United States the appeal we have been generating in just a few years,” he said.
On Nov. 21, the Las Vegas Grand Prix announced that the 39-acre complex that houses the Grand Prix pit lanes will be expanded to feature F1-inspired karting, interactive 4D exhibitions, a merchandise shop and three new private event spaces—all available year-round.
There are still some kinks to work out, even if many of the pain points from 2023, such as paralyzing congestion around spectator entry points, were gone during this sophomore effort. Crew members, race attachés and drivers themselves criticized the 10 p.m. race start, a concession to the sport’s European fan base being able to watch live on their Sunday morning. It made for gruelingly long days of press appearances, media scrums and meet ’n’ greets for the already jet-lagged traveling circus that is F1.
“It feels strange this Grand Prix, living in the night,” Russell told reporters during a press conference Nov. 20. Kevin Magnussen, the Danish driver for Haas racing, described it as “a tough job.” And Esteban Ocon, the French driver for Alpine, said the timing was “challenging.”
Organizers, too, faced some grumbling from hotel management and casino operators, who prefer a race time that doesn’t interfere with dinner and club reservations, and that entices fans back to the poker and craps tables afterward. The arid autumnal temperatures, which hover around 40F at night, also present a difficult task for the race teams, who must work hard to keep tire rubber warm ahead of and during each foray onto the track.
“Yes, the times are challenging for the city and for us because everything is very late,” said Wolff. “You can’t shut down the city earlier. It is what it is. You just have to work with it.”
Part of the charm of the Vegas race is its almost radical accessibility. You could brush elbows with the likes of Stefano Domenicali, president and CEO of Formula One Management Ltd., or Red Bull Racing Principal Christian Horner among among the throngs at the Wynn hotel; Jay Leno (heavily made-up and jovial) and Sylvester Stallone mixed with guests at the AmFar gala ahead of an RM Sotheby’s car auction there.
The highly condensed location allows for a high-low mix of exposure for fans across income levels, whether they bought a $99 general admission ticket or a $45,000 Paddock Club hotel package. Large patches of the upside-down-pig-shaped racetrack can be seen from most Strip-facing hotel towers, spanning from the Bellagio fountain to the Palazzo hotel.
“The appeal that Formula One is generating in the US is because we are providing an entertainment product that is credible and authentic with European flair whilst very entertaining and exciting for American audiences,” Wolff said. “We seem to have hit the sweet spot.”
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