Column: F1 learns it overestimated fan demand for Las Vegas, the most expensive race of the year
Column: F1 learns it overestimated fan demand for Las Vegas, the most expensive race of the year
There will be bumps in Formula One’s $500 million Las Vegas Grand Prix later this week. AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer writes that the warning signs have been there.
“ this race was never about attracting new fans to the global motorsport”
No shit, I feel the average fan has been priced out since liberty took over.
61Absolutely. Even the cheapest 3 day tickets are over $800 since the prices dropped.
That’s absolutely not affordable for a lot of people after including hotels, airfare, etc.
I don’t want to stand in the cold desert watching a race. I’d much rather be warm and in my house.
33I went to Montreal in '17, '18, and '19. For 2020 I got tickets for the family (1st race for my wife and 2 kids) - the entire trip with flights (from Ontario) was $10K. We got most of it back when everything was cancelled (took a year)
We're considering buying tickets for next year, but I'm struggling to justify it. We do the Toronto Indy every year, and the experience is as good or better for a quarter of the cost
The kids want to go to F1 once, just to see the cars in person. But it will probably be a one and done for us
10
There are fresh concerns as to how casino employees will get to work once the Strip is closed so Max Verstappen can win another race in a season where he long ago clinched the championship.
Never has a sentence so succinctly described how I suspect a lot of people feel.
28I definitely feel better than when LH was winning all the time. Because back then, if someone said they were tired of him winning, they would be called racist. Now, those people (not only his fans obviously) get to know what it feels like.
-6Ok but there was a lot of actual racism around LH. There still is.
8Also, this is way more dominant than LH ever was over his teammate. Bottas wasn't that close, but Nico was right there for a lot of it. Seb was close or ahead a few seasons till Ferrari Ferrari'd themselves.
Also, there's tons of racism around LH still. Sure, not every instance of hating on his winning was racist, but some were.
5
Perhaps they should have considered a US fan could combine booking a flight, hotel and tickets to an overseas race cheaper than the Vegas GP ticket alone?
26I've commented and acted on this numerous times. Going to Silverstone and Suzuka the last few years has been cheaper overall than Miami or Vegas (and honestly gave COTA a run for its money) and we're phenomenal experiences.
Nevermind Mexico City which was significantly cheaper and significantly better than any of the US ones as a patron.
Ninja edit: as someone who lives on the East Coast of the US
17Yeah - as a Californian I considered driving to see it - day long road trip out there, stay for the Grand Prix, day trip home.
I stopped considering when I saw the prices.
3Hell, I live in NY and was considering making the drive before I saw the prices.
2
Holy shit they are racing at midnight for better viewing hours in Europe? For most of the viewers in Europe the race starts at 7:00 in the morning.
No way I'm getting up for a meaningless race at the crack of dawn on a Sunday. Sure there are some battles worth watching, that's why I'm still watching the races. Watching live on the other hand? Not so much. Watching live at 7AM? Hell no.
And I am already cringing hard about the pre race show commentary about how electric the atmosphere is and how much they love it. Do more tech analysis with Jolyon and Sam. Not jerking off FOM with Will and Laura. But hey guys tell us more about your gambling addiction, I'm sorry I misspoke, I mean F1 Fantasy. Oof
17Most races are at ~5-7am PST, and most of us here already wake up early for them. 7am in Europe isn’t really that early.
I honestly prefer the Will/Laura pre-race stuff. Sam is so dry that I honestly can’t stand to listen to him. Also F1 Fantasy isn’t gambling, it’s a dumb game where you’re playing against other people. There’s likely no money involved and is just a friendly competition between on-air hosts.
9I don't mind waking up at 6.30 to be ready for the race at 7:00. I know I'll fall asleep 8n the couch again, regardless. 😅
6Doing a race down the strip without the neon lights is a bit pointless.
5Very true. However you may have noticed it's currently late fall in the hemisphere of the planet where this race is being held. This means a local sunset at 16:30. So having the race at for example 18:00 would allow one to have the race in the dark with all the pretty lights and have it finish at a reasonable hour.
Also doing the race down the strip would count as pointless in my book. I really don't know what audience they are catering for. Actual race fans don't like it, cause the circuit is (out of necessity) kinda shit and with the low temps and dirty track I would expect overtaking to be minimal. The locals and tourists don't like it, cause they come for cheap instant gratification. Not something that takes up a huge amount of space, makes a lot of noise, is super expensive and most folks won't be familiar enough with it to enjoy it. So it's down to the people who like the flashyness of it all and watching the celebs. But are those really tuning into F1? I know FOM and Hamilton have done a lot to make racing something for celebs to come visit and enjoy. Not just the racing fans who happen to also be celebs, but celebs who know nothing about racing and are there for the show of it. I'm just not sure it's working for them.
They've had some misfires on this front especially in the US (remember the Badillac). This Vegas race seems to be an extension of that. It's meant to draw in the younger TikTok crowd maybe? FOM has been tragically bad at social media for years. Not sure what they are going for.
They could have just done an F1 experience kinda thing. Shut down a big part of a parking lot and maybe a part of a street or two for a couple of days. Have some older F1 cars do a demo and be done with it. They do those all the time in cities and having been to couple, it's a fun time. Having a full on race makes no sense imho, but I don't know shit so who knows?
I'll just set my expectations low and be happily surprised if it isn't total shit. Either way, Monday I probably won't think twice about it.
7
Bruh they’re always somewhere in the 6am to 10am time for us Americans. You get the reverse a couple times and cry, entitled much?
4Apparently the late race was an agreement with the casinos. So their employees could get to work before the race made it impossible. Still doesn't change the fact that it is a terrible time. I won't get to watch it because it's too late for me and I am one time zone way.
3
Naïve to assume they learn, regarding this one.
7This was a great article with lots of research and facts and a good amount of educated opinions. Most F1 content outlets don't put out articles this great probably because they have to push quantity over quality to pay their bills so they thin out story points instead of condensing them.
7