Marketer I Educator I Keynote Speaker I Author I eCommerce, Retail Media, Marketplace Expert. Motorsport fanatic since I could walk.
“𝗩𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝗯𝘆”: 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝘀𝗼 𝗜’𝗺 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁. This week is about Vegas (baby). Let’s dive into the Vegas GP where the casinos make way for the single-seaters – and examine the eye-watering $US500m roll of the dice, the drivers reactions – & the potholes. #𝟭 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽: The famous Las Vegas Strip will be locked off for the weekend causing huge access issues. Track time has been minimised. There are no support races at an F1 race for the first time ever. #𝟮 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁: The LVGP is set to become the most expensive street track ever built. F1 already invested $240m in acquiring a site in Las Vegas for the race, including pit and paddock buildings and the start/finish line. Additional spend of $20-30m were needed to construct facilities which will last all year. #𝟯 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: Liberty Media, run by the cable king, John Malone, owns Formula 1. The company, the Formula 1 Group (F1G) is promoting and organising the event. This is VERY rare in F1. Normally, there are local promoters in each company. In this case F1G is taking on the full risk. #𝟰 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗙𝟭: The LVGP is run by CEO Renee Wilm and CCO Emily Prazer – both double-jobbing from their day-jobs in the F1 Group in London. Prazer put the original idea to the Las Vegas city fathers in 2019 – the pitch was ‘Imagine F1 cars going past the Bellagio Fountain’. #𝟱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 ‘𝗢𝗟𝗗’ 𝗩𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘀 𝗚𝗣: Vegas ran a GP in 1981 and 1982 in the Caesars Palace car park. It was not a success. Indeed, legacy of those events hindered future attempts to host a race in Las Vegas. #𝟲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁: There is an F1's 'Emperor Package' available for $5m-> 5 nights at the Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace for 12 people in a 900 sq meters room with capacity for 75 people, views of the entire city and a dinner created by a Michelin-starred chef #𝟳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝘆𝗽𝗲: CEO, Greg Maffei said “A night race down the Strip that’s going to be iconic, that 10 o’clock view… I think few Americans will not have seen that view at some point — that’s going to be on every piece of 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬? World Champ, Max Verstappen dismissed the 17-turn track as a “not very interesting” . He did admit “the scenery will look great but the layout itself is not the most exciting." #buzzkiller He also called Formula 1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix “99% show and 1% sporting event” and said drivers looked like ‘clowns’ at the opening ceremony. #oops #𝟳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻: First practice for the F1 teams ended in disaster after just 8 minutes after a drain cover ripped a hole in the side of a Ferrari. Driver. Carlos Sainz was given a 10 second grid penalty for his travails! The Race takes place at 10pm Vegas time in the cold of a Saturday night. Will I be rolling the dice and watching it? YES!
