Las Vegas Strip Circuit

The Las Vegas Strip Circuit is a street circuit around parts of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, immediately adjacent to Las Vegas, Nevada. It winds through the streets of the city and comprises the Las Vegas Strip, a section of Las Vegas Boulevard that is home to the city's major hotels and casinos. It incorporates some of the most notable landmarks of the city, including MSG Sphere, Caesars Palace, Bellagio, and Paris Las Vegas.

Designed by Carsten Tilke, the son of Formula One circuit designer Hermann Tilke, the circuit broke ground in March 2022 and opened on November 16, 2023, during the weekend of the first Las Vegas Grand Prix.

History

This circuit has been designed to incorporate part of Las Vegas Boulevard, widely known as the Las Vegas Strip. The cars pass several local landmarks that are illuminated at night. The city has given Formula One permission to use the roads required for the race for ten years. When the race was announced in March 2022, the track layout featured 14 corners. It was later revised with the addition of a chicane, bringing the number of corners to 17.

Alleged attempt to prevent circuit certification

On March 5, 2024, several months after the inaugural 2023 race at the track, the BBC reported that FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had allegedly tried to pressure race officials into not certifying the circuit in time for the race. This came the day after it was announced that Sulayem had also been placed under FIA investigation for allegedly persuading stewards to overturn a penalty given to Fernando Alonso at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. However, on March 20, 2024, the FIA announced it had cleared Ben Sulayem of any wrongdoing.

Layout

The street circuit runs counterclockwise and features 17 corners and a straight. It starts in a former parking lot which has been bought by Formula One for $240 million and developed into the pits and paddock area, and now contains a permanent part of the circuit. The first corner is a hairpin, and after that the course bends slightly left and then into a fast right, transitioning from the permanent circuit to city streets. The cars go down Koval Lane before entering a slow 90-degree right turn and then entering a long, sweeping left turn which encircles the new Sphere arena, before going through a left–right twisty section (a change from the initial design) and then a slightly faster-left turn which transitions onto Sands Avenue. The track then goes through two high-speed bends on Sands Avenue before entering a slow left turn onto Las Vegas Boulevard, otherwise known as the Las Vegas Strip. The flat-out section with two straights and a slight sweeping left curve goes past some of Las Vegas's most famous hotels and casinos. The circuit then goes through a tight series of three slow corners onto Harmon Avenue, down a straight before going through a fast left bend to complete the lap and transition back to the permanent part of the circuit after the pits.

The maximum speed recorded in a Formula One car was , established by Franco Colapinto in a Williams at the end of the Las Vegas Strip. The record average speed for the pole lap is , set by George Russell in a Mercedes for the 2024 race, and the average speed for the record lap during the race was , the seventh highest of the 24 circuits on the calendar.https://www.formula1.com/en/video/dhl-fastest-lap-award-2024-las-vegas-grand-prix.1816604727524125558

Events

; Current

* November: Formula One ''Las Vegas Grand Prix'', F1 Academy

; Former

* Ferrari Challenge North America (2024)

Lap records

As of November 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit are listed as:

References

External links

Official website

{{Ferrari Challenge North America circuits

2023 establishments in Nevada
Formula One circuits
Las Vegas Grand Prix
Road courses in the United States
Motorsport venues in Nevada
Sports venues completed in 2023