In the round-up: The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority are open to extending their deal with Formula 1.
In brief
Contract extension likely for Las Vegas GP
Formula 1’s three-year deal to race at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit will expire after the 2025 race. The series, which uniquely is also the round’s promoter, already has permission to run races on the roads for 10 years.
Following the second edition of the race last weekend the LVCVA has indicated they are open to continuing it beyond next year. “We’ll look to have something a little more permanent in place,” LVCVA president and CEO Hill told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’ll probably start that conversation shortly after the first of the year and probably look to have something in place prior to the race happening next year.”
Tsunoda tests IndyCar
Yuki Tsunoda got behind the wheel of an IndyCar for the first time ahead of last weekend’s grand prix.
Williams place Bondarev in Italian F4
Williams’ 15-year-old junior driver Oleksandr Bondarev will race for Prema in Italian Formula 4 next year, the team has announced. He made his debut in the series earlier this year, contesting the final two rounds.
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Links
'Scodelario had 'always heard stories' about the driver, who died in 1994, when she was two, but only realised how important he was to many Brazilians after a screening of Asif Kapadia’s documentary, also titled Senna. 'It was wall-to-wall Brazilians in that cinema. They were crying, and shouting at the screen every time (Alain) Prost came up. It was the most emotional, passionate cinema experience of my life.''
'I regularly scolded myself for thinking that F1 in Vegas was anything other than brilliant, but when you're in the shower at 3am desperately trying to warm your bones before finding something to eat, the schedule seems a bit unnecessary for all.'
F1 says 306K attended Las Vegas race; police report lower number: here’s why (8 News Now)
'The total number would put attendance over the three race days at 139,000. A spokesperson for F1 Las Vegas said the numbers are incorrect, reiterating the 306,000 attendance figure.'
F1 in push to broaden trackside appeal as racing returns to Vegas (FT)
'We had a very high degree of high-end hospitality available last year. Unfortunately, what that means is that you end up with fewer fans, including the newer fans, that could participate.'
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Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
I feel very lucky that I've been able to stick around for this long and do what I love for so long. And the idea that the Cadillac F1 Team wants me around….I'll help where I can, a non-executive role with the team, not involved in day-to-day operations (because I don't want a…
— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) November 25, 2024
Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds will be particularly pleased Lando Norris didn't manage to beat Max Verstappen to the championship:
https://buff.ly/3V7Tk5b
#F1 #FE
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet.bsky.social) 25 November 2024 at 15:34
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Comment of the day
Lando Norris cost himself points with needless errors, but were McLaren also too passive in the championship fight?
I also think that in general McLaren were far too conservative when they had a competitive car, often playing reactive strategy and following the opposition rather than trying anything to improve their result.
For example, in Spa when Norris was out of position after a poor start and overtaking was clearly challenging, they had little to lose by attempting a one-stop, but didn’t, and inevitably got stuck in a DRS train. Also in Monza, where they looked to have control of the race with Piastri in the lead, but instead of at least splitting strategies they allowed themselves to be countered by an alternate strategy.
To me, they always looked like a team that was happy to just collect ‘decent’ points every race rather than fighting for championships.
Keith Campbell (@Keithedin)
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Carlos Santos, Nick and Andy Alexander!
On this day in motorsport
- 45 years ago today Ferrari launched its 312T5. It was one of the team’s worst cars, and they sank to 10th place in the 1980 championship.
Femke
26th November 2024, 0:38
Ah no please. Theres great circuits being kicked out just for that luna park. Please get real circuits back
Craig
26th November 2024, 11:05
As much as I like the occasional ‘simpler layout’, I’d much prefer a return to the Bahrain outer track then more of Vegas.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th November 2024, 5:07
A contract extension may happen, but whether the Las Vegas GP would get to run for the entire period is another matter, given the court implications by affected businesses, which could have a long-term impact on the event’s future.
COTD: Ultimately that’s also how I’ve felt for the most part.
Craig
26th November 2024, 11:22
Regarding COTD, I dare say McLaren simply wasn’t prepared for a potential championship challenge, especially one with such low odds, and got stuck between 2 lines of thinking on strategy, which frequently ended up with the worst outcome. Hopefully they’ll have learnt from this year and have a better idea of what to do next time.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
26th November 2024, 8:02
Attendance:
To me Liberty’s assets or “capital” is their viewership.
There are at least five “Liberty” listed cos. on the NASDAQ and the split off between Liberty Live and Quint.
They continually use live attendance figures that are at best debatable, and I guess CIC methodology on viewership.
Time for SEC and or FINR
A to have a look see.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
26th November 2024, 14:19
This relentless Senna hagiography has gotten out of hand. Sure, he was a great driver, but kind of a petulant, entitled rich kid too. Prost always seems to get the short end of the stick, but he was a better sportsman, and just as good a driver.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
26th November 2024, 15:47
Yes, I think prost was actually better than senna, but they had different specialties, senna was one of the best both in the wet and qualifying, while prost was a better point scorer and one of the few drivers who had a positive effect on reliability, which was especially important in that era, a mathematical model says.
SteveR (@stever)
26th November 2024, 16:51
Well, I suspect they can come to an agreement as they are negotiating with themselves; Liberty owns and puts on this race themselves.