Did F1 play on the Las Vegas GP attendance figures?

While F1 was pleased with an attendance of 306 spectators throughout the weekend in Las Vegas, the local police counted only 000 spectators during the three days of the event. A difference that raises questions... but which can be explained, according to the discipline.

Published on 26/11/2024 à 14:30

Dorian Grangier

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Did F1 play on the Las Vegas GP attendance figures?

© DPPI

306 according to the Formula 1, 139 according to the police. What might seem like an old joke about the counts of protesters on a strike day actually concerns the number of spectators counted throughout the Las Vegas GP weekend. While the discipline proudly displayed the number of 000 during the race broadcast, the local police did not arrive at the same result, with a total almost three times lower…

According to local TV channel 8NewsNow, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's public information office reported that their count was that 32 people attended practice on Thursday, 000 spectators attended practice and qualifying on Friday, and 50 people attended the race on Saturday night, giving a total of 000 spectators for the entire weekend. However, for Formula 57, these figures are not inclusive and are therefore skewed.

According to the championship, the local police figures only included tickets scanned in the fan zones and grandstands managed by F1, but not spectators present in the paddock or in other areas of the site which are mostly managed by the surrounding casinos (including some grandstands along the Las Vegas Strip), and therefore not by F1 itself. The figure of 306 spectators is therefore an estimate set by the sport, taking into account the crowds in the grandstands and in the ancillary areas.

Las Vegas eyes long-term deal

Regardless of the number of spectators present in 2024, it is in any case lower than in 2023, when 315 spectators turned out for the return of F000 to Sin City. A second edition less popular despite better organization on site and a weekend without major problems. Let us recall that in 1, FP2023 was cancelled and FP1 was contested behind closed doors following the incident suffered by Carlos Sainz with a manhole cover that had come loose when the Ferrari.

This year, the Las Vegas Grand Prix did not unleash the crowds despite the stakes for the championship. Moreover, on social networks, several spectators were surprised to see partially empty stands during the race… the exorbitant price of tickets probably had something to do with it, with four-figure sums for Sunday alone. Despite everything, Formula 1 intends to return and stay in Las Vegas for a long time. If the Grand Prix contract – operated directly by Liberty Media – is to end in 2025, the promoters had received authorization to organize races on the roads of Sin City for a period of 10 years, starting in 2023.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), which is responsible for promoting tourism, conventions, meetings and special events in Southern Nevada, is expected to begin discussions with F1 in early 2025 to establish a longer-term agreement to host the Grand Prix in Las Vegas.

ALSO READ > Mercedes in top form, Verstappen champion… The Las Vegas Grand Prix seen on social networks

Dorian Grangier

A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.

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3 Comment (s)

G

Guigui

27/11/2024 at 12:55 a.m.

So... having attended the first two editions of the Vegas GP (I just got back from it yesterday), the first year was crazy! It was terribly cold...1 or 1 degrees in the evening...the whole circuit was covered in tarpaulin to prevent visitors without tickets from seeing the cars go by...the grandstands were indeed half full on some sections, but those in the stands were full. This year, it was the same, except that it was a little warmer in the evening 6/7 degrees...you have to know that this part of the United States is rather known for 10/12 degrees...so a lot of Americans have no desire to come and freeze their butts off in a grandstand after having paid 35 euros minimum for a 40-day pass!!! So yes, it was far from being the big crowd this year again and the organizers' figures are certainly not the right ones, that's obvious! He has to change the date and put it in a warmer period… and then it will be a huge success!!!

D

dedeHJ37

27/11/2024 at 08:34 a.m.

as in France, to better get the message across which will have to please the upper class, the figures according to the police and according to the organizer are not the same

L

Lucas Paul

26/11/2024 at 05:23 a.m.

The highest comedy, this manipulation of spectator figures, which is an American lie, but money is money, sport comes second...for them!

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