This Bizarre feature has been added to the Las Vegas Grand Prix paddock
F1 News
The 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix was the first time Formula 1 returned to Sin City in 41 years, and this year's race is scheduled for November 21 to 23. A few changes have been made to the 2024 edition. A support race will be running at the Las Vegas Grand Prix for the first time, and a crazy new paddock add-on has been included as the Grand Prix organisers look to 'focus on delivering the best Grand Prix ever.'
Ferrari Challenge support race:
The Ferrari Challenge will be at the Las Vegas Grand Prix to support the Formula 1 circus. Last year, there were no support races at the circuit, and it famously had issues with the drain covers. Carlos Sainz was affected in 2023, causing a long delay in the running of Friday's sessions. “We’re adding Ferrari Challenge. So that will be coming, we’re super excited about it. We took on the feedback last year of not having a support race. Logistics last year were our number one concern, which again I think everyone understood," CCO of Las Vegas Grand Prix Inc. Emily Prazer said.
The Ferrari Challenge action will most likely be available to watch for free on YouTube. “Ferrari also brings a crowd that loves Las Vegas as you’d expect. So it’s a natural one for us to go after, and they’ve been incredible partners,” Prazer continued, as Autosport reports.
As well as the Ferrari Challenge, free tickets to an 'F1 festival' have been made available for Friday and Saturday. 30,000 of these have been lapped up already. “Tickets are taken, it’s a capacity of 30,000 per day. Vegas is notorious that during major events, people flood there anyway. If you speak to anyone from Vegas, the casinos as well, it’s great that the Super Bowl was there, but they’re that busy during the Super Bowl anyway, so we wanted to take the spirit of that and have the city be as busy as possible if people aren’t necessarily coming to the grand prix,” she explained.
Last year, all 20 drivers attended F1's Wednesday Las Vegas launch event, which also featured several musical acts. This year, an added on-track element will allow organisers to scale back on the 'show'.
Bizarre paddock ice rink:
An eye-catching ice rink has been added to the top of the paddock club, which will surely be a strange sight in the middle of the Nevada desert. “So we're putting an ice rink on the roof of the Paddock Club in Vegas this year. You would never see us do that anywhere else. But the intent is like, ‘how do we create more of an entertainment proposition?’" Prazer said. As she explains, the off-track entertainment side of the Las Vegas Grand Prix continues to be an extremely important element.
The Ferrari Challenge will improve on-track activity, as the series usually provides great racing. It must also be the first time an ice rink has been included in a Formula 1 paddock, but these strange 'firsts' are what the Las Vegas Grand Prix is all about.
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