Sold-out Las Vegas GP shows F1 'at its best', CEO Emily Prazer says

LOS ANGELES – The Las Vegas Grand Prix was a sell-out with more than 300,000 fans attending across three days, organisers said on Monday, while hailing the event as a showcase of the sport’s global appeal and the city’s status as a premier entertainment destination.

“We are incredibly proud of what this sold-out Las Vegas Grand Prix delivered,” Emily Prazer, CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, told Reuters in an email, adding that it showed “Formula One at its very best”.

“We elevated the guest experience at every turn and created iconic cultural moments that could only happen in Las Vegas, all while staying firmly rooted in what matters most - the race.”

F1 officials said they were still gathering final attendance numbers.

The splashy night race along the Las Vegas Strip, which debuted in 2023 after eight months of disruptive construction, had attendance dip last year amid complaints about high ticket prices, which organisers sought to remedy this year.

This year’s race featured an intense, rain-soaked qualifying session but clear skies and huge crowds arrived for Saturday’s race, in which the title hopes of winning driver Max Verstappen of Red Bull were revived after the shock disqualification of McLaren’s Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri.

Las Vegas has had an economic downturn in 2025 and city officials had hoped the race would act as a stabilizing force for its tourism industry just as visitor demand has shown signs of weakening.

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has said it is open to extending the race past 2027, which is as far as the current deal goes, but said doing so would require additional infrastructure investment.

Drivers praised Las Vegas but said the quality of the 3.8-mile track and the race’s placement on the busy F1 calendar could be improved.

In other news, Mick Schumacher, son of Formula One great Michael, will be racing on US ovals next year after signing a deal to compete in IndyCar for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL), the team said on Monday.

Schumacher, 26, has been driving for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in the last two years after losing his F1 seat with Haas at the end of 2022.

Six of IndyCar's 17 races are on ovals or super-speedways, including the Indianapolis 500. RLL said they were planning an oval test for the German in the near future.

The season starts on March 1.

"Having both an F1 and an endurance background, and having competed in various racing series over the years, I have insights and knowledge that I am sure will contribute to a great partnership," Schumacher, whose father won seven F1 world titles, said in a team statement.

"I was also immediately excited about the car and the American way of motorsport which comes across as being more about pure and direct racing, and it is precisely this aspect that I am very much looking forward to."

Team co-owner Bobby Rahal said Schumacher had impressed in a test on the Indianapolis road course.

"He impressed every single team member. Everyone walked away from that event determined to do what we could to bring Mick into our program," he added. REUTERS