With only three races left this season in Formula 1, both the 2024 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships are still up for grabs.
The competitiveness this season is in stark contrast to last, where Max Verstappen dominated the whole year and secured his third World Drivers’ Championship by October.
The final stretch starts in Las Vegas this weekend. Afterward, the teams travel to Qatar before closing out the season in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 8.
Despite being considered one of the most memorable races of 2023, the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix faced plenty of issues that left businesses and fans upset.
Construction for the inaugural race, which takes place in the streets of Vegas, took almost 10 months and resulted in many complaints about traffic delays and loss of income for many local businesses.
In early May, Las Vegas business owners launched a petition to “Stop The Las Vegas Grand Prix (F1),” which garnered over 3,400 signatures, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
On the track, drivers were also burned.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz went over a loose drain cover during the first practice session. The concrete frame around a manhole cover caused considerable damage to Sainz’s car, which ended the practice session early for everyone. The damage was so significant that Ferrari was forced to replace components in Sainz’s car, which set him back a 10-place grid penalty, despite the damage being out of his control.
Fans in attendance became collateral damage as they were forced out of the venue early following Sainz’s collision and banned from attending the second practice. Jaded fans went as far as filing a class-action lawsuit against the Las Vegas Grand Prix to express their frustration with the event.
The Grand Prix is not very fan- or local-friendly.
Last year, high ticket prices prevented many Nevadans from attending. A new, free F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Fan Experience was introduced this year attempting to remedy this. However, the organizers also introduced metal walls to prevent people without tickets from watching the street-race.
While the new race hype drove high ticket sales last year, the same cannot be said for this year.
Hotels around the Las Vegas Strip dropped their rates in an attempt to fill rooms. Race tickets also went on sale, dropping as low as $99 for a single-day ticket.
Drivers are also offering special ticket packages. Lewis Hamilton is offering tickets in the West Harmon Grandstands for 44% off, which is also his racing number.
Even with all these price cuts, Vegas is just one example of an overarching theme in F1: It’s just too expensive for fans.
Research conducted by Formula 1 and Salesforce estimates only 1% of fans will ever attend a race in person.
If someone is lucky enough to attend a race, they can expect to spend an average of $4,694 for the weekend. That’s over the average monthly rent in Boston as of July 2024. Even a watch party at the F1 Arcade in Washington, D.C. would cost attendees $131 for a group of three.
F1’s own streaming service, F1 TV, offers a base subscription called F1 TV Access for $29.99 a year, but does not include live streaming of the races –– only “live timing data.” An official Red Bull Racing team t-shirt retails for $72 regular price on the F1 online shop, but is now being sold for a half-off price of $36.
But fans have found their own ways to enjoy F1 at an affordable price. Audubon, a bar in Fenway, has hosted free F1 watch parties since 2021. Thousands of unofficial merchandise listings created by fans can be found on online marketplaces like Etsy and Redbubble.
Formula 1 is an expensive sport, and it relies on support from fans to draw in sponsors. Vegas should be a reminder that F1 should try to bridge the gap between fans and the sport, not make it wider by charging exorbitant prices on everything, from tickets to t-shirts.
