F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix officials make major pledge for 2024

Off-track preparations for the Las Vegas Grand Prix are set to be dramatically shortened to just three months in 2024 in a move which is likely to please locals.

The inaugural Las Vegas GP set around the iconic city’s landmarks was a dramatic one from start to finish, with the weekend’s opening practice session being cancelled after a loose manhole cover damaged Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.

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Repairs to the circuit caused the second free practice session to be delayed by two and a half hours, with fans forced to leave their seats due to the security team's shifts ending.

Other problems included the punishing weekend schedule, which contained a multitude of off-track activities with all the on-track sessions taking place late at night. The race, which took place on Saturday night, started at 10pm local time in relatively cold temperatures hovering around 10 degrees centigrade. Despite the early teething troubles, Las Vegas produced an intriguing race, which saw Max Verstappen overcome a five-second time penalty to win his 18th grand prix of 2023.

In the aftermath of the race, a survey by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority found two out of three families were affected by traffic congestion created by the race's infrastructure work.

Reduced F1 preparation times in Vegas

For 2024, the time it takes to prepare for the race will be reduced from nine months to three according to Las Vegas GP CEO Renee Wilm, after locals complained about the race’s disruption to their daily commutes.

The shortened timeframe is due to tasks that had to be completed for 2023, such as repaving local roads and restoring sidewalks, no longer deemed necessary for 2024.

Las Vegas will form the first leg of a punishing triple header to round off the 2024 season, with the race scheduled for November 23rd. The Qatar GP follows a week later on December 1st, with the now customary season finale at Abu Dhabi on December 8th.

“We don’t have to do all of that work, that was a year one thing,”Wilm said during the Preview Las Vegas event. “We think this will be a substantially less difficult build.”.

READ MORE: F1 Schedule 2024: Full calendar with all you need to know about every grand prix

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