A little over a decade ago, Formula 1 seemed to be in a difficult spot in the United States.
The scars of the 2005 debacle at Indianapolis had never properly healed, and even as F1 returned in Austin, it seemed like the series would never really make a splash in a market it had tried time and time again to break into. There’d be interest, but it would always be niche at best.
But today’s announcement that F1 will be returning to Las Vegas – and with a proper street race on the Strip this time, not in a casino car park – shows just how far things have come in a short space of time, serving as a landmark moment and a sign that business is booming for F1 right now.
Luke Smith is Autosport’s Formula 1 reporter. Luke has been working in F1 as a journalist since 2013, initially alongside a History degree at University College London. Luke served as the lead F1 writer at American broadcaster NBC Sports from 2013-17 before spending two years as the F1 Editor for Crash.net. Luke joined Autosport for the 2020 season.
Luke is also a contributor to The New York Times for its F1 special reports, and has previously worked with Al Jazeera and CNBC, as well as hosting FIA press conferences. Outside of F1, Luke is a fan of sports and music, with an ever-growing vinyl collection, and has being bitten by the running bug in recent years. He also runs a surprisingly popular blog reviewing the often-terrible media centre coffee from his F1 travels.
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When is the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix? Date, track information and more