Formula One is taking over Las Vegas – and it’s even forcing the brand-new futuristic Sphere facility to close down.
The Sphere is a 111m tall venue which cost $2.3 billion USD to build and features high-definition screens on both the inside and outside of the building.
It was only opened on 29 September and is hosting a whopping 25-show residency from legendary band U2.
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But the F1 track for the competition’s Vegas debut runs across the grounds of the facility, forcing F1’s owners Liberty Media to lease out the venue and effectively shut down the brand-new Sphere.
U2 played their last show on November 4, and won’t return until December 1.
“This year we have a relationship where we’ve leased effectively the Sphere, both internally and externally,” Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said.
“The race will be around the Sphere. So we’re utilising their property. We will own all the advertising on the Sphere for the duration of the race for a fixed fee.
“We have bundled that into some [sponsorship] deals, and also sold advertising directly to parties during the race, which will defray part of our costs. It was a necessary cost for us, because we need to be on their land.”
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He added that F1 would also host an event inside the venue on race weekend.
Maffei said: “In addition, we’re going to have a recovery brunch, and you will need to recover, on Sunday morning, in the Sphere. And we will be showing highlights of the race internally.”
U2 lead singer Bono said at their final show before the shutdown: “As I mentioned we’re taking a little break after tonight. We’re giving Las Vegas back to F1.
“If you don’t know what F1 is, it’s a sport where very tidy, lean, mean men and some extraordinary women climb onto rockets and try to stay on earth and not achieve orbit, something like that. A little like rock ‘n’ roll, actually! Less dangerous.”
The superstar introduced the band by comparing them to F1 drivers – labelling himself Daniel Ricciardo, while The Edge became Charles Leclerc, Adam Clayton was Lewis Hamilton, and fill-in drummer Bram van den Berg was nominated as Max Verstappen.
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MERCEDES FIND ANSWERS FOR BRAZIL FLOP
Mercedes suffered a disaster in Sao Paulo, with George Russell failing to finish and Lewis Hamilton limping home in a dismal eighth.
The team was totally uncompetitive all weekend thanks to tyre degradation and engine temperature battles.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: “For me personally, the worst weekend in 13 years.”
He added: “There was something very fundamentally wrong, mechanically,” saying that it wasn’t just a minor set-up issue.
Now, Wolff has revealed that Mercedes has figured out where they went wrong – though they won’t reveal that information to the public or their rivals.
In his preview of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, he wrote: “After promising performances in the US and Mexico, we didn’t perform at our best in Brazil.
“We have been hard at work to identify the wrong turn we took with the set-up; we have done that. We understand our mistakes and can explain our performance loss to the field. That’s important as we look to secure P2 in the Constructors’ Championship.”
It’s a positive sign – and frankly, things could hardly get worse than last time out for the Silver Arrows.
Wolff is clearly excited for Vegas, writing: “The eyes of the sporting world will be on F1, and we look forward to putting on a spectacular show. It is going to be something truly special to witness.”
