F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Circuit: 'It's One Piece Art, One Piece Science, One Piece Magic'

• How do you design a race track in Las Vegas?

• The last time Formula 1 raced in Las Vegas in the early 1980s a rudimentary and repetitive circuit was created in a hotel car park at Caesars Palace. For 2023’s return to the desert, the field of 20 cars will hurtle along some of Las Vegas’ most iconic streets, including the Strip, at night.

• Autoweek catches up with track designer Carsten Tilke to discuss taking the concept into reality.

Formula 1’s third Grand Prix in the United States this year is undoubtedly its most anticipated.

After the Miami Grand Prix at the semi-permanent street-inspired Miami International Autodrome, and the United States Grand Prix at the purpose-built road course Circuit of the Americas comes the Las Vegas Grand Prix at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.

The 3.85-mile circuit, which will result in a 50-lap race, is among the longest on the F1 schedule and incorporates key components of downtown Las Vegas.

The pits/paddock complex, constructed on land Formula 1 acquired for more than $200 million, features a sequence of bends that opens up into Koval Lane, before drivers swing right onto Westchester Drive and circumnavigate the newly-built MGS Sphere. A left onto Sands Avenue takes drivers behind the Venetian Expo before another left starts the full-throttle blast along the Las Vegas Boulevard, better known as the Strip.

The Strip accounts for almost one-third of the circuit’s length before a heavy braking zone and chicane brings the pack onto East Harmon Avenue and toward the start/finish line.

Renowned circuit designers Tilke worked with Formula 1 and the consortium of Las Vegas partners over the layout of the championship’s new venue.

“The main goal for everyone was to use the main features of Las Vegas,” said project leader Carsten Tilke. “Even if you’ve never been to Las Vegas you’ll know that street very well.

“From that starting point we looked at different configurations and layouts—and the next question is always where do you put the start/finish line, where do you put the garages, the team hospitalities. And then Liberty Media had the opportunity to buy the piece of land (for the paddock), and that was the missing piece.”

That gave Tilke the starting and ending point, and the circuit’s showpiece section, but then the remainder had to be drafted, and with multiple considerations.

The street-based nature means “you are very limited in the space that you have, and you cannot build completely new streets or go over parking lots,” but there are still factors to consider: how to make a circuit that will be enjoyed by drivers, be good for racing, provide a good spectacle for TV audiences and trackside spectators, while also limiting disruption for the city and ensuring hotels, shops and facilities within the track still have access.