It is unique in that it is promoted by Liberty Media and F1 rather than a local third party. The city that owns the land and the casino are partners, but the commercial rights holders take a huge risk, winning or losing on the outcome of the weekend.

F1’s role as promoter is a fascinating development for the series, and one that is being watched with interest by established race organizers elsewhere at a time when potential new hosts wait to join the party.

Many existing races have announced extensions to guarantee them a long-term spot on the calendar. It looks a bit like a game of grabbing chairs, and no one wants to stand still for the foreseeable future when the music stops and the 24 or so venues are locked.

In this case, the prospect of F1 staging its own races and potentially favoring them over established ones gives other promoters a lot to think about.

F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said: “Las Vegas is obviously an important opportunity for us to maximize on one hand the Something that should be done.” “On the other hand, take advantage of this experience.

“I would say the beauty of today is that we have a large group of promoters. Around the world, everyone is actually competing not only in terms of (say) financial contribution, but they’re also getting better and better at preparing Offer fans new experiences and invest in new facilities.

“That’s good. So, our effect as a promoter has really made everybody better.”

So far, the message from Liberty Media has been that Las Vegas is a one-off. However, Domenicali suggested that if the experiment is successful, it would be logical to try a similar recipe elsewhere. But he insists that it cannot be at the expense of existing successful events.

“Of course, we’re there to make the best business possible,” he said. “So if there are other opportunities, we certainly won’t be shy.

“But on the other hand, I think we’re lucky that the quality of promoters is really, really high all over the world right now.”

Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1 CEO

Photography: Carl Bingham/ motorsport pictures

These promoters have a good relationship with Domenicali and his organization. They meet regularly in London to discuss the bigger picture and the common challenges they face.

This kind of open dialogue has not been the case in the past. The last thing Bernie Ecclestone wants is for all of his race organizers to meet and possibly swap ideas on their personal deals. But now it’s another world.

Domenicali is adamant that all racing can learn valuable lessons from F1’s own racing. In other words, what happens in Las Vegas doesn’t stay there.

“We need to be humble, we know what to do,” the Italian said. “But I also think we’ve come up with ideas that other promoters have a lot of experience with.

“I think our opportunity to create the perfect experience for the fans will be an input that other promoters can use in a way that respects the differentiation of each grand prix. Because that’s key for us: every grand prix is ​​different ,unique.

“I think the briefing we’ll have together on the Monday after the game will be very important because from then on we’ll be sending a lot of messages to our friends and they’ll be watching us.

“Because the first to see this Grand Prix differently will be the promoters who have worked with us for many years.

“Of course it’s also been a big challenge for us to show what we think is right in a positive way.

“So, it’s a great place where we can learn and improve the ecosystem in the right way. So I’m very optimistic about that. And I think, ultimately, next year, everybody will benefit from this experience. We’ll be in Las Vegas Vegas.”

Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei believes being involved as a promoter will give F1 more credibility as it tries to get other races to try new things.

“I think there’s obviously going to be a learning curve,” Maffei said. “We came to Las Vegas with a whole bunch of goals. First, to be a promoter, partly because we had an idea of ​​what a great promoter should do.

“We might think that if we’re going to have an opinion on that, for some of our sponsor partners, we might actually want to be sponsors so we can talk as we go.”

F1 commercial boss Brendan Snow suggested it was a two-way street, with his organization taking lessons from other promoters while encouraging all racing to learn from the Las Vegas experience.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing in Las Vegas

Photography: Red Bull Content Pool

“We have a phrase that’s sometimes called stealing with pride,” Snow said. “I mean, we want to share best practices with all of our promoters, things that we know work that we can scale, that we can bring to other partners so they can up their game.

“We have a group of people within the company who are focused on establishing these best practices and sharing them with our other promoters so we can up the game across the board and discuss what works and what doesn’t work brilliantly.

“There are other sports industries that are doing this well. We’ll build on that as well. So we want to make sure we take what works and help them implement it in other markets.”

Liberty legal executive Renee Wilm, who was seconded to the role of CEO of Vegas Events, made an interesting observation.

She said her organization is now fully immersed in staging an event and has a better understanding of the issues F1’s other racing partners have to deal with.

“Even in the past 12 months, we’ve found that we have more empathy for the promoters because now we really understand what they’re going through day in and day out,” Wilm said. “Dealing with permitting and track design. Selling hospitality, building hospitality and inflating the environment.

“And I think we’ve been able to work with Brandon’s team to really reach out to the promoters and further strengthen those relationships and help negotiate and say, ‘Okay, this is what we’re seeing as a promoter. This is my Ideas we can reach a better deal with you.

“We’ve been able to really leverage that to the benefit of everyone who renews this year.”

Inevitably, the races of greatest interest for what’s happening in Las Vegas are Austin and Miami, the current events in the United States.

Wilm insisted there was no rivalry between the three venues, stressing that she was working closely with her counterparts Miami Grand Prix president Tyler Epp and COTA CEO Bobby Epstein. Hopefully the three events will end up stronger by working together.

Before the Miami Update

Photography: Charles Bradley

“A lot of journalists try to create divisions that don’t exist,” Wilm said. “But the reality is Taylor and Bobby and I talked a lot.

“We’re talking about shared resources. We’re talking about how we can leverage each other’s activations in terms of what works and what doesn’t.

“And we do believe rising waters lift all boats, and that’s our intent. It’s not about motivating or cannibalizing anyone else in building something here in Vegas.”

Domenicali agrees that there’s no need for Austin and Miami to feel threatened by Las Vegas — all three have space, and they all have their strengths.

“Obviously every race, not only in America, has a different personality, a different cultural approach, a different quality, a different fan segment,” he said.

“By the way, sometimes we forget that just a few years ago we were thinking, ‘Do we really need to stay in the US? Is this really the market we should be in?’

“Thanks to our stubbornness here. Last year we had two races and this year we added one more. So in the blink of an eye, we got there.

“I don’t see any form of cannibalism, everyone is different, everything is different. I don’t see any problem.”

The theme that other promoters have learned from the way Vegas has done things is important. Domenicali is keen to stress that no race, no matter how closely tied it is to the sport’s history, is guaranteed a spot on the calendar.

In other words, even a team like Monaco has to keep up with changing times and continue to improve what they offer their audience.

“I always say to our promoters that when history only looks back, there are some bad things,” he said. “It’s beautiful when history is a good basis for looking to a different future.

“So that’s why for the so-called historic grand prix, we’re really focused on getting the perspective of the future.

“I mean, arrogance and believing you have a guaranteed future because you’ve been in the game for the last hundred years, honestly, that’s not enough. There’s also a sign of respect. It’s great for tradition Not enough of these places.

“And I think in this moment, everyone understands that. We’re not playing any games, we’re very transparent with them. We’ve said that if they want to be on the calendar, they need to do what we believe is right for them. That’s right. It’s the same for us in F1.

Las Vegas Grand Prix track map

“So I think I would say the quantity and quality of the games also respect the so-called history.

“But it’s clear that the perception of these historic places has changed over the past few years as they realize that the landscape is different.”

Of course, it all depends on Vegas being successful on all fronts. Liberty boss Maffei insists the aim is to get things right the first time and make the game a cash cow.

“Our goal should be to be greedy long-term, in the sense that we’re going to have high revenue streams and we’re going to have high cost streams,” he said.

“But it’s more important that we deliver a great experience for everyone involved than that we create it in the first year.

“I think in the long run we’re going to make a lot of money in Vegas. I’m excited, I think we’re going to make money this year, big money.

“But more than that, we deliver a great experience for our drivers, our patrons, our fans, our spectators, everyone involved. That’s what we aim for.”