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Formula 1 fans react to ridiculously late start time in Las Vegas

MONews
4 Min Read

Formula 1’s grand return to Las Vegas has been hailed as one of the must-see motorsport spectacles of the year, but true Formula 1 fans living in the US will need to be prepared to turn their sleep schedules upside down if they want to see the action unfold on the track.

In terms of session start times, watching the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be a lot like staying up all night to watch a race in Japan or Australia. In fact, for fans on the East Coast, the race in the United States has the worst start time of the entire 2023 season.

Being a Formula 1 fan in the US usually means having something to watch while drinking coffee on Sunday mornings. Most races in Europe start around 9 a.m. ET, and even the races in Saudi Arabia and Qatar have a very comfortable light-off time of 1 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, Sunday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix starts at 1 a.m. ET.

Japan and Australia present the toughest challenge on the F1 calendar for American fans due to their extreme time zone differences. But even that weekend has an advantage over Las Vegas. No session starts after 2 a.m. ET. Saturday’s Las Vegas qualifying 3 am Eastern Standard Time

Why does the Las Vegas Grand Prix start so late? According to Liberty Media executive Renee Wilm, the start time allows more European viewers to enjoy the morning race.

Through Sports News:

“It was actually a compromise to broadcast the game at a time when our European fans could wake up at 6 or 7 in the morning with a cup of coffee. We [in the US] Watch European racing.”

The most obvious solution would have been to start the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the afternoon, like the races in Texas and Mexico City. But then F1 would lose the glamour of the night races in Las Vegas.

But racing in the middle of the night presents other challenges that can affect the quality of the product. With the temperatures so low, teams are worried about keeping their tyres warm, and Alex Albon predicted that racing in such cold conditions would be “complete chaos”.

Las Vegas Grand Prix Start Time:
Exercise 1: 11:30 p.m. ET Thursday, ESPN2
Exercise 2: Friday at 3 a.m. ET, ESPN
Exercise 3: Friday at 11:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Qualification: Saturday at 3 a.m. ET, ESPN
Gyeongju: Sunday at 1 a.m. ET, ESPN

Here’s what fans are saying about the weekend’s schedule:

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