Formula 1 will fulfill its desire to have three races in the US in 2023, one of the most important markets in the history of the category, but which had resisted the allure of grand prix until the departure of the Drive to Survive series, in Netflix , which boosted its fame in this very exclusive territory.
The Circuit of the Americas in Austin and the street layout in Miami will now be accompanied by the urban circuit of Las Vegas , one of the most important tourist areas in the US with various hotels that, in addition to casinos, have various night shows .
Las Vegas will thus receive its third race in the highest category of motorsports next year, 41 years after the last appearance of the Great Circus in that city.
The old layout was located in the renowned Caesars Palace hotel and casino, it was a 3,680 km street circuit, with 14 curves and a distance of 273 kilometers in which 75 laps were completed in the race.
The race came as a replacement for Watkins Glen, a permanent circuit that had hosted Formula 1 from 1961 to 1980.
On October 17, 1981, the first F1 race was held in Las Vegas and put an end to the calendar for that year. The track, located in Nevada, was the 15th race of the season, after the Canadian GP.
Argentine driver Carlos Reutemann took pole position with a time of 1:17.821, at a time when he was fighting for the championship with Nelson Piquet.
The South American’s luck changed in the race, when during the first lap he fell to fifth position, to finish eighth in the end, this while Piquet added two points with fifth place and sentenced the title in his favor with a total of 50 points per 49 of the Argentine.
Williams Ford driver Alan Jones took victory starting from second in a physically demanding race in over 28C in the Nevada desert. The Australian started from second position and took first place immediately, while the poleman could not hold within the top three positions once the first lap was completed.
Alain Prost’s Renault and Bruno Giacomelli’s Alfa Romeo completed the podium positions that year.
In 1982 the race was held on September 25 on the same track and, again, closed the curtain on the season as it was the last round on the calendar, after the Italian Grand Prix.
Alain Prost took first place at the wheel of his Renault and was accompanied by his compatriot, Rene Arnoux, in a car from the same team.
However, the victory was taken by the Italian Michele Alboreto after a very exhausting race where the ambient temperature was above 35 ºC.
For Formula 1 , at that time, the physical demand was not rewarded with the attendance of the public, who had not been captivated by the presence of the highest category. The stands were not filled and the race was removed from the calendar after the 1982 edition concluded.
