Unmatched views and unforgettable shows: What it’s like to attend the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Las Vegas wants the world to know it is an amazing and entertaining location for Formula 1 Grand Prix races. I was one of a small group of journalists invited to share a VIP experience of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix and the city.
Exclusive all-inclusive race viewing locations, such as The Paddock Club and the T-Mobile Zone, were the greatest draw. We also had tickets to two of the hottest shows in town, invites to memorable culinary events, and stayed in 60th-floor rooms in the luxurious Wynn Las Vegas Resort Tower.
Getting there
The excitement of F1 races builds even before you get to the city where the race is located. Traveling boosts your energy as you realize other people waiting for your flight are headed to the race. It helps that many F1 fans dress in race wear throughout their trip. Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren shirts, jackets, and hats were the most common.
I started my trip in Hartford, Connecticut, and flew to Vegas with a connection in Minneapolis. There were about a dozen people in race wear in Hartford, and many more flew from the Minneapolis hub.
The Las Vegas airport was teaming with F1 fans. There were also official Formula 1 pop-up stores and Grand Prix-related activations. As I was walking to the Ride Share hailing spot, I saw the glittered full-size F1 race car replica in the photo above.
Wynn Las Vegas
My flight from Minneapolis was delayed, so I missed the first dinner that was planned for our group, but the room knocked me out. The room was spacious and luxuriously appointed, but the view was the topper.
The window in my 60th-floor room looked directly at Turn 12 on the track, a hard left-hand turn that led to DRS Zone 2 in Sector 3 of the 3.8-mile circuit. At night, when the racing was scheduled, the city streets that comprised a large part of the circuit were closed to public traffic and brightly lit. The same streets were reopened to the public during the day.
Awakening
I missed dinner that first day, but I was on time to see Awakening. This show is presented in a custom-built 360-degree theater with complex rising stages, aerialists and acrobats, fantastic costumes with elaborate choreography, and stunning large-scale puppetry.
The story of Awakening follows a classic hero’s journey with video-gaming elements. The hero and her two helpers accept a quest to find and capture jewels that will enable Light and Darkness to reunite and regain their powerful love.
The plot of Awakening is a structure for outstanding music, performances, and spectacle.
Race-related experiences
After the powerful first night’s experience, we used Wynn Las Vegas as our base for three days. During the day, we sampled some of the best that Vegas had to offer and then went to the track at night. Walking through the Wynn was an experience each day with many race-related activations and exhibits, such as this collection of Ferraris adjacent to one of the casino areas.
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