Lewis Hamilton expecting Las Vegas GP to be a ‘wild experience’

Lewis Hamilton is unsure how he'll get from his hotel to the new Las Vegas street circuit.

Lewis Hamilton is expecting this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix to be a “wild experience”, given how “compact” everything is.

Unlike the last race in Sin City 41 years ago, this weekend’s race isn’t taking place in a casino car park; instead, an entirely new street circuit has been built and incorporates part of the iconic Vegas Strip.

One thing which has been noticed by drivers and the media is how compact the entire operation is, to the point that Hamilton is unsure how he’ll get himself “from the track to the hotel”.

It’s certainly set to be a Grand Prix like no other, with Formula 1 having pulled out all the stops to make it as big as possible.

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F1 themselves have been hugely involved in the preparations, as they’re the promoters of the event.

The teams and drivers are massively excited for the weekend and the incredible spectacle it is expected to be; however, it’s received significant backlash from local residents.

Local residents are more looking forward to the Grand Prix being over so their lives can finally return to normal, with construction work for the F1 having taken place across the past nine months.

This has made the traffic particularly bad for the locals, to the extent that a four-mile journey has taken several hours for some.

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Las Vegas does have a contract to host a race every year for the next 10 years, although this will likely just cause a greater divide between the residents and the sport in the future.

Even Hamilton has acknowledged that F1 must ensure that the locals are impacted as little as possible, so that the sport doesn’t become like a circus coming to town.

However, the seven-time World Champion is excited for the weekend, and suspects that racing under the Vegas lights will “feel like I’m in a casino movie”.

“I just don’t understand how we’re going to move around that place, I don’t know how we’re going to get from the track to the hotel!” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

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“It’s going to be such a compact spot with so many people, but I think it’s going to be a wild experience.

“I think the best thing is just to go in with an open mind, not have any pre-determined ideas of what it’s going to be like and just take it all in when you get there.

“Driving under those lights is going to feel like I’m in a casino movie, it’s pretty cool!”