Ahead of Formula 1’s highly anticipated return to Las Vegas next month, the local residents are seemingly far from excited.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix will host the penultimate round of the 2023 season on November 16-18, with part of the street circuit to feature the iconic Vegas Strip.
As exciting as this might sound to the teams and drivers, it’s expected to cause complete chaos for local residents, with one taxi driver admitting that they’re taking all three days of the Grand Prix off.
Vegas taxi driver Dale Corson has admitted that the F1 is already making traffic an issue, and that the locals are having to figure out every day how to get around, given the continued work on the circuit.
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He stressed that the situation will only “get way worse” when the series arrives, something he’s seemingly not looking forward to.
“Right now if you don’t know where you’re going, it could take you 30 minutes to go a couple of casinos down the Strip. And it’s going to get way worse,” Corson told The Athletic.
It’s not just the immense traffic that locals are concerned about, with Vegas resident Marshall Harhay insisting that in the area itself, there’s “not really any excitement”.
Harhay has lived in Vegas since 1982 and was originally excited about F1 returning for the first time since he moved to Sin City (the last F1 race in Vegas took place in 1982).
He was hoping to grab a ticket for himself and his son, prior to the ticket prices being announced.
As soon as it was announced that a grandstand ticket would cost $1,500, Harhay’s interest in the event vanished.
It appears that the locals feel like the event hasn’t been put on for ‘regular people’, with the astronomical ticket prices certainly suggesting that it’s been aimed at the upper class.
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For that reason, the only thing being discussed by the locals about the race, is that it’s going to be a massive “inconvenience”.
“As a local, all of the conversations I’ve had with friends is about the inconvenience,” Harsay said.
“There’s not really any excitement about the event or the race.”