Who is the most successful at Las Vegas?
Having clinched victory at the first-ever Las Vegas Grand Prix, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen will face a difficult task if he wants to repeat his success from the previous season. F1Technical's Balazs Szabo delivers some stats and trivia ahead of today's Nevadan F1 round.
After two events run on a track built up around Caesars Palace in 1981 and 1982, last year Grand Prix racing found a new home in the entertainment capital of the world, with the track using part of the famous Strip from which it takes its name.
This year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the 79th round of the Drivers’ World Championship held in the USA since the series started in 1950. The USA thus joins Germany and Great Britain in second place on the list of nations that have hosted the most Grands Prix, with only Italy on 107 having held more.
To date, there have been 11 venues used in the United States: Austin (12 Grands Prix), Dallas (1), Detroit (7), Indianapolis (19), Las Vegas (3), Long Beach (8), Miami (3), Phoenix (3), Riverside (1), Sebring (1) and Watkins Glen (20).
There’s an unusual statistic in that the two drivers that top the list of winners of races held in the USA will be on track this weekend in Las Vegas, namely Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen on six apiece. Following Charles Leclerc’s win in Austin last month, Ferrari is the most successful team in this country on 14 wins.
This weekend's race will be the second Las Vegas Grand Prix. However, last year's inaugural race was not the first grand prix to take place in the city. In 1981 and 1982 Los Vegas hosted the Caesars Palace Grand Prix on a course laid out around what was then the parking lot of the famous hotel and casino.
In 1981, Australian driver Alan Jones came out victorious in the 75-lap race, driving a Williams-Ford, with Frenchman Alain Prost second in a Renault and Italian Bruno Giacomelli third in an Alfa Romeo. The following season saw Michele Alboreto win the Caesars Palace Grand Prix, driving a Tyrrell-Ford.
