Las Vegas Grand Prix ‘a new landmark event'

When Formula 1 makes its long-awaited and hyped return to Las Vegas next weekend, it will mark more than just an eye-popping spectacle of glitz, lights and racing.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix will also serve as one of the largest U.S. sporting events of the year and, in turn, a major marketing opportunity and social media bonanza for the automakers hitched to the racing series — Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Alpine, Honda and Alfa Romeo.

"The Las Vegas Grand Prix just matches F1's brand so well," said Joe Cobbs, a sports business professor and top researcher on F1 sponsorships at Northern Kentucky University's Haile College of Business.

Cobbs said Las Vegas — the flashy, glamorous entertainment capital that draws high rollers worldwide, anchored in the idolized American West — makes for an ideal setting for the Saturday night race that starts at 10 p.m. local time.

A significant stretch of the 3.8-mile-long street course will see some 20 cars screeching down Las Vegas' famed Strip.

Even before the starting grid is known, Autoweek, the car enthusiast and racing outlet, is calling the race "the jewel in the crown for Formula 1."

Renato Bisignani, global head of marketing and communications at Aston Martin Lagonda, describes F1 as a core element of the British automaker's marketing. The brand races under the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team name.

"The Las Vegas Grand Prix will see Aston Martin's largest ever presence at an F1 race, with integrated activations including digital and live experiences for our customers and fans," Bisignani said in an email.

Bisignani said Aston Martin's Formula 1 presence has driven brand visibility and increased product consideration. The brand, on average, has seen a 7 percent increase in website traffic versus non-race weekends this season and a 13 percent increase in vehicle configurator traffic, Bisignani said. Configurator traffic has jumped 30 percent on race weekends in which Aston Martin has landed on the podium among the top three finishers.

Bisignani said 96 percent of Aston Martin's U.S. customers have said the automaker's F1 association made them more likely to consider the brand.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the season's third U.S. F1 race after the Miami Grand Prix, which was in May and added last year, and the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, last month.

"The race in Las Vegas now provides a new landmark event in F1's global calendar," Bisignani said.

Site preparation for the Las Vegas Grand Prix began last year and has made getting around the Strip a headache, according to local reports. Crowds of around 100,000 are anticipated for each day of the race weekend.

General admission tickets close to the new Sphere arena are sold out, according to the race's website, but grandstand tickets for Saturday were still available as of Thursday, Nov. 9, and started around $1,169 before fees on Ticketmaster. For comparison, a three-day general admission grounds pass for the 2024 U.S. Grand Prix in Austin start at $299.

The popularity of F1 in the U.S., where NASCAR and IndyCar have long dominated the motorsports landscape, has not always been a given.

F1 had a challenging time catching on in the U.S. as it was largely seen as a European sport dominated by European brands, Cobbs said.

F1 has held races in Watkins Glen, N.Y.; Long Beach, Calif.; Detroit; Indianapolis; Dallas; Phoenix; and even Las Vegas, when the Caesars Palace Grand Prix was held in 1981 and 1982.

But, Cobbs said, Liberty Media's purchase of F1 in 2017 and the launch of Netflix's popular "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" documentary series in 2019 raised what he described as the language fluency for the series in the U.S.

"Liberty Media was pretty aggressive about building the F1 TV product, creating programming around the races, creating a more aggressive digital strategy than the previous regime," Cobbs said. "That's really paying off in this current environment."

While North America has been a priority in recent years, F1 has expanded into Asian markets as well as the Middle East, Cobbs noted. A return to Africa in the next few years seems likely, he added.

F1 is also set to return to China next season after four years of canceled races stemming from COVID-19 travel restrictions, meaning the world's biggest light-vehicle markets will once again have races.

F1 is also set to draw more automakers into its fold.

Ford is returning to F1 in 2026 via a partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing, the current dominant team. Audi also plans to join starting with the 2026 season. General Motors' Cadillac brand, meanwhile, is attempting to enter F1 by partnering with Michael Andretti, the son of legendary driver Mario Andretti.

Nicolas Brown, McLaren Automotive's president of the Americas region, said enthusiasm among its customers around the McLaren F1 Team, and attending races, has been increasing.

"Racing just really gives them more touch points with the brand, whereas four or five years ago, you may not have seen this," Brown said. "Now when we speak with customers at events, you can rest assured that the conversation heavily revolves around how the team is doing, how the drivers are doing. It's been really good for us."

Brown said McLaren Automotive is working with McLaren Racing to curate a program for a small group of McLaren customers in what amounts to an all-inclusive package around the Las Vegas Grand Prix. It includes access to the race paddock and the potential to meet with drivers.

McLaren is also taking up a temporary residence inside the Wynn casino resort.

In October, the automaker opened the McLaren Experience Center, a 2,500-square-foot space with a rotating collection of supercars, a vehicle configurator and a racing simulator similar to the one McLaren Racing driver Lando Norris uses. The center also sells McLaren merchandise.

"We are an exclusive brand, down to our numbers, but we want to be very inclusive in terms of how we engage with not only customers but with the fan base and also new people that are just learning about the brand," Brown said.

McLaren partnered with O'Gara Coach, a large exotic and ultraluxury dealership group that has McLaren franchises in Southern California. Brown said more than 20,000 people have visited the McLaren Experience Center near other shops in the Wynn. It will remain open until spring 2024.

Mercedes-Benz USA plans to hold consumer test drives of the EQ electric vehicle lineup at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, on Nov. 17-19, a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson said.

The luxury automaker also plans to advertise on the new Sphere, a giant performing arts venue, throughout the week during both race and non-race hours, the spokesperson said.

Alfa Romeo is setting up shop in the Aria Resort & Casino in the days leading up to the race. Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, along with its two drivers, plans to reveal its race car livery at the Aria on Nov. 15, according to an Alfa Romeo spokesperson.

Alfa Romeo will also have product experts on-site to talk about its lineup with potential customers. In addition, the Italian brand plans to run content on one of the Strip's huge billboards.

Cobbs said while there's still room for the TV audience to expand, F1 awareness has seen considerable growth in the last 15 years.

In the past, Cobbs said, his students often lacked any awareness of F1 when sports sponsorships were class topics. "Now," Cobbs said, "that never happens."