What makes it unique is that it is being promoted by Liberty Media and F1 and not by a local third party. The city and the casinos that own the land are partners, but the commercial rights holder is taking the big risks and stands to lose or fail depending on how the weekend pans out.
F1’s role as a promoter is a fascinating development for the series and one that the established race organisers are watching with interest at a time when there is a queue of potential new hosts waiting to join the party.
Many existing races have already announced extended deals that guarantee them a long-term place on the calendar. It looks a little like a game of musical chairs, and nobody wants to be left standing when the music stops and 24 or so venues are locked in for the foreseeable future.
In that context, the prospect of F1 putting on its own races and potentially favouring them over established events has given other promoters plenty of food for thought.
“Las Vegas was a clear opportunity that was important for us to take to maximise from one side what we believe a promoter should do,” says F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. “And on the other side to leverage on this experience.
“I would say that the beauty of today is that we have a great bunch of promoters. Around the world everyone is really not only [competing] in terms of let’s say financial contribution, but they are also getting better and better in preparing new experiences for the fans, investing in new facilities.
“So that is good. So already, the effect on us being the promoter has really induced everyone to be better.”
Thus far the message from Liberty Media has been that Las Vegas is a one-off. However, Domenicali hints that the experiment works it would be logical to try a similar recipe elsewhere – but not at the expense of successful existing events, he insists.
“Of course, we are there to make the best business ever,” he says. “And therefore if there will be other opportunities for sure we will not be shy.
“But I think that on the other hand, I think that we are very lucky that today the quality of promoters around the world is really very strong.”
Stefano Domenicali, CEO, Formula 1
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Those promoters have a very good relationship with Domenicali and his organisation. They regularly get together as a group in London to talk about the bigger picture and the common challenges that they face.
That open dialogue wasn’t the case in the past. The last…
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