Most Formula 1 street circuits are tight and slow. Las Vegas is the exception. Formula 1 says the Las Vegas Strip Circuit runs at average speeds similar to Monza, the sport’s fastest permanent track, and it does it on roads that are open to traffic the rest of the year.
The numbers
- Length: 6.201 kilometers
- Turns: 17
- Race distance: 50 laps, 309.958 kilometers
- First race: 2023
- Lap record: 1:33.365, Max Verstappen, 2025
Down the Strip
The lap winds past some of the most photographed buildings in the country, including the Venetian, Caesars Palace and the Bellagio. The defining section is the run down Las Vegas Boulevard itself. Before the first race, Formula 1 projected that the straight would stretch close to two kilometers, about 1.9 of them on the Strip, with top speeds around 342 km/h, or 212 mph.
Earlier in the lap, the track swings past Sphere. Turn 5 and the chicane at Turns 7 through 9 sit beside the venue, which is why the race’s T-Mobile Zone and its concert stage are built there.
A permanent pit building
Unlike most street races, Las Vegas has a permanent base. Liberty Media, which owns Formula 1, bought a 39-acre site at Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane in 2022 and built a four-level, 300,000-square-foot pit and paddock building there. The Nevada Independent put the total cost of land and construction at about $500 million. The building, now called Grand Prix Plaza, hosts events outside race week.
Why it produces drama
Long straights, heavy braking into slow corners and a race that starts at 8 p.m. local time make for a hard weekend to get right. The circuit has already delivered a last-lap pass for second in 2023 and a double disqualification in 2025. This year it will also be the first Las Vegas race run under Formula 1’s 2026 rules.
Sources
- Formula 1: Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026
- Formula 1: Need to know: the most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix (Nov. 20, 2025)
- Las Vegas Grand Prix via PR Newswire: T-Mobile Stage announcement (Aug. 6, 2026)
- The Nevada Independent, Howard Stutz: $500M paddock building topped off five months ahead of Las Vegas F1 race weekend (April 14, 2023)
- Las Vegas Review-Journal, Mick Akers: F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix pit building gets permanent name
