Leading F1 figures set to have key conversation about next year’s Las Vegas GP

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F1 was welcomed to Las Vegas last weekend for an eventful Grand Prix and already plenty of fans will be looking forward to the next race in the city in 2024.

Sky Sports F1 journalist Craig Slater has now shared what he’s heard about the changes that could take place before next year’s Grand Prix.

A weekend that looked set to be overshadowed by controversy ended up being hugely successful.

Carlos Sainz and Ferrari were left fuming by a decision to give the Spanish driver a ten-place grid penalty after his car was destroyed by a loose drain cover.

It should have been a Ferrari shutout on the front row of the grid but instead, Max Verstappen was promoted to second and took the lead going into the first corner even if he subsequently picked up a penalty.

However, while the race was extremely entertaining, there are still a few issues to iron out.

The main one is the timings of each session in Las Vegas with the race beginning at 10 pm local time and 6 am on Sunday morning in the UK, which F1 might need to change in 2024.

Toto Wolff has suggested that qualifying needs to be brought forward considering that started at midnight on Saturday.

The trouble for organisers is balancing the needs of the race and the needs of the general public and tourists in the city.

Las Vegas change in 2024 already being considered by F1

Speaking about the timings of next year’s Grand Prix, Slater said: “I’ve been in touch with organisers and some leading figures at Formula 1 today in actual fact.

“And I can reveal that there will be talks about making it an earlier start time next time.

“Nothing confirmed yet but there will be discussions to see if by common consent the one thing which was particularly hard to deal with out there and actually if we go back to Thursday and all the shenanigans then impacted on the fan experience as well.

“I think they will be looking at is it worthwhile making a start a little bit earlier. So that is something.”

F1 has plenty of decisions to make heading into 2024 but has already made a key one concerning Las Vegas.

Instead of being the penultimate race, it will be brought forward and lead off the final triple-header of the season before the paddock heads to Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

It’s going to put a huge strain on the teams and their logistics departments.

However, the main issue facing the drivers right now is the huge difference in time zones between Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi.

Bringing the races forward would help next year, especially ahead of two Grand Prix in the Middle East.

Whether they can negotiate with Las Vegas that they should close their roads at a busier time for the race is yet to be seen.