Las Vegas Strip Street Circuit
Las Vegas, USA
The Las Vegas Strip Street Circuit is a street track laid out along Las Vegas Boulevard, running directly past the city's famous casino resorts and its iconic fountain and pyramid landmarks. Long, wide straights allow for very high top speeds, contrasted with tighter, low-speed corners around the hotel frontages. Held at night under floodlights, it is one of the most visually distinctive races on the calendar.
Length
6.201 km
Turns
17
Race Laps
50
Elevation
5m
First GP
2023
Lap Record
1:35.490
Oscar Piastri (2023)
Location
Nearest Town
The circuit runs through the heart of the Las Vegas Strip itself, the entertainment corridor of Las Vegas, Nevada known worldwide for its casinos, shows, and nightlife. The race takes advantage of this existing infrastructure rather than requiring a purpose-built venue. Its late-night start time is designed to suit both the Strip's culture and global television audiences.
Getting There
Harry Reid International Airport is only a few minutes' drive from the Strip and circuit, one of the most convenient airport-to-track distances on the calendar. The Strip's monorail and extensive rideshare availability make getting around during the race weekend straightforward despite road closures.
Circuit History & Trivia
Notable Incidents
During first practice for the inaugural 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz's Ferrari struck a loose water-valve drain cover embedded in the track surface, forcing the session to be red-flagged and abandoned. The impact tore through the floor of Sainz's car and destroyed his energy store, a critical hybrid component. Because Ferrari had already used its permitted allocation, fitting a third energy store for the race meant Sainz incurred a 10-place grid penalty through no fault of his own. The episode became one of the most talked-about controversies of the circuit's debut weekend, prompting scrutiny of the track's readiness and the standards applied to public-road drain covers ahead of a Grand Prix.
Design History
The Las Vegas Strip Circuit was designed by Carsten Tilke, son of veteran circuit architect Hermann Tilke, with construction breaking ground in March 2022 and the venue opening for its first race in November 2023. Formula One paid roughly $240 million to acquire land and build a permanent pit and paddock complex along Koval Lane, an unusual step for what is otherwise a street circuit laid over public roads. The original 14-corner layout was revised prior to the race debut to add a chicane, bringing the final configuration to 17 corners. Running down Las Vegas Boulevard and featuring a 1.2-mile straight, the 3.853-mile track was built under a ten-year agreement securing the roads for racing each November.
Records & Notable Races
Max Verstappen set the race lap record of 1:33.365 at the 2025 Grand Prix, while Yuki Tsunoda recorded the circuit's highest top speed at 222.6 mph (358.3 km/h) that same year. George Russell holds the pole-position benchmark, having qualified with an average speed of 150.3 mph in 2024. As one of F1's newest venues, the circuit's record book is still being written, with each edition so far producing new benchmarks given the track's exceptionally high average speeds compared to most other circuits on the calendar.
Fun Facts
The circuit is an FIA Grade 1 facility located in Paradise, Nevada, with a spectator capacity of around 100,000. Its layout deliberately threads past some of the Strip's most recognizable landmarks, including the MSG Sphere, Caesars Palace, Bellagio, and Paris Las Vegas, giving television viewers a distinctive skyline backdrop unlike any other race on the calendar. In March 2024, the FIA investigated and subsequently cleared its own president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, of allegations that he had pressured officials over the circuit's certification timeline. The race is held at night, both for television scheduling across time zones and to take advantage of cooler desert temperatures.