F1 fans race down to Strip for Saturday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix

Kristy and Jason Smith are the prototype visitors the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority were hoping for when they lured Formula One racing to Las Vegas.

The Mansfield, Texas, couple, big fans of the Mercedes racing team, planned their trip to the city around this year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix and sprinkled in a generous number of local attractions to see and do, boosting the local economy while enjoying the sport they love.

LVCVA officials have frequently said they would welcome race fans from around the world, hoping they would parlay seeing the sport live with some time doing Vegas things that boost the local economy.

“We’ve had nothing but great hospitality everywhere we’ve gone,” Kristy Smith said while admiring the holiday display at Bellagio’s conservatory.

The third annual grand prix, which was set to culminate in Saturday’s 8 p.m. race after practice and qualifying sessions Thursday and Friday, saw auto racing fans like the Smiths descending by the thousands on the Strip on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The race itself is a 50-lap contest that sees the F1 cars screaming down a 3.8-mile circuit mainly comprised of public roads including Las Vegas Boulevard, Koval Lane and Harmon and Sands avenues. On Saturday, roads within the circuit, which closed at 3 p.m., were slated to reopen at 2 a.m. Sunday.

While the plan all along was to watch the race from some of the fan zones, after booking their flight from Dallas, the Smiths bought tickets to a showing of “The Wizard of Oz” at Sphere just three hours after their plane touched down at Harry Reid International Airport.

They also found time to take a spin on the High Roller, taking in views of the entire Strip.

They met up with representatives of the Mercedes race team who “gave us the scoop” about what’s ahead for the team.

After watching qualifying runs on Friday, they made a spur-of-the-moment decision to catch a late performance of “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace and strolled Las Vegas Boulevard, chatting with other race fans.

“I laughed so hard my sides hurt,” Kristy Smith said of the “Absinthe” show.

The Smiths said they began planning their trip in early September and were inspired by advisers from American Express as well as the five-day “Fabulous Las Vegas” sale.

“We actually got a really decent room rate and I noticed the rates went up after we booked,” Jason Smith said.

They sweated out the government shutdown and Federal Aviation Administration-imposed flight reductions, hoping they wouldn’t ruin their vacation plans.

They’ve also been impressed with the efficiency crews have shown transforming the F1 street circuit back to a traffic-bearing street within hours.

After watching the race Saturday night, they’ll make their way to the airport for a red-eye flight back to Dallas.

“But we’ll be back,” said Kristy Smith, who last visited Las Vegas in 2019.

“When we get home, we’re going to start planning a Formula One trip for next year.”

Race goes to the dogs

All eyes on the Strip were focused on the grand prix, but a pair of race car-driving terriers stole the show inside the Caesars Palace Forum Shops Saturday night.

Sergio Prado from La Habra, California, pushed 10-year-old Homer, a Jack Russell-Chihuahua mix riding in a 2000s-style Marlboro-branded Formula One car made just for him.

Prado said he builds the race cars for his pups as a hobby. Some are constructed from metal, he said, and others from molded plastic.

“He actually has a car collection, Prado said. “He has about 14 different cars.”

His son, Sergio Prado Jr., steered a terrier named Dexter in a ’60s Ferrari Formula One throwback car with a license plate reading “LEGENDARY.” Each cart had small umbrellas to block the sun, accessories like sunglasses and race helmets for the dogs to wear and handles for the Prados to push them with.

Tourists would stop to photograph and gleefully gush at dogs as the Prados pushed them around.

Prado said he’s been making the dog-sized cars long before his son got him into Formula One as a sport. Now, they’re in Las Vegas to enjoy the big race.

“I love racing,” Prado said.

‘This is the coolest thing ever’

The Wynn gaming floor and retail shops also buzzed with activity ahead of Saturday’s race.

A line of dozens of F1 fans stretched outside the McLaren store, which had been the case since it opened in the morning, according to a staff member. Inside, patrons could buy Lego sets, clothing, and even a replica race car with a price tag of $50,000.

In the back of the store, behind a mirrored door, fans tested their driving skills in a race simulator experience.

“This is the coolest thing ever,” Casey Hooks, 15, said, his hands on the specialized steering wheel. Hooks raced against his friend, who played alongside him on another screen.

The boys said that, even though they had little experience driving in general, it was probably the closest they’d come to experiencing F1 on the track.

Instructor Ryan Shen said that the simulator was the same one that driver Lando Norris uses at home. The experience, which is by appointment only, costs $250 for the self-guided version that and more than $300 for the version with a training course.

Just down the corridor, Lewis Hamilton’s +44 pop-up shop also had a queue.

The highly sought after Shoey

The Shoey is one of the most sought-after items sold during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with fans camping out for hours in order to get their hands on the limited item.

There were four official shoeys made available for this year’s race, with each one limited to 50. (A Las Vegas Grand Prix tradition, four limited Shoeys have been made available each year.)

A shoey is an Australian tradition in which an alcoholic beverage is consumed out of a shoe, made famous in 2016 after F1 driver Daniel Riccardo did a shoey after a race.

F1 superfan Jaret Rubio from Arkansas went through great lengths to be one of the few that actually obtained all four.

Rubio camped out each night for about five hours to get the shoeys, one by one. For the last version, dubbed Lady Luck, Rubio needed an assist from Jamie Smith, of South Carolina, a friend that he made during last year’s Shoey hunt.

People got in line for the last Shoey drop of the weekend at the Bellagio beginning at 5:30 a.m. Saturday and Rubio initially got wristband No. 63, meaning he would miss out on the 50 shoeys. But as luck would have it, Smith had a number within 50, so he gifted his friend the chance to secure the full 2025 set.

“I thought I wasn’t going to get it, but he hooked me up this time,” Rubio said. “So, I got the last one and I’ll have the whole collection this year.”

Even though Smith wanted the last one for himself, he wanted to do a good gesture for Rubio, knowing that he’ll get him back in the future.

“He might pass that favor on to me next year,” Smith said.

Rubio displays the shoeys on his wall, so the four he got this year will join the three he secured during the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

After becoming friends during last year’s Shoey hunt, Rubio and Smith brought their families to Las Vegas this year for the race and have been enjoying their vacations together.

“It’s been a win-win all the way around,” Smith said. “We’ve got our families here with us this year, we’ve got our kids with us, they’re off having fun at the F1 activations. It’s been good.”

And they’re off

Around 8:00 p.m. Saturday, roughly a hundred people gathered on Sands Avenue near Koval Lane to watch the starting laps. The view was partially blocked by a fence with a black mesh cover, but some attendees, about 30 feet away from the track, brought step stools and selfie sticks to see above it.

Others lifted children onto their shoulders in hopes of giving them a better view.

As drivers approached the corner on the first lap, a loud “Zoom” echoed through the street, and the air was filled with the smells of burnt rubber and fuel.

Most onlookers kept their distance from the partition, careful not to upset any of the security guards staffing the area.

When anyone got too close to take a photo or video, a guard shooed them away, saying, “Keep walking.”

View from the sportsbook

At the BetMGM sportsbook at Bellagio, a roar went up as the Las Vegas Grand Prix began when Max Verstappen grabbed the lead away from Lando Norris in the first lap.

Although the race was going on about 500 feet away in front of Bellagio, the race dominated the four big screens in the sportsbook with supporters from the different race teams hollering the same way they do during football games.

The sportsbook turned out to be an ideal place to watch since all the grandstands were sold out.

On a typical Saturday night, the big screens generally are reserved for college football or National Hockey League games.

Even though the Vegas Golden Knights were in action against the Ducks in Anaheim, their game was relegated to a small screen with Formula One being the sports highlight of the night.

‘They’re racing … here?’

There’s a free shuttle that runs from Bellagio to Park MGM and to access it, riders take escalators to get outdoors to board the tram.

Although buildings block all the views of Las Vegas Boulevard and the race cars speeding along it, the sound of the horsepower echoed through the resort corridor when the race was running.

“What is that?” one woman asked as she stepped off the shuttle.

“It’s the race,” came the reply.

“They’re racing … here?”

While Formula One and its buildup has become a huge event locally, there are still plenty of visitors who aren’t tuned in to how big the race has become.