Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026 Dates Named, Grand Prix Plaza Opens

By Scott Roeben, on June 16 2025
5 min read 3 comments
Las Vegas Things to Do in Las Vegas

Despite our best efforts, the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix will return to Las Vegas in 2026.

Next year’s F1 race happens Nov. 19-21, 2026, with all the requisite hoopla and gridlock. On the bright side, the event hasn’t been extended for 10 years. Yet.

In better news, an F1 attraction near the Las Vegas Strip, dubbed Grand Prix Plaza, has opened and it’s pretty cool. So, there’s that.

We don’t know much abut racing, but we know glorious when we see it.

In case you don’t follow us on Twitter, the Las Vegas Review-Journal refers to the Las Vegas Grand Prix as a “highly touted race.” We refer to it as an “overhyped, exhaust-belching road rage machine and pestilence on humankind, butchering our streets and laying economic waste to all but a handful of casinos, a glaring symbol of the gaping chasm between the haves and have-nots and a reminder those with power happily put the good of the few over the good of the many.”‘

Also, something about the F1 race being Dante’s tenth circle of Hell.

But go-karts!

To make Grand Prix Plaza’s race experience even more realistic, F1 built a miniature model of the Strip people can poop on for four months out of the year. Probably.

F1 dumped a metric hell-ton of money into its lovely Grand Prix Plaza. F1 invited us over to check it out and it’s amazing.

Yes, two things can exist at once: The F1 race can be terrible for Las Vegas and Grand Prix Plaza can be fantastic.

It’s sort of like how Steve Wynn can be a Las Vegas visionary and also a serial sexual harasser. Not that we are comparing the F1 race to sexual harassment, because with sexual harassment, at least sometimes you might get flowers.

Anyway, Grand Prix Plaza has tons of things to see and do, whether or not you’re into F1 or racing.

Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas is a whopping 100,000-plus square feet and roughly breaks down into three areas.

“F1 X”: “The interactive Formula 1 experience offers guests a tech-driven journey through a cutting-edge exhibition, featuring legendary artifacts, memorabilia and hands-on activations. Visitors can design their own virtual F1 car and virtually race on the Las Vegas Strip Circuit from the driver’s seat in a 4D theater.”

The exhibits were excellent, especially if you’re into wheelball.

The car designing thing was actually a blast.

Everything but tope.

Our favorite part of the exhibit was the display of tires. Apparently, a variety of tires are needed because F1 races happen in a lot of different weather conditions.

“Tires” was misspelled “tyres” everywhere at Grand Prix Plaza, further evidence F1 views Las Vegas as a Commonwealth of some sort. How dare ye.

“F1 Drive”: “This official F1 karting attraction puts guests behind the wheel on a section of the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, racing through the actual pitlane and team garages. High-performance karts, LED steering wheel displays and F1-style DRS technology deliver an experience that channels the speed, sights and sounds of the sport.”

We didn’t try it because our hair does not cope well with helmets, but people seemed to enjoy it.

“F1 Hub”: “The Hub is the heart of Grand Prix Plaza and houses F1 SIMS, a flagship F1 store, and Fuel & Fork, Grand Prix Plaza’s sleek dining space serving modern American dishes and creative cocktails.”

The venue offers a lot of fun ways to learn more about cars and racing and tires and liquor.

Our advice is to do the opposite of what most Las Vegas drivers do: Kart first, drink second.

We could see Grand Prix Plaza doing well with group bookings, as the massive space has lots of rentable private event spaces: The Turn 1 Lounge, Cooldown Room and GPP Garage. There’s also a rooftop space which has great viewing of the Ellis Island casino expansion expected to be completed in 2068.

You can learn more about Grand Prix Plaza at the official site.

Tickets aren’t cheap: $80 for F1 X (exhibits); $80 for F1 Drive (karts); $40 for F1 Sims (driving simulators). There are “bundles” and VIP packages available, and prices vary depending upon the time of day. You’ll figure it out.

It’s pretty clear F1 isn’t going anywhere, just like the cars on roads anywhere near the Strip in the months before and after the F1 race.

Are we the only one who didn’t know the heads of F1 drivers pop out of the top of the car? Reminder: F1 cars can go 220-230 m.p.h.

This is not precisely the position of an F1 driver, but it is illustrative of how absolutely nuts they are.

Here’s more about the “halo,” which we didn’t know existed until we visited Grand Prix Plaza.

While F1 is detrimental to Las Vegas in any number of ways, the organization has spared no expense in making its Grand Prix Plaza a worthy part of our town’s ever-expanding collection of non-casino diversions and immersive experiences.

F1 is doing its best to minimize the disruption around its race (the first year, it was nine months of WTF, now it’s closer to four), along with trying to manage the ongoing blowback from businesses and members of the public affected by this ill-considered debacle inflicted upon Las Vegas each year.

It’s worth noting some of the dumbassery around F1 isn’t technically the fault of F1. MGM Resorts, for example, builds the grandstands in front of Bellagio’s fountains. It’s not required, it’s just a money grab that exploits the race, sacrificing a cherished photo op for millions of Las Vegas visitors for short-term gain.

The top prize for the Las Vegas Grand Prix is by far the most flamboyant of all the F1 trophies, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

In related news, sorta, the new “F1” movie is set to be released widely on June 27, 2025. The film stars Brad Pitt, along with Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies and Javier Bardem. The “Top Gun: Maverick” rip-off is directed by Joseph Kosinski (who directed dreck like “Tron: Legacy,” “Twisters,” “Oblivion” and, wait for it, “Top Gun: Maverick”) and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (any movie with explosions), with a “script” by Ehren Kruger (writer of three “Transformer” movies and “Dumbo,” we are not making this up).

Wow, it looks terrible. “F1” is sound and fury signifying adrenaline over accuracy, montage over nuance and a plot you could drive a pace car through.

We don’t love what F1 and our supposed advocates (the LVCVA and Clark Country Commission) have done by enabling F1’s havoc on The Strip and beyond—a blow to both commerce and traffic flow—but we aren’t going to spend all our time punching the ocean, either.

Las Vegas isn’t an extra, it’s the star. Vegas isn’t a backdrop, it’s the headliner. Las Vegas loves a circus, but you don’t get to treat us like clowns. Las Vegas isn’t a pit stop, it’s the finish line.

We can crank out these metaphors all day!

Just fix it, already. Move the race away from The Strip or pull the plug. Ticket sales and room rates and TV viewership are tanking, anyway.

And also check out Grand Prix Plaza. It’s a fun and fascinating look into a world where money talks, engines scream and some guy named Max Verstappen wins just by showing up.

But mostly the thing about pulling the plug on the race, thanks.