By the numbers
A crash means a race retirement from an accident, collision or spin. Starts exclude non-qualifications, non-starts and exclusions.History
The Caesars Palace Grand Prix was staged on a temporary street circuit in Las Vegas, laid out in the car park of the Caesars Palace hotel. The track measured 3.65 km, had 14 corners and ran anti-clockwise.
The Formula One World Championship visited twice, in 1981 and 1982. After the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen dropped off the calendar following 1980, the Las Vegas event took on greater importance. It closed the 1981 season, while Long Beach opened the year. Both races were title deciders: in 1981 Nelson Piquet secured his first world championship by finishing fifth, and in 1982 both the drivers' and the constructors' championships were settled.
The layout was wide enough to allow overtaking, with generous sand run-off areas and a very smooth surface. It was also flat, with repetitive sections. Running anti-clockwise put considerable strain on the drivers' necks, as they were more used to clockwise circuits. Alan Jones won in 1981 for Williams, and Michele Alboreto won in 1982 for Tyrrell, in intense heat.
Formula One then left Las Vegas. In 1983 and 1984 the site hosted the CART series on a modified layout, a distorted oval of 1.811 km. After 1984 the circuit disappeared from the calendar and the land was built over. The first Formula One race in Las Vegas since 1982 was the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, held on a different course through the city's streets, including the Strip.
Moments
- 1981Alan Jones won the first Caesars Palace Grand Prix for Williams, and Nelson Piquet became world champion for the first time by finishing fifth.
- 1982Michele Alboreto won for Tyrrell in the final Formula One race held on this circuit in Las Vegas.
- 1982The race settled both the drivers' and the constructors' world championships.
Circuit since 1981
- since 19813.650 km
Data: F1DB by Marcel Overdijk, CC BY 4.0 licence.