How the Las Vegas Grand Prix transforms the Strip in two hours

Making a street race happen in Formula One is one of the toughest logistical challenges for the organizers of a grand prix.

Each year in Monaco, Singapore and Baku, Azerbaijan, months of planning go into action to turn the center of a city into a racetrack for only a handful of days, as the bumpy streets and beckoning walls pose a different challenge to the drivers than a normal circuit.

But for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, that challenge is multiplied by the fact that its circuit incorporates one of the most famous roadways in the world: the Strip.

"I was in Singapore with the race and chatting to the promoter, and they were like, ‘We don’t understand how you open and close the track the way you do,’” said Emily Prazer, chief commercial officer of F1 and the Las Vegas Grand Prix. "They keep the roads closed for seven days. Can you imagine us telling the council we’re keeping the roads closed for seven days? It would just literally never happen, ever.”

As F1 embarked on its ambitious plan to return to Las Vegas after almost 40 years away, and insisted on having the Strip as part of its 6.1-kilometer track layout, it needed a plan to keep the Strip open as long as possible before preparing it for F1 action each night.

The task of opening and closing the roads that are part of the circuit is overseen by Terry Miller, general manager of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The event site for which he’s responsible covers 180 hectares.

"That’s a big area, not to mention the fact that we have more than 45 significant businesses around that track,” Miller said. "One of those 45 businesses owns five different resorts. So, the ability for us to manage the logistics of our track build is significant.”

The circuit installation, including the barriers, fences and lighting, commenced after Labor Day weekend in September. Miller instructed his team to approach the track build a little differently than in Year 1: completing a lap in a similar fashion to the drivers.

"This year, we were able to be a little more consistent and targeted as to how we were building the track,” he said. "You have to build all the track lighting before you can put up any track barriers.

"We started at one corner of the circuit, and we worked our way around the path and added all of our track lighting, and then we followed that same pattern with our track barriers, and then we followed with all of our electronics.”

As part of the agreement with local authorities, no track barriers are put along Las Vegas Boulevard until 12 days before the race to try to minimize disruption.

"They didn’t want to disturb Las Vegas Boulevard any sooner than necessary,” Miller said. "We did our internal logistics calculations, and we said we could try and get it done in 12 days prior to the race event.”

Removing the barriers on the Strip is one of the first tasks after the race so it can be cleared before Thanksgiving.

A team of 140 people works to open and close the track, assigned across 42 locations that open and close each day. There are 3,500 track barrier blocks, stretching out to 12.2 kilometers miles in length, twice the lap distance. Under the night sky, the track is illuminated by 1,750 temporary light units.

There can, of course, be incidents that lead to delays, such as the loose water valve cover that canceled the first practice session last year and meant that the second session did not finish until 4 a.m., but these are also planned for in conjunction with the FIA and local authorities.

"We’re also doing scenario planning with the local fire department and police department, to everything from incursion of a spectator — ‘How the heck did they get on the track, what happens, how do we do that?’” Miller said. "So, the level of planning that goes into this event is extraordinary.”

By midnight Saturday, the race will be complete, and the postrace celebrations will begin. Miller’s team will immediately start the dismantling process. By 4 a.m. Sunday, cars will be able to move around again, and a degree of normalcy will resume for those driving in the middle of Las Vegas. "By Christmas, we will have picked up everything,” Miller said.

It’s a sizable undertaking, but one that was required to make F1’s dream of racing along the Strip possible.

"I’ve been involved in the design and construction of NFL stadiums, Major League Baseball stadiums, soccer facilities and Olympic facilities,” Miller said. "I’ve been doing it for 44 years now. Nothing compares to what I’ve seen here in Vegas for the F1 project.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times © 2025 The New York Times Company