- Dutch world champion unhappy with F1 hype and hoopla
- Opening ceremony featured Kylie Minogue and John Legend
Formula One’s hopes to open the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend with a bang were dealt a blow when its reigning world champion Max Verstappen dismissed the meeting as “99% show and 1% sporting event”. The Dutchman was scathing about what F1 hopes will be its biggest race of the year and a showcase for the sport.
This weekend’s meeting is the first to be promoted and organised by F1’s owners and what certainly was a show had begun in the early evening of Wednesday in the form of an extravagant opening ceremony held on the start-finish straight. A series of acts including Kylie Minogue and John Legend were accompanied by lasers and fireworks before the festivities climaxed with the drivers appearing. elevated on lifts onto stages to wave to the crowd of approximately 30,000 in the new pit and paddock, grandstand complex F1 has purpose built in the city.