Five fast facts about the Las Vegas GP

For the first time in 1982, Formula 1 will hold a third race in the United States in the same season. Just as was the case 41 years ago, that third and final race will be held in Las Vegas. Back then, the race was known as the Caesars Palace Grand Prix, named for the famous hotel – where the circuit was laid out in the parking lot. The somewhat featureless and repetitive track was not especially popular so was used for F1 only twice, as the season-ending race in both 1981 and 1982. In both years, the drivers' championship was secured with a fifth-place finish in Caesars Palace: by Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg respectively.

The quote of the year in 1981 was supplied by out-going world champion Alan Jones in Las Vegas, when asked who he would prefer to succeed him as champion: his Williams team mate Carlos Reutemann, or Brabham's Nelson Piquet. “Couldn't care less. Can't stand either of them…” 

The Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit promises to be rather more exciting than its predecessor, as it takes Formula 1 onto its streets – including an almost two-kilometre stretch of its iconic Strip, passing famous hotels such as the Bellagio, Venetian and Caesars Palace. Early simulations suggest top speeds of 342 kph will be possible, with average speeds potentially similar to the fastest existing track on the calendar, Monza. Teams could therefore be tempted to bring their low-downforce configurations, but the first practice sessions will be crucial for deciding setup.

The Las Vegas layout is not just long straights, as it features 17 turns in total. Designers came up with 31 different variations before they settled on a 6.2-kilometre circuit, making it the third-longest on the calendar after Spa-Francorchamps and Jeddah. Funnily enough, the lap starts in what was a disused car park – which has been redeveloped into a permanent pit and paddock complex that will also serve as Formula 1's new US headquarters. Further around the lap, the track circles the newest landmark in Vegas, a giant 112-metre-high Sphere wrapped in LEDs.

The Caesars Palace races were known for extreme heat. When Piquet clinched the championship there in 1981, he had to be lifted from his car and needed time to recover from the effects of heat exhaustion. The Las Vegas GP could be very different though, as a night race starting at 10pm local time. With a desert climate, nights in Vegas can be quite cold, especially at this time of year – when ambient temperatures often fall below 10 degrees centigrade. Considering this, Pirelli has selected the softest tyres available: the C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow medium and C5 as P Zero Red soft. But the weather is still a big question mark.

The Las Vegas race will be held on a Saturday night, allowing for a Sunday broadcast slot in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Of course, the F1 Sprint format means that racing on Saturdays is not uncommon these days, but this will be the first time that a world championship grand prix has been held on any day other than Sunday since the 1985 South African Grand Prix. It will become a more common phenomenon from next year, when the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races also move to Saturday. And with the season finale in Abu Dhabi coming up just a week after Las Vegas, on the other side of the world, a Saturday night finish buys some vital extra hours to get all the necessary equipment and people shipped off to the Middle East.