Formula 1 demo to lead to full closure of Strip Nov. 5

A portion of the Strip is set to be shut to traffic for several hours next month so Formula One can host a Las Vegas Grand Prix kickoff party.

A full closure of Las Vegas Boulevard between Paris Las Vegas and Harrahs on Nov. 5 was approved Tuesday by Clark County Commissioners to allow for an F1 demonstration.

“Demo runs with actual Formula One cars and actual Formula One drivers that are in the competition to show what those cars are capable of,” said Rutger Jansen, vice president of event production for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The live car run on the Strip will feature drivers from Oracle Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG Petronas.

The full closure is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 5 and last until around 7 p.m.

The demo will start at Caesars Palace with drivers heading south on the Strip. Drivers will then go around the porte cochere at Paris then head back north on Las Vegas Boulevard to Caesars, Jansen said.

“They’ll do multiple rounds,” Jansen said. “Then go back to the start-finish line.”

Lane impacts on the Strip tied to the event will begin Nov. 3, with full curb lane closures between the Mirage and Planet Hollywood. That closure will be in effect through Nov. 6, after crews remove all barriers tied to the event.

Race officials have been in contact with the resorts that will be impacted by the event to ensure employees will be able to access their places of work.

“The 6:30 shift (of casino employees) coming in at that point, not only do we hope to have the road back open, we said 7 o’clock but we’re going to work diligently to get it back open at that 6:30 time frame,” Terry Miller, head of Miller Project Management said.

Caesars Palace is set to host the free event running between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m., Nov. 5, aimed at providing area residents and tourists a glimpse of what the Las Vegas Grand Prix is set to bring to the valley in November 2023.

A drone show over Caesars Palace is scheduled for later in the evening.

The event will include fan activities such as the Formula One Pit Stop challenge, where attendees can try their hand at changing a Formula One car’s wheels in under three seconds and an esports simulator where fans can race head-to-head on the official F1 game.

“What we’re trying to do is make people understand what F1 is, what it all encompasses,” Jansen said. “There will be actual cars on display. Of course the demo run will show what those cars are capable of. People will get a feel, a smell, they will hear the cars. They will understand what’s going on.”

There is also a driver question and answer session planned for after the live run on the Strip. The first 500 fans ages 21 and older to attend the launch party will have a chance to win a ticket for a private VIP celebration later that night at Caesars Palace featuring a performance by The Killers.

“This is an exciting event for us to bring F1 to Las Vegas and the Valley to show everybody what they can expect next year,” Miller said. “It’s not a race, it’s a course, it is moving these F1 vehicles and being able to see the talent that gets in these cars and drives them. We won’t be going 200 mph up and down this demonstration course. But it will be faster than the typical traffic on the boulevard.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.