Has motor racing replaced boxing as the Las Vegas sport at which to be seen? If the Formula One Grand Prix has its way, it will. The racing organization's first Las Vegas race since the Caesars Palace Grand Prix in 1982 certainly brought some famous folks to town for the Saturday event, with Rod Stewart, Terry Crews, Shaquille O'Neal, and Gordon Ramsay in the stands on the step-and-repeat.?
Belgian and Dutch driver Max Verstappen was the top driver on the Strip-adjacent, 3.853-mile street track, which was built for the event. The 50-lap race, which is expected to be held annually for the next decade, runs a total of 192.599 miles.
Was there a rhyme or reason for what celebrities were in attendance? Sometimes! Singer Rod Stewart is a well-known gearhead, Brad Pitt is making a Formula One movie, and Anthony Mackie is in the driving-as-combat-sport video game adaptation Twisted Metal. So, sure.?
For others, the connection to racing was less clear—but with the spectacle of fast cars racing next to over-the-top casinos, maybe that's reason enough to attend.
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
After Barbie, Greta Gerwig Has No Plans to Rest
Inside the Real Housewives Reckoning That’s Rocking Bravo
The Secret Warnings That Predated the Pandemic
Money, Murder, Fur: Inside the Frenchie Revolution
Trump’s “Body Guy” and His Massive Military Gambit
The Untold Story of Tucker Carlson’s Ugly Exit From Fox News
The Frat-Boy Crime Ring That Swept the South
From the Archive: Intimations of Murder (2000)
