If you want to watch the F1 Las Vegas race live and in person, either buy a ticket or your S.O.L.
If you think you’re going to be sneaky and watch the F1 Las Vegas GP live and for free by staking out a spot on the one of many pedestrian bridges that go over the course, race organizers are three steps ahead of you.
Unlike other races on the F1 race calendars where the powers that be have shut down pedestrian bridges, local officials have ensured Las Vegas tourists and casino patrons that the bridges will remain open for the duration of the F1 race weekend.
Las Vegas insider Jacob Orth, who goes by @JacobsVegasLife on Twitter shared how less than a month before race weekend race organizers are placing semi-transparent window privacy film across one pedestrian bridge with the others soon to follow.
Check out his video below.
Look what F1 is doing to the strip pic.twitter.com/joD6EhU3As
— Jacob Orth (@JacobsVegasLife) October 22, 2023
“Here I am between the pedestrian bridge between Treasure Island and the Venetian,” Orth says.
Here’s a map of the various pedestrian bridges around the F1 course marked with a red star.
The main straight runs between Paris Las Vegas and The Venetian.
“…they’ve put this film over the glass here. ON the day of the races, this is put in to block your view.”
“This is going up to block the view for people who have not paid for a ticket for the race.”
Regular, out of town attendees spent $500 on already sold out weekend tickets that didn’t even guarantee standing room only, with grand stand tickets starting out at and costing well into the thousands.
Single day tickets before race day cost as low as $87 with race day grandstand tickets for Nevada residents starting at $200.
“The other thing they’re adding on here is a canopy that goes over this. It goes right over the top…so people can’t climb this and look.”
“There’s also going to be lights that reflect off of this so that if you’re here on the bridge, you can’t see out.”
“The lights, cover, and film….they’re doing everything they can so that people walking on this bridge will not be able to see the race while it’s going on.
The elites can’t have any peasants watching their Royal race for free. This is absolutely pathetic!!!
— Jordan Fields (@JordanXRP1985) October 22, 2023
Huge missed opportunity for advertising on that window shade.
— Joe (@JoeWarner81) October 23, 2023
As asinine, over the top, and elitist as it sounds, ensuring that non-ticket goers can’t get a free show is nothing new.
When I went to Palo Alto to try to get a sneak peek of the Prefontaine Classic, a Diamond League Track race on the publicly accessible Stanford Campus, the race organizers ensured that non-ticket payers like me couldn’t even get close enough to the track without encountering some kind of security manned barrier.
And that’s just a track meet!
I’m sure there will be some crafty, entrepreneurial Las Vegas tourists that will find some loophole somewhere where they can watch for free, on a rooftop, maybe.
But, for those pedestrian bridges, they’re for walking only.
