What to Do at the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Besides Watch the Race

2023-10-25 22:29

The week leading up to Formula One’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, on Nov. 18, will include all the

The week leading up to Formula One’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, on Nov. 18, will include all the famous Vegas thrills—food, music, shopping, shows—boosted to the max.

A car show filled with modern hypercars and vintage Ferraris will jump-start the festivities. The 2023 Concours at the Wynn Las Vegas happens on the greens of the Wynn Golf Club in front of the Sphere on Nov. 11 and 12. From there it’s a whirlwind of celebrity chef dinners, high-end shopping, shows and nightlife. Here’s a rundown of what’s on tap.

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What to Eat

On Nov. 12, during the concours weekend, the Wynn Las Vegas will host a Dom Pérignon reception followed by a multicourse $750 lunch at Delilah restaurant that highlights three vintages of Promontory, a Napa Valley wine. On Nov. 16 the Wynn Tower Suites will host a Champagne Krug and caviar reception followed by a multicourse dinner curated by Christopher Lee, Wynn’s vice president for culinary operations. That $5,000-per-person evening will start with Krug Vintage, followed by three library vintages of Harlan Estate and a finale of Château d’Yquem.
At the MGM Grand, Iron Chef America star Masaharu Morimoto will host 40 guests for an omakase dinner each night from Nov. 16 to Nov. 18 at his eponymous restaurant. It will feature a five-course menu of seafood, beef and globally sourced ingredients curated by Morimoto himself. Sake and wine pairings—some from the chef’s own vintages—will complement the meal. Prices start at $175 per person.
Japanese cuisine powerhouse Kusa Nori will offer unique prix fixe menus including a teppanyaki experience and two different six-course menu offerings featuring lobster and Black Hawk wagyu, Kaluga caviar, Shigoku oysters and signature desserts. The meal costs $195 per person.
Fifth-generation cognac producer Bénédicte Hardy will guide guests through tastings at Le Cirque on Nov. 17 and 18. She’ll preside over the restaurant’s cognac cart of a wide range of Hardy offerings. James Kent, the chef behind the Michelin-starred New York restaurants Crown Shy and Saga, will curate a special dinner at Le Cirque that Friday. Prices start at $500.
Aria’s Jean-Georges Steakhouse will host a $5,000-per-person dinner on Nov. 17 with meats prepared by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten that are paired with an exclusive tasting from a private collection of whiskeys unavailable to the public, including Yamazaki 55, which released just 100 bottles outside Japan. Vongerichten will also make a special four-course menu that paires with Hundred Acre wines, which will be at his Prime restaurant Nov. 16 to Nov. 18.
Carbone, also at Aria, will offer a $1,500-per-person menu by Mario Carbone and complemented by Louis XIII cognac and cocktails by Rémy Martin. The menu has signature Carbone dishes including the chicken Parmesan, wagyu tomahawk and caviar service. The dinner, on Nov. 16, is limited to 40 guests.

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Where to Shop

The hottest thing on sale during the Vegas Grand Prix is Lewis Hamilton’s old Mercedes race car, which RM Sotheby’s is selling at auction on Nov. 17. It’s expected to fetch from $10 million to $15 million, since it’s rare that a modern F1 vehicle is offered to the public. Held in the Awakening theater at the Wynn Las Vegas, the auction will also offer one of Tom Brady’s Super Bowl-winning jerseys and Virgil Abloh’s Black Prism Louis Vuitton trunk.
At the Bellagio, Ferrari will open a pop-up store developed by Italian designer Rocco Iannone that’s full of company-branded clothing for men and women.
McLaren is hosting an experience center at the Wynn Las Vegas in partnership with the O’Gara car dealership. The space will include multiple McLaren vehicles, a race-car simulator and on-site driving coach, plus a car configurator where guests can design their own dream car.
Alfa Romeo will be selling racing gear in the lobby of Aria Las Vegas. On Nov. 15, guests can even get a signature Valtteri Bottas haircut there, done by celebrity stylist Matthew Collins. Bottas is a Finnish driver currently competing for Alfa Romeo; he sports a subtle mullet-style cut.
Vegas mainstays such as the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian Resort and Fashion Show Las Vegas will also offer special discounts and shopping incentives from Nov. 14 to Nov. 19.

Where to Party

Sports Illustrated will host a pop-up called Club SI on Nov. 17 where the models in the 2023 Swimsuit Issue will meet guests. Tickets for unlimited club passes from Nov. 16. to Nov. 19 start at $125 for men and $99 for women. ESPN’s official pre-race party will be held at Encore Beach Club; Marshmello, Tyga and the Chainsmokers will perform.
The Marquee Dayclub Dome will host multiple race-weekend pool events, led by Loud Luxury and the Nelk Boys on Nov. 17. The Cosmopolitan poolgoers will hear Martin Garrix at a daytime party on Nov. 18; Justin Credible will entertain them on Nov. 19. Mustard will close out that Sunday night at Marquee Nightclub.
Wynn Nightlife has multiple destinations with dockets full of talent. Its XS Nightclub will host Marshmello, the Chainsmokers, Swedish House Mafia, Calvin Harris, and Diplo, plus a DJ set from Rüfüs Du Sol and Black Coffee. Encore Beach Club will host Dom Dolla and Purple Disco Machine. Ticket prices vary, starting at $30 for women; the Owner’s Table, with seating for 15, costs $15,000. Hakkasan nightclub will have Fat Joe, Fisher and Steve Aoki on Nov. 16 and 18, respectively. Zouk nightclub will host DJ Snake, Travis Scott, Zedd and Tiësto. Ayu club will have G-Eazy and Ludacris.
Other parties will be rather more difficult to get into. For instance, Oracle Red Bull Racing will have its famous star-studded Grand Prix opening party on Nov. 15 (you can bid on tickets to gain entry). And the invite-only official F1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix welcome party takes place on Nov. 15 at the Wynn Las Vegas. The red carpet alone will be worth watching as F1 teams, drivers and other VIPs arrive; it’ll be followed by a cocktail reception at XS Nightclub.

What to Watch

The Sphere, the $2.3 billion orb owned by New York scion James Dolan, is the hottest new attraction in Vegas, and its opening coincides perfectly with the influx of thousands of racing fans in town this November. Kylie Minogue will perform there on Nov. 16. A-Trak, J Balvin, Mark Ronson, Major Lazer, Nile Rodgers, Tokimonsta and Siobhan Bell will also play at the Sphere during Grand Prix week. Tickets, starting around $290, are here.
On Nov. 14, Netflix Inc. will host a golf tournament at the 18-hole Wynn Golf Club at the Wynn Las Vegas. The roster includes F1 drivers Alex Albon (Williams Racing); Pierre Gasly (BWT Alpine F1 Team); Lando Norris (McLaren Racing) and Carlos Sainz (Scuderia Ferrari). They’ll be playing with PGA Tour golfers Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas. The tournament is invitation-only, but those who wish to watch can tune in live on Netflix at 3 p.m. Las Vegas time.
If poker is more your speed, a VIP invitational tournament will be hosted on Nov. 16 by PokerStars and attended by some familiar faces from Oracle Red Bull Racing, according to a spokesperson. Bidding for a five-night hospitality package that includes two seats to join is currently up to $76,660.

How to Listen

Drive to Wynn, a new F1-themed podcast hosted by Justin Bell, will provide in-depth coverage and analysis of the 2023 race lineup. Bell will host interviews with former drivers such as Mario Andretti, team principals including Zak Brown of McLaren F1, as well as current drivers Bottas and Yuki Tsunoda. The show is recorded at the Wynn Las Vegas and released on Thursdays on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Dax Shepard will host a live recording of his podcast eff won in the hospitality lounge at Club SI. Tickets to the lounge are running $15,260 for two and can be purchased here.

Whom to Spy

If the other two US Grand Prix this year are any guide, the place will be crawling with celebrities. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt are prominent F1 fans and have attended many races. (Pitt is currently filming a movie centered on a retired F1 driver.) Cruise, Vin Diesel and Shakira were all at the Miami Grand Prix on May 7; Prince Harry and Elon Musk attended the Austin Grand Prix on Oct. 22.
Vegas will likely have even more celebrity wattage. Jay Leno will do his comedy show at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on Nov. 12. James Corden will host the RM Sotheby’s auction. David Beckham, fresh off his Netflix special, will host the Sports Illustrated party on race night with Shaquille O’Neal. Here’s hoping Victoria Beckham joins him.
Then there’s Travis Kelce, who, along with Patrick Mahomes, Rory McIlroy and several other athletes, just invested in the BWT Alpine Racing team. Considering the recent purchase, and the fact that they’ve been inseparable lately, there’s a good chance Kelce could be trackside with his current flame, Taylor Swift. It wouldn’t be unprecedented. The chart topper is a longtime F1 fan; she performed at the Austin GP way back in 2016. But she may have a tougher time getting around in Vegas. Things have changed since then. “If you remember Austin a few years ago, we were having to get Taylor Swift there to get a crowd there,” Christian Horner, the team principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, recently told ESPN. “Now she’s lucky if she’s allowed in!”