Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix: Dates, Tickets & Venue (Las Vegas)

A racetrack made of Las Vegas Boulevard

Picture the casino fronts lit up and concrete barriers lining the Strip, with catch fencing running past the Bellagio fountains. That is the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, scheduled for November 19-21, 2026. For three nights the city’s most famous road turns into one of the fastest circuits on the calendar.

The modern race first ran in 2023. It has quickly become one of the biggest F1 weekends of the year, with a huge international crowd that fills the hotels from the north end of the Strip down to Mandalay Bay. You don’t need much imagination to see the appeal. The cars pass buildings you already know from films.

The circuit, turn by turn

The lap measures about 6.2 kilometres (3.85 miles) and has 17 corners. It starts and finishes at the permanent pit building on Harmon Avenue, just east of the Strip.

From the pits the track loops east and north around the Sphere, the giant LED globe beside The Venetian. It then runs along Sands Avenue and drops onto Las Vegas Boulevard. The headline section is the long flat-out blast south down the Strip, past Caesars Palace and the Bellagio, where cars go well over 300 km/h. After that, a tight sequence of corners leads back toward the pit straight along Koval Lane.

Here’s what people usually look for along the lap:

• The Strip straight: the top-speed run past the big resort frontages.
• The Sphere section: the corners around the globe, with its screen often showing race graphics.
• The pit building: the start and finish, team garages and the podium.
• The Bellagio fountains: grandstands and hospitality face the water, with the track in between.

A Saturday-night race on a Thursday start

This weekend runs on Las Vegas time, and that sets it apart from most Grands Prix. The 2026 dates go Thursday to Saturday. The race itself is on Saturday night, while European rounds normally race on Sunday afternoon.

Everything runs after dark. Practice, qualifying and the race are floodlit, and the casinos light up the whole circuit. For visitors this flips the usual race-weekend day. Mornings are quiet, afternoons go on pools, shows and sleep, and the circuit comes to life in the evening.

The desert in late November can surprise people who packed for Vegas heat. Clear-sky nights get properly cold, and grandstand seats are exposed. Regulars usually bring layers, a warm jacket and something to sit on for the long evening sessions.

Tickets and where people watch from

General admission, grandstands and hospitality are all sold. The organiser publishes the dates, ticket categories and seating maps on its official site, and that’s also where ticket prices are posted. This guide prints none.

In recent editions, seating has been grouped into zones around the lap. The pit building has its own grandstand and hospitality levels. The Sphere zone sits on the twisty northern part, and a cluster of grandstands and clubs runs along the Strip near the Bellagio and Caesars Palace.

A few things divide the options:

• Pit building seats: the start, the pit stops and the podium.
• Strip-side seats: raw speed with famous buildings behind it.
• Sphere zone: corners, braking and overtaking attempts.
• Hotel and restaurant packages: some resorts on the track sell race-view rooms and parties of their own.

Moving around a Strip with a racetrack on it

Getting around is the part of race week that catches people out. Parts of Las Vegas Boulevard, Koval Lane, Sands Avenue and Harmon Avenue close for track sessions. Some pedestrian bridges and crossings are restricted or rerouted, and a taxi ride that normally takes ten minutes can turn into a long detour.

Most fans walk or take the Las Vegas Monorail. It runs behind the east side of the Strip, with stations including MGM Grand, Horseshoe/Paris, Flamingo/Caesars Palace, Harrah’s/The LINQ, Las Vegas Convention Center and Sahara. Several of these are a short walk from the eastern part of the circuit.

How people usually handle the weekend:

• Stay walkable: fans tend to book a hotel close to their grandstand so they never have to cross the track.
• Follow the signs: gate locations and pedestrian routes are signposted by zone, and staff send crowds along set paths.
• Pay by card or phone: cards and mobile payment work everywhere. Tipping bar staff, servers and drivers is standard in the US.
• Read the bag rules: entry has security screening, and the bag and item rules are posted by the organiser.
• Ride-hail pickups: Uber and Lyft use designated zones at the resorts, and these queues get long once a session ends.

Flying in and staying

Most visitors fly into Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), which sits just southeast of the Strip. It’s one of the closest major airports to any F1 track. The ride into town is short on a normal day, though closures around the circuit can slow the last stretch.

Hotel demand peaks hard that week, as you’d expect when a race runs past the front doors of the biggest resorts. Visitors usually stay on the Strip itself. Some pick properties further from the track, such as Downtown around Fremont Street, and travel in for each session.

Beyond the track

The race only fills the evenings, so daytime is open. The Sphere’s own shows and experiences run separately from the race. The High Roller observation wheel at The LINQ looks straight down on part of the Strip.

Drivers often head out of the city. Red Rock Canyon is about half an hour west, and Hoover Dam is a bit further southeast. Back in town, the Bellagio Conservatory usually has its seasonal display up in November. The fountain shows and the Fremont Street Experience canopy Downtown help fill the gaps between practice and qualifying.