With the opening ceremony for the Las Vegas Grand Prix completed it has received a lot of negative reactions from the fans. Even Max Verstappen absolutely hated the ceremony. After the performances from the artists, the drivers came on the stage to wave to the audience for about 5 seconds per team. Max Verstappen along with all the other F1 drivers had the most awkward look on their faces as they waved.
When asked about his opinions of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Max Verstappen said:
āI donāt like all the things around it. Iām looking forward to trying to do the best I can but Iām not looking forward to this.” “For me, you can all skip these kinds of things,ā “Itās just standing up there, [you] look like a clown.ā
The opening ceremony of the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was aired on YouTube. While it was live-streamed, over 100,000 people watched it. From the start of the ceremony, there were various artists performing on stage including John Legend and Journey. However, none of the songs that were being performed had any connection to F1.
Max wasn’t feeling the opening ceremony in Las Vegas š pic.twitter.com/LR5Gls8MNr
ā ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 16, 2023
It was reported that F1 was expecting a crowd of around 30,000. However, during the live stream, there were glimpses of the grandstands being empty during the performances. When the opening ceremony was announced, fans predicted that it was going to be cringe. Looks like they were right.
At the end of the ceremony, they finally introduced the drivers. However, the drivers didn’t seem to have any interest in being there. They each came up on the stage 1 team at a time, waved for 5 seconds, and headed back down. It is no surprise that Max was not a fan of this ceremony.
Max Verstappen has ‘no problem’ with Las Vegas GP
Although Max Verstappen is not a fan of the theatrics going into the weekend, he is obliged to go with them as it is a part of the business he is involved with.
Verstappen said thereās ānoĀ problemā with the Vegas GP but, āitās just not really my thingā.Ā However, he is just voicing his concerns āin an honest wayā.
āI fully understand and you can look at it two ways – business side or sport side. So, of course, I understand their side of it. Iām just voicing my opinion on the performance side of things.ā
āAnd here ladies and gentlemen are the tributes from District 1, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez!ā pic.twitter.com/HLxYFCNlup
ā MattĀ³Ā³āŗĀ¹ā¶ (@FM1_3316) November 16, 2023
At the end of the day, F1 is a business. They are here to make money by engaging more fans in the sport. The opening ceremony was an attempt to do so. Although there are some ideas that may not seem so good, the organizers have the sport’s best interest at heart.
F1 gave a lot of hype to the fans for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Expecting a huge turnout, the organizers spent over a billion dollars in preparation for the Grand Prix. However, this investment may not pay off as the latest reports suggest that there are going to be a lot of empty seats in the grandstands. This will be a nightmare scenario for the organizers as it will put the event’s future at risk after spending a billion dollars to set it up.
Do you think the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be a success? Post your answers in the comment section below.