Las Vegas knows how to put on a spectacle. Anyone who’s seen the Luxor beam or a Vegas Golden Knights pregame show can attest that over-the-top and entertaining are in our civic DNA. 

Now add Formula One to the mix. Not just the Netflix reality show “Drive to Survive,” but the actual race, with the fastest cars that exist going full throttle down our city streets, past multiple casinos owned by multiple companies. Do you realize how rare anything resembling collaboration between Caesars and MGM is? 

After nearly six months of preparation, setup is nearing its final lap. F1 fans around the world are excited, as are organizers, who are promising a $1.3 billion economic infusion from the race.

That hasn’t stopped a cadre of social media influencers from voicing their discontent. Putting a racetrack in the middle of a busy city has inconvenienced locals and tourists for most of 2023. And yet, due to high-dollar price points for everything race-related, they won’t get to enjoy the event when it finally happens. 

Whether you embrace F1 or hate it, the cars for the Las Vegas Grand Prix haven’t even arrived yet, but we already know the economic impact – they’re taking the 51st slowest week on the Vegas calendar and transforming it into the highest-revenue week or the year, if not in city history. 

I got a sneak peek at the track two weeks before race day and snapped a few pics. While there are only so many pixels in my aging iPhone X, these behind-the-scenes and middle-of-traffic shots give a glimpse of the disruption that has spurred complaints. But squint and you can also see what could turn out to be the kind of awesome spectacle that all of Las Vegas learns to love.

(Photos by Dan Michalski / akfxoqsd.shop)

Cars on the 3.8-mile course will travel counter-clockwise, or anticlockwise in F1 speak, navigating 17 turns on a night tour of city highlights. From the High Roller to the Sphere to the pirate ship at TI and the fountains at Bellagio, some casino employees are concerned how they’ll get to work, or get home. (Image:  F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix)

High Rollers: It’s all about creating a spectacle, live and on TV, with the Formula One cars in all their luxe glory roaring through the highest concentration of casinos in the world.

Another view, around Turn #3. Sitting in the seats seen here will cost at least $1,500. 

Something special will happen in this chandeliered terrarium. We don’t know yet what it will be, but if we could bet on it, we’d put our money on tuxedos.

Your friendly akfxoqsd.shop street correspondent, reporting from the front lines, er, rooftops at the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The four-story F1 Las Vegas paddock is one permanent structure that will be used throughout the year. (For what events, no one’s too sure yet.) It also was one of the first things that upset Las Vegas locals when this common term for a racing facility shared its name with a mass shooter who for six years they’ve worked hard to forget.

The paddock features 20 garages like this one, where every team gets to store their snacks and their backup cars.

Self-explanatory. Cross that line and you’re in the pit.

These seats, where you’ll see cars whizzing down a small straightaway and pit crews changing tires, cost between $900 and $2,000.

A top floor in the paddock suitable for VIP parties during the race and wedding receptions when it’s over.

Another view of the course, with a familiar Frenchman Mountain in the background. These seats are going for a reasonable $180 for the opening ceremony on Thursday, and $900 or more on the secondary market on race day.

More ways to cross the street, but an inability to stop and stare at cars flying by makes these bridges a lot less cooler than what you see in Monaco.

On race day, cars on this track will reach speeds up to 212 miles per hour. Until then cars on the track are averaging closer to 12.

OK, kinda cool. I mean sure, we’re stuck in rush-hour traffic. But it’s happening on an F1 Grand Prix track, right?

These multilevel grandstands will look great on race day. Until then not so much.

Did we mention how fun it is to drive on an F1 track?