Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 leads Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Ferrari SF-23 at turn one during the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas at Las Vegas Strip Circuit on November 18, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
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Formula 1 News: Local county did not sign Las Vegas GP contract

Andrew Maitland

(GMM) The paperwork surrounding the Las Vegas GP is being called into question after Commissioner Tick Segerblom of Clark County said the county never actually signed a contract with Formula 1.

“It turns out that we never signed a contract, that was all with the LVCVA,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, referring to F1’s deal for a race taking in the fabled ‘Strip’ with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

“Everybody keeps saying that we’ve got three years – we never committed to three years, to my knowledge.”

The matter will be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Clark County Commissioners.

Indeed, local broadcaster KSNV News 3 confirmed that an agenda item for Tuesday’s meeting is “to discuss Clark Country’s involvement with future Formula 1 races”.

The development comes after last November’s first modern Las Vegas GP, which was controversial among certain sections of the public and small business community.

“We are very serious about looking back, going back and re-evaluate what happened, and try to figure out ways we can tweak the system or even dramatically change the system,” Segerblom told the broadcaster.

“Because, in a lot of ways, it was a great event for us. But in a lot of ways, we paid the price for it and learned the hard way.”

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At the request of County Commission Chair Tick Segerblom, the commission was scheduled to discuss at its Tuesday meeting the county’s involvement in upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix events. Following a Las Vegas Review-Journal story on the subject, the county announced that the item would be held for a future meeting.

“It is anticipated that the agenda item for Board discussion on F1 noticed for next Tuesday will be held for a future meeting in the coming weeks to align around the County’s public debrief of the event and the structure for facilitating future races,” Clark County spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper said Thursday night in an email.

“So everybody keeps saying that we’ve got three years,” Segerblom said. “We never committed to three years, to my knowledge.”

The county did approve a resolution last year that recognized the race as an annual event for a decade, but it had no language that contractually tied the county to hosting the race annually. The recognition allows for the waiving of various ordinances without additional meetings, as long as the race is held the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Race officials said they are working with the county and convention authority to ensure that the setup and tear down of this year’s race are smoother than last year.

“We are committed to keeping all lines of communication open with our race partners at the County and throughout the local community,” Betsy Fretwell, Las Vegas Grand Prix chief operating officer, said Thursday in a statement to the Review-Journal.