0:00 / 0:00

A Conversation with Emily Prazer, President of the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Unlapped Oct 24, 2025 29 min

0:00

About this episode

Emily Prazer, President of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, shares the journey of building the event from a challenging first year to finding its stride by year three. She discusses balancing the unique sporting and entertainment aspects of the race, engaging with the local community after initial criticism, and evolving ticket pricing to be more inclusive. Prazer highlights innovations like earlier race start times, immersive fan experiences, and creative partnerships that push Formula 1's boundaries. She also reflects on the differences between U.S. and European fans, the importance of local promoters, and the ongoing effort to create a memorable, accessible, and exciting event in Las Vegas.

Topics: event growth and development community engagement race logistics and scheduling ticket pricing and accessibility fan experience innovations us vs european fanbase local promoter roles creative partnerships driver involvement post-race entertainment

Nicole Briscoe is joined by Emily Prazer, Chief Commercial Officer and President of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Together, they explore the development, construction, and execution of the Las Vegas Grand Prix — from its debut season to the upcoming 2025 race. What lessons have been learned? How has the event evolved year over year? And what can F1 fans expect as we head into the third year of one of the biggest spectacles on the Formula One calendar? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Select text to request an explanation

Let's just start with the growth of the event from year one to now approaching year three.

When you look at it, what do you see?

I see just so much opportunity to continue to develop the product.

The benefit of Vegas is we just have the most unique proposition in front of us,

where you can lean in so heavily on the sporting side,

because I truly believe it's the best race on the calendar from a racing standpoint.

But the marriage of the entertainment proposition just means that we can continue to innovate

and deliver an event that is like no other on the formula calendar.

In terms of changes from year one to year three, what can we see?

Year one, we took on way too much, which I think everyone knew,

and saw we had our opening ceremony on the Wednesday night.

We were trying to figure out track opening and closings

and the logistical complexities that don't come with any other race.

If you compare us to a Singapore or even a Monaco,

we open and close our track like three times more than anyone else,

and that's because of all of the different hotel workers and others

that need to get in and out of those casinos.

So we took on so much, and we were really proud of the production

and the delivery of the first year.

When we went into the second year, we took a breath and said,

like, we really need to focus on making sure this is super smooth for everyone.

And this year, it's like going back to our roots a bit with the entertainment

and really putting Las Vegas on a pedestal from an entertainment standpoint

because you all turn up and expect to see that

and we're proud to be able to bring it all together into one single event.

Do you feel like year one was sort of like almost in some way like chasing your tail

and then year two was catching your breath

and then year three is finally finding your stride?

It's a very good way to describe it.

I don't think people realize that we have less than 18 months

to build that building and to figure out how to build grandstands

in a live situation.

The roads don't close.

We did everything through the night

and we were looking at maps and going, where should we put grandstands

and what should the product be and what should the food and drink look like.

So we were chasing our tails because we had a condensed timeline

but we were building and building on 39 acres of land that we bought that week.

Like the week that we announced the race, which you were at.

And we were at the Cosmopolitan and I remember doing it

and then going, oh my God, we actually have to deliver this now.

And we had to build a building.

And I remember my favorite part of that year was picking the toilet design

for the pit building, the tiles and being like, how do we make this

the coolest Formula One destination on the planet?

And so there was so much that went into it.

When I moved to Vegas in May of 22, I didn't have a team.

I had nobody.

The first thing I did was hire an assistant

and then I was like, oh God, now I need an office.

I had to go and buy the printer paper.

So it was almost so startup that we have the kind of heritage

of the 75-year-old startup going on.

But the actual expectation delivery meant that, of course,

we were chasing our tails because we had 18 months to build a race track.

I remember it sort of being there before it was officially announced

and all those conversations were very theoretical.

Yes.

And then to come back and see the first event

and to sort of witness it, it was amazing.

But you were also met at the time, year one,

with a fair amount of criticism from the city of Las Vegas

and those who lived there.

They didn't maybe totally embrace the concept of what you were trying to do.

They didn't embrace the event. Where are you with that now?

Well, first and foremost, we take accountability for that

because we turned up to the earlier point.

We were chasing our tails to get this event ready

and we completely ignored the fact that there was a living and breathing community

that we needed to engage with and explain to.

And, you know, causing the traffic we caused

and all of those different elements that we took for granted

we didn't manage properly.

So we're the first to admit we didn't do it the right way.

We should have taken a bit longer.

And so we've spent a lot of time and energy

and built our team of real people

that want to engage with the locals

and the community program we've now developed

has been significant, not just, you know,

making sure that we're showing up at the right events

but with the year-round proposition

that we now have there with Grand Prix Plaza

as we affectionately call it being open

we've created an F1 Drive karting experience.

We have F1X, which is an immersive experience

where we can teach people about Formula One.

We have our sims that people can just show up and play.

We're not charging people to have fun

and learn how to drive Formula One cars.

We have a Formula One themed restaurant called Fuel and Fork

which is really fun.

The opportunity to bring people to that

and to get them engaging with the sport

outside of a three-day weekend

has meant that we can build the community around it

but we can also create the legacy that was missing

and the community plan that we now have implemented

we didn't communicate with anybody when we showed up

so from their perspective it's like

here are these people turning up for a three-day weekend

causing all of this havoc in our town

now they understand that we're not just there for three days

we're there every day of the week

making sure that we're communicating

back engaging, hosting community events at our building

we did the most unbelievable community carting program

where we brought kids in and taught them

over a period of four weekends

to learn how to drive the carts and what have you

so I feel and I live in Vegas

I feel that we are embedding ourselves in the community

and the biggest lesson was listening

what do we need to do to help

how do we communicate and explain the traffic situation

invested in the technology

to make sure that we're texting people

when we're going to be closing roads and what have you

so it's just a lot of lessons learned honestly

how do you think your perception of the community

your perception of how to handle things have changed

from like you were thrown into it

to where you are now having lived there this time

I think you have to, Vegas is a town

where you have to earn your strikes to be really honest

you know quite rightly they're very protective

of the infrastructure and ecosystem they've built

and so it's taking a lot of time

to build the relationships and to

the biggest lesson I've learned from being accepted

in Las Vegas is to do what you tell them you're going to do

if you just say yes and then don't deliver

they're going to call you out on it

but it's all done with the best intent you know

when they were pushing us it's because they wanted

they want the event to be successful

they want to come out publicly and support it

and it was all done with the intent of like

have you thought about these 15 things

that you're not listening to us about

and so whilst you know yes there was pushback

but it's with the intent that they wear

their sleeves and they're so proud of where they live

and they've pushed us to be better

so we're actually like in a place where

we're eternally grateful for the

the criticism because it's made us do better

and if you think about the impact

from year one to year two like you mentioned

we can only continue to build on that

as we shorten our destructive window

Vegas is this very unique event though

in terms of

you can come to Austin

and Austin is not

usually considered a vacation destination

it's not a place that people

go to

like they go to Las Vegas

so how do you strike the balance

between the vacation

destination crowd and the community that

exists there 365 days a year

I think it comes back

to the year round proposition like I mentioned

but also making sure that we make the event

really accessible for the local community

obviously it doesn't take

a lot of convincing to get

the holiday crowd to come

to a race especially if they're Formula 1 fans

we have the inbound traffic coming

from California and Arizona and all of the places

at the feeder markets to the destination

all year round

we give it you know the Super Bowl

feeling so it's like I need to be there that weekend

even if they're not buying tickets to the race

the programming that we do

plus all the casinos in the LBCBA

makes it a place to be and be seen

during that week of

events but for the local community

again it comes back to the learning from the first year

one of the things we were quite naive about

was pricing and who lives

in Las Vegas and what the product should be

and again if you think about

the timeline because obviously we talked about you being there

had 18 months to figure this out

when we started our announcement

we didn't know where the ground stands were going

we didn't know if people wanted hospitality

You didn't know where the track was actually going

That's wild that we did that

anyway so it was

down to like our perception

naively was Vegas is only for

ultra high net worths

and everyone that's there wants full blown hospitality

and bottle services if they're in a nightclub

that's just not the case

and so over the course of time

we've now adjusted our ticket pricing and our product

to make sure that we can cater to literally everyone

and again if you think about Vegas as a destination

150,000 hotel rooms

the best thing about it

is yes you can go and stay at the win

and be treated the way that you

expect to be treated at that level

but you can also go to lesser casinos

and be treated like a king in your price point

and so one of the things

we needed to adjust was not everyone

wants to have the paddock club

everyone can have access to it

so whilst people

will tell us we're the most expensive race on the calendar

which we argue we're not

we have a $50 Thursday night ticket

you know that's because

we want to be able to educate

not just the local communities but new fans

that just want to come and check it out and understand it

so we've diversified

our product offering which I think meant that

the community started to understand that

we weren't just trying to charge them paddock club pricing

but you can still come

and enjoy it and understand it and it be

something that you may do for one night not three nights

a lot of races

only do three-day tickets we don't we make sure

that people if they just want to come and one night can

so that's all the learnings

of like how to adjust

depending on where you are and what the community wants

like in terms of accessibility

I know you hear this a lot but one of the biggest

challenges not just for us

but for teams and even

people who attend the race like the hours

for lack of a better word

they suck like year one was brutal

obviously there was the track issue

but I remember

we were there for practice and we did

we did a live hit in the

7 a.m. Eastern show because

that's when practice ended and that's just what it was

so you're leaving the track and essentially

four o'clock in the morning

after that and the hours

were a challenge and it comes at a time

of the season it's at the end of the season

you've got teams on a million different

time zones so the accessibility

not just for the fans but for

who are there but accessibility for the fans

in the United States but also just like

the realistic expectations on

the body of the people who are working the event

how is that changing

over the years that we've seen

we have moved the race

time earlier by two hours so it's now

8 p.m. start on Saturday night so

that has a ripple effect that everything shifts

earlier because there has to be a certain amount

of distance between some of the sessions

so you'll find like gates are opening

at like 2.30 p.m.

versus it being a much later start

and therefore obviously should there be any delays

it goes on through the night so we've

listened and we feel much better about

the start time everybody is on

board with it and we have F1 Academy

coming this year which we're really excited about

and so the goal is

that earlier we can start the more support races

that we could have eventually

so that people can be in bed at a reasonable time

so trust me when I say I was

part of the I've not slept

in three weeks it was crazy

we listened

we've adjusted it and we hope that this year

it means that everybody is understanding

that we are really trying to make that

change some of the things that you learned from

Las Vegas how can they be applied to

other events and other circuits

I think Vegas because we own an operator

and you know it's the only one

that we do that for is giving us

the opportunity to really

understand our own capability as the sport

one of the things I reference is

and I'm not sure if you saw it but

did an event at the O2 in February of this year

F1 75 Live which

because of our confidence

in being a production entity

it was the first time

I went to see Stefano and said what do you think

and he was like you think you can do it

and we did Vegas so it gives us

a real confidence in like pushing the boundaries

a little bit more than we would have

because we now know that we can deliver

our own big events

one thing I will always always acknowledge

is the learnings we took

from kind of being on this

the circuit or in the circus

what Bobby's done here in Austin

has set the bar for us

you know it gives us this opportunity

to learn from all of these different promoters

and countries that have put on amazing events

for multiple years that we're still

in our infancy in Vegas it's only the third year

but taking the best learnings

because we've been on the circuit for multiple years

I've been at F1 now for eight years

so I've seen a lot

and it's given us the confidence to bring the best

of the best into one place hopefully everyone agrees

but really it's pushing commercial boundaries

you know we are doing deals

and activating in ways we never dreamed

of whether it's through our partnerships

with the likes of Lego

which is a hot topic for everyone

that was incredible in Miami by the way

so a lot of that came

from just the creativity of the conversations

we had that have been born out of Vegas

honestly

we've signed partnerships that we're really proud of

that have pushed us into this consumer space

that we weren't in it was a very B2B heavy sport

and then you're getting Pepsi

and American Express and T-Mobile

and others all coming in saying

you need to learn how to speak to the end consumer

much more than just the B2B customer

so that means that our activations are changing

all over the calendar not just in Vegas

merchandise is another one

where we were scratching the surface

and now we're leading the way

very successfully with tons of collaborations

that we would never have dreamed of

so it gives us we kind of

again like affectionately call it

it's the creative test bed for the sport

because whatever happens in Vegas

people will most accept it

one of the scariest moments for me this year

was at Silverstone when we decided to do

Lego trophies it was like

in our wildest dreams we would have done that

with the confidence of what we did in Miami

and how we started to

change our way of thinking is because of these

different conversations we've had

from the Vegas race

how do you get the drivers to buy in on some of that

because it is outside the norm

and maybe outside the traditional box

I think not doing it every week helps

obviously we're not trying to completely

take away you know we are

a motorsport event and series

at the complete heart but I think

they're understanding it's a way of generating

in staying engaged with our new fans

you know I talk about this often

but our fan base has evolved

we still very much look after our

hardcore motorsport fans and we adore them

but the next generation of fans

are consuming our product

in a really different way

and so we've built out a very significant

always on strategy which is much

more around how do we keep the drive

to survive audience how do we keep the movie

audience engaged because it's not in the same

way of those that come year in

year out they want short form content

they want to be able to go to their local

shopping mall and buy a t-shirt that is

a bit more lifestyle focused and it is

team focused so it's not

really alienating

the teams it's very much about working

with them to make sure that we are

touching all of our fan base because without

our fans you know like any sport

where nobody so it's making sure we

communicate and take them on the journey

all together if you shopped online

chances are you've bought from a business

by Shopify you know that purple

shop pay button you see it check

out the one that makes buying so incredibly

easy that's Shopify

and there's a reason so many businesses

sell with it because Shopify makes it

incredibly easy to start and run

your business Shopify

is the commerce platform behind 10%

of all e-commerce in the US

from household names like Mattel

and Gymshark to brands just

getting started Shopify gives you

a leg up with hundreds of beautiful

ready to go templates to express your

brand style and forget about the code

tackle all those important tasks

in one place from inventory

to payments to analytics and more

spread your brand's word with built

in marketing and email tools to find

and keep new customers and

did I mention that iconic purple

shop pay button that's used by millions

of businesses around the world it's

why Shopify has the best converting

check out on the planet your customers

already love it if you want to see less

carts being abandoned it's time for you

to head over to Shopify

trial and start selling today

at Shopify.com

network go to Shopify.com

slash network

Shopify.com

slash network

if you're ready for an oil change

trust the professional parts people it'll

Riley auto parts to recommend the best

products for your vehicle right now

get five quarts of valveline full

automatic motor oil and a wicks filter

for thirty five ninety nine

and receive a fifteen dollar O'Reilly gift

card after rebate upgrade

to a wicks XP oil filter for just

two dollars more limits apply

see store for details stop by your local

O'Reilly auto parts store

or shop online at O'Reilly auto.com

Rich eyes in here

the tax deadline will be here

before you know it and you just want to

know your taxes are actually being handled

but the old way you hand everything off

then silence days pass

weeks pass you start wondering

should I send another follow up email

it feels like you're chasing updates

and getting nowhere but now

taxes are different

because your taxes are done for you by

a turbo tax full service expert

with into a turbo tax

you can match with your dedicated tax

expert and hand off everything

right in the app and while your expert

checks for every deduction you'll see

real-time updates on your phone so

you always know exactly where things

stand suddenly you're not refreshing

your inbox you're going for a run

grabbing a coffee scrolling anything

other than a just checking in

message because your turbo tax

expert is handling it keeping you

in the loop so this tax season

get your best possible outcome

and every dollar you deserve without

the guesswork visit turbo tax

dot com today to learn more

real-time updates only an iOS mobile

app only available with turbo

tax full service experts

obviously the evolution of the

fan base a huge

huge part of that has come in the

U.S. like I've been

in around the sport since

2004 which is not forever but since

2004 and this it's

changed it's almost like a night and day

change in terms of fan knowledge

fan engagement and accessibility

it's

completely different environment now

how important though

is it you've got now these three

races in the U.S. each one of

them vastly different how important

is it to continue that

and to give the

access to the American fan base

in the way that you are

we will continue to I mean

don't get me wrong the three

U.S. promoters ask Miami Austin

we speak to each other all the time

how a U.S. fan

buys a ticket watches the race

engages with the sport is the polar

it to Europe and so

we're very fortunate that we have access

to data that means we know what we're doing

in each of these different markets but

you can't take away like I talk about again

2012 Bobby and the Austin promoter

believed in this before any of us even knew

that it was going to be a big deal

Miami helped us take it to another level

and then Vegas was our is our baby and so

you know it's

really really important we will keep our own

identities but I see you know Bobby

was bringing Taylor Swift in before

Taylor Swift so he had the vision

and now it's just a case of us all

building on it but keeping our identities

to what they need to be you know you're in Texas

you know you're in Miami and you know you're in

Vegas so if you're a U.S. fan it's

not like you're going to three identical events

it's just even from a racing perspective

they're totally different tracks so help

us understand because

not everyone does have the ability to go

to a race in Europe and to experience the

difference how is the European

fan how is a European event different

than what we see in the U.S.

The European event has just a lot more heritage

around the sport you know they truly

admire the history and what's gone

into it and the the scale

of how the sport not not from a fan

based perspective but from an engine perspective

and how the drivers are involved in the

the safety in this the technology that

goes into the actual physical car

so you know you have to

talk to them in a different way it's not

TikTok you know it's

it's making sure that you're really

respectful of how they consume content

and that you're not trying to push

the boundaries all the time in those particular

markets that being said I don't

think there's anything more special in Formula One

than being in Monza when Ferrari

do the

track invasion at the end it's just

I don't know how you feel but it genuinely

makes me emotional it's breathtaking

and so you could only

wish you could bottle up that passion and bring it to

the States but it's you know solely

but surely we are we're

figuring out ways to make sure that that

kind of feeling and emotion around the sport

can be translated to the international

audience and

we just don't want to do

anything that almost alienates

the core because we do

really respect and appreciate they are

our heritage they are our hardcore fans

that are going to stick with us three thick and then

the US fan base like I said before

they're just very new and so we just

want to make sure that we are

learning from the likes of the NFL

NBA and others you know we would be remiss

to pretend that we haven't taken

those initiatives and

put them into our own ecosystem so

I live in the US and I feel like I've

taken so much from just

how all of it comes together and that

you go to any shopping center

and you can buy NFL NBA

MLB you know that has inspired

us it's not like I woke up

or my team woke up one morning and said

we need to do this it's by seeing

the fandom that's created in the different

cities that you know have those teams

how do you strike the balance

though between because formula one

is that the product is essentially

the same no matter what country

you're in how do you strike

that balance and find a way

to maintain sort of the

integrity of the sport

while still catering to two

audiences who consume

it in much different ways I think

it's by leaning in on our promoters they know

their local market better than we ever

do like we turn up and we have

our cars and our racing and we're here

but the local promoters are helping

us dictate how to behave in that

particular market and so

we find the balance by making sure

we're talking to them the whole time you know

if I have an idea or you have

an idea that is Lego cars

that may not work everywhere

but it did work in Miami because

it was something that actually resonated

with the audience is interesting because

everyone was so nervous about that

but now promoters are like are you going to do that again

where can we do it and that's across

the calendar so I think

it's just about communication I think

it's about client management and making sure

that we're not forcing

ourselves to do things that don't feel like

they fit in and so you know

the Lego trophies in Silverstone I talk about it a lot

but I was terrified I was like

is this a step too far

they made jokes about it because Hulkenberg was on the podium

and he's like sure I get a trophy for the first time

and it's made of Legos I can literally take it apart

it's amazing content it's engaging

people are loving it and he was

he thought it was awesome so

it comes back to just the fine line

we can't do what we would do

in the US in the Middle East

it's just making sure that we localize

but we are a global sport with huge

partners that want us to activate

in different ways and we want to be the first to do

a lot of these things so we feel like

we're finding the balance albeit

it's nerve wracking occasionally

Alright here's some breaking breakfast

news as we start the new year

everybody's talking resolutions

eating better, staying on track

and this one's actually easy

Kodiak frozen power waffles

and flapjacks are a quick win

heat and eat, no prep, no excuses

they're packed with 12 to

14 grams of protein per serving

a good source of fiber

and crafted with 100%

whole grains not refined

white flour you have plenty of options too

classic buttermilk and vanilla

blueberry, chocolate chip, even gluten free

and it doesn't stop there

they've expanded their roster

to include french toast sticks

flapjack puffs

and brand new breakfast sandwiches

so whatever your game plan is

there's something that fits

breakfast that works, snacks that work

resolution friendly

find Kodiak frozen waffles and flapjacks

in the frozen aisle at your local grocery store

they're the ones with the bear on the box

and a proud partner

with a ski and snowboard

when was the last time you felt in control

of your business finances?

expenses tracked, invoices sent, taxes ready

that's where found comes in

found brings your banking, bookkeeping, invoicing

and taxes together in one simple app

manage expenses, invoice clients

send payments and prep for tax time

right where you bank

join the hundreds of thousands who have already streamlined

their finances with found

open a found account for free at found.com

that's F O U N D dot com

the financial technology company not a bank

banking services provided by lead bank member FDIC

the following is a paid advertisement for the wellness company

today we're talking cancer awareness

and I want to bring in someone with a really unique perspective

Dr. Kelly victory

she's a board certified emergency medicine physician

with over 30 years of experience

who serves on the chief medical board for the wellness company

and most importantly she's a cancer survivor

Dr. victory thanks so much for being with us

thanks very much for having me Michelle

we've been hearing a lot lately about cancer rates rising

especially a younger adult

what are you saying without question cancer rates

are rising across the board

and concerningly we are seeing

more aggressive cancers in people even in their

20s and 30s that's scary

for a lot of people is there anything that can be done

to help alleviate that fear that is what

led me to develop the new product

shield because it is a group

of more than 12 well studied

scientifically proven supplements

that help to supercharge your immune system

the first line of defense

against cancer to learn more visit

victoryagainstcancer.com

and use promo code smalls to save $25

on shield always consult your doctor

to determine if this product is right for you

genuinely the Lego event because I had a chance

to see the cars beforehand and I knew what was

going to happen and genuinely

watching it unfold was one of the

most entertaining

but I said

genuinely but it was a genuine

moment I think on the track too because if you

watched if you really watch the drivers

and how they interacted with each other

and how everything that took place

over the course of that lap

it was

if you could watch it and not smile

something is wrong with you

and also the track was littered

that was one thing I did get in trouble

because I did not factor in that they were

going to actually race each other

so Stefano called me was like how are you

going to clean the track quickly I'm like

I need to make some phone calls

but hearing Lewis's laugh

we listened to that content regularly

and so again with

all of these different ideas and what we're doing

there's a spectacle in the entertainment

but the minute we bring the drivers in we want them

to feel comfortable so you'll see

next year we've got some big ideas

we've got some plans that hopefully

they all like

we do tell them about it it's not like they find out

two seconds before they need to do it

and like to say Vegas is the test

bed to be able to start developing

those concepts and what have you so you'll see

some fun things happening in November

like I can't tell you that

okay so what can you tell me about

that I will see

we're very excited about the Saturday night

we're leaning back in heavily on Taylor Swift

no Taylor Swift

I have seen a lot of Instagram memes asking

if Taylor Swift is going to be in the sphere during the race

unfortunately not that would have been awesome

but you know the content

alone on the sphere is just

by wateringly good so we're excited

for you to see everything that we're planning

and hopefully people like it

what is something that you're doing this year

that hasn't

been seen before in Vegas

we're doing a post-race show this year

that we haven't done in Vegas before

which we're very excited about

details TBD

to be confirmed

like an entertainment show

yeah so again if you think about

you know what's really

important for us in Vegas is to make sure

that it feels like a full week of

programming and so we want it to

start earlier we're very fortunate it's like the ultimate

sports week in Vegas I'm not sure if you

anyone has realized but we have NFL

Monday night VGK and NHL

on Tuesday night we then have

our golf tournament on the Wednesday we have

our business summit on the Thursday

and then we go through Friday Saturday

and so Saturday night really will feel

like the pinnacle in the celebration

of the season and so we've created

a post-race moment that we're very excited

for people to see for you last year having

the post-race moment also be the

moment in which Max Verstappen clinched

the championship for you personally

is that like well this is cool

yeah that was really fun that was really fun

that was really fun and obviously

by the time it gets that I'm just relieved

that it's all happened and that we've got

through the weekend so I

fingers crossed the racing remains as competitive

as it has been and that the championship

is determined in Vegas

if you if you go back and you look at your

life where you were three

well it would be almost four years ago

now when you said

I'm moving to Vegas this is going to be

my job yeah

how different is your life

now than maybe what you were expecting it

to be I think

I learned resilience I think

when I first turned up obviously we live in

a relatively sheltered life

an environment where you know formula one

turns up and people have understood it

I think I did not realize

how first how hard the first kind

of not just the first year but the year before

where we were getting everything ready would be

so my life is different

I wouldn't change it it's been the most

rewarding project I think I'll ever work on

sadly it's one of those who've like

done it at quite a young age and so

kind of go what's going to talk

what's going to talk putting on the Vegas race

in the first year because I think that was

just a life tick for everyone so

yeah it's a special place

for those that haven't spent a lot of time

there Vegas is just the most

unbelievable community and

I'm the first to admit as I said before

that I didn't understand it but when you're there

and they start to really take you

under their wing it's a really really special place

so I just continue to want

to give back and to make sure that

you know we're not just a three day event

like I mentioned I've got a lot of passion

around how to engage the local community

the children of Las Vegas

you know it's a tough place for

education and so we're focused

on how we can enhance and

you know that's where I think my life has gone down

a slightly different path because I'm obviously

from London and I don't see myself

you know being back there I feel like

I want to be in Vegas and continue to get back

okay so besides the need

to have resilience

and the need to like

engage with the community what's something that you

wished you knew year one that you know now

that's a really good question honestly

I come back to just its communication

skills I wish I had have realized that

picking up the phone a lot more

and being present a lot more

you know when you're in that scenario where you're trying

to build something you're so

focused on the job at hand

and I don't think that I took enough

we as an organization took enough time

to build the relationships

and that's a massive life lesson that actually

the world is built on really positive relationships

and

yeah I would like to go back and

fix some of those but I think we are

now doing that slowly but surely and I think

that's why you know we intend on being there

all the time let's say I've known nothing about

Formula One and I'm attending a race

and I decide that I'm going to go to the Las Vegas

weekend and I walk away from it

what is it that you want me to feel

after I've experienced a race in Vegas

wow wow yeah

because I am really like

the racing is unbelievably good

if you think about it it's the one unknown

of like is this just going to be

a procession or is it going to be a competitive race

it's fast there are

loads of overtakes it's an

awesome race and it's an amazing experience

I'd want people to go like

wow is that my first impression of Formula One

I want to go to 5, 6, 7 other races

I remember when I started at F1

in 2017

my first race was at the Abu Dhabi Grand

I think my first day was at the Abu Dhabi

Grand Prix in 2017

and I turned up and I was like this is spectacular

like you just that feeling of

pride and so I would love people to feel

the same way I felt at my first event

it was awesome thank you

yay to bruise the streaming king

with quantum fiber in the net

he's gonna binge

he wants more

he's got to have more

more bedtime surprise

more podcasts in the shower

quantum fiber life by has the power

more more more fast internet speed

he's got the geeks to grow big

bring him the games right now

and his royal wings

more sports dumb stuff

his quantum fire is on top

availability, service and speed in select locations only

Request an Explanation

Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.

Want to learn more?

Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.

Explore Terms

More from Unlapped

The Biggest Moments of the 2025 Formula 1 Season

Dec 11, 2025

Lando Norris Secures His FIRST F1 World Championship!

Dec 7, 2025

Abu Dhabi Decider: Norris, Verstappen & Piastri in the Ultimate Title Fight

Dec 4, 2025

Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri DISQUALIFIED! F1 Drivers Championship blown wide open

Nov 23, 2025