Local business owners slam F1, Las Vegas GP

As the second F1-promoted Las Vegas GP looms, two local business owners have blasted the event, the sport, and its authorities.

Red Bull team advisor Dr Helmut Marko this week also admitted he’s not a fan, denouncing it as "not that great" and telling Osterreich: "It doesn’t have much support from the local population."

It also seems to lack the full support of the state of Nevada, with multiple reports emerging that F1 personnel struggled to be permitted entry.

"They didn’t want to let me in," said RB driver Yuki Tsunoda. "They kept me for two or three hours and almost sent me home, although my passport shows that I am constantly moving from country to country and I have a valid visa, and not long ago I competed on another American track, in Austin."

Wade Bohn, who owns a Coca-Cola-painted gas station in Las Vegas, says when he heard that his city was joining the Formula 1 calendar last year, he was delighted.

But the disruption to the city ultimately culminated in a shocking 65 percent revenue drop for the month of November. He told Le Journal de Montreal that in November 2022, he turned over $682,000. Now, "I won’t even reach $200,000," he revealed.

"It makes me sick," Bohn added. "If this race is still here in year four of the contract, I’m done. I’ve already laid off 50 percent of my employees.

"The destruction caused for a 90 minute race that we host once a year is inexplicable. I don’t understand the concept. This is our city."

Restaurant owner Randy Markin, meanwhile, is actually suing Formula 1 for the financial losses caused by the disruption the event causes to his business.

"No event has ever destroyed my city like F1," said the owner of the Italian diner Battista’s Hole In The Wall. He says that when Formula 1 is in town, he has 50 percent fewer bookings.

"It’s horrible," he said. "We’re supposed to be full. People are calling to cancel their reservations because they can’t make it because of traffic and closures.

"We were the busiest restaurant off the Strip," said Markin, adding that some other nearby restaurants actually close for the entire race week.

Referring to Formula 1 officials, he blasted: "These people don’t give a damn. This is the first time a company has come to Vegas and it hasn’t become part of the fabric of the city.

"And God knows how many companies have come here. No city in the world does it the way we do it with big events. But why do citizens hate this race so much? It’s because F1 walks around with its nose in the air, not caring about anything and destroying everything around it.

"They come in on a private jet, do their business and fly back. It doesn’t work like that around here."

F1 apologised after the 2023 event’s disruption, and vowed to do better for 2024. But Markin says nothing has changed.

"If F1 really cared about Vegas, we wouldn’t have to fight in court. It’s impossible to sit down with these people and talk because they don’t care. They have no loyalty.

"And their way of thinking they’re bigger and stronger with their money doesn’t work anymore. Especially not in this single market."