Photo by Simon Steiner via Pexels
Before Las Vegas rejoined the Formula 1 calendar in 2023, the city had already hosted two of the strangest season finales in F1 history — both held in a hotel parking lot. The Caesars Palace Grand Prix remains a bizarre chapter in motorsport, where world championships were decided amid heat, concrete, and complaints.
It’s 1981, and Formula 1’s championship is coming down to the wire, a great finale. But instead of the sweeping curves of Monza or the glamour of Monaco, the season finale is being held… in a Las Vegas hotel parking lot (and yes parking lot). This was the Caesars Palace Grand Prix — one of motorsport’s most bizarre experiments that somehow decided two world championships while everyone involved seemed to hate every minute of it.
1981: A Title Decider No One Wanted
The 1981 finale had all the ingredients for drama — three drivers separated by just a few points, everything on the line. But the makeshift circuit in Caesars’ parking lot had other ideas. The flat, featureless track baked in the desert sun as drivers struggled to find any rhythm.
Alan Jones, who wasn’t even in the title fight, cruised to what he later called “the easiest win of my career” while the championship contenders suffered. Nelson Piquet, vomiting in his helmet from heat exhaustion, somehow dragged his Brabham across the line in fifth to clinch the title — then collapsed when he got out of the car. “I thought I was going to die out there,” he admitted later. Not exactly the glamorous championship moment F1 had envisioned.
1982: History Repeats Itself (Unfortunately)
F1 somehow thought it was a good idea to come back the next year. This time, Keke Rosberg played the role of reluctant champion, nursing his Williams home to secure the title with another underwhelming fifth-place finish. Michele Alboreto took the checkered flag, but the real story was the empty grandstands and drivers complaining about racing in what essentially felt like a giant frying pan.
The “circuit” (and we use that term loosely) was so bad that Derek Warwick compared it to “driving around a supermarket parking lot — if the supermarket was on the surface of the sun.”
Quick Comparison of Caesars Palace GPs
| Year | Winner | Champion | Champion’s Finish | Crowd & Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Alan Jones | Nelson Piquet | 5th | Scorching heat, Piquet collapsed post-race |
| 1982 | Michele Alboreto | Keke Rosberg | 5th | Empty stands, driver complaints |
The Aftermath: From Race Track to Shopping Bags
After two disastrous F1 outings, Caesars tried salvaging the concept with IndyCar races in 1983-84. Mario Andretti’s thrilling win in ’83 at least gave the place one memorable moment before it faded into obscurity.
Today, where drivers once battled for world championships, tourists now battle for the best deals at high-end boutiques. The entire track area has been swallowed up by casino expansions and luxury shopping — a fitting metaphor for Vegas itself, where yesterday’s spectacle is quickly replaced by today’s newest attraction.
The Caesars Palace Grand Prix stands as a cautionary tale about what happens when sporting prestige collides with Vegas excess. It gave us two world champions, countless complaints, and proof that sometimes, even Formula 1 can’t polish a parking lot into a proper race track. When F1 returned to Vegas in 2023 with a proper street circuit, it was a tacit admission: some experiments are better left in the past.
As one veteran mechanic summed it up: “We turned up expecting showgirls and champagne. What we got was heatstroke and concrete barriers. Only in Vegas.”
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