Lewis Hamilton has hinted he could be distracted by the off-track entertainment at next season’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. Hamilton even joked that he and Russell could do an “all-nighter” if Mercedes were to stand on the top-step of the podium at the inaugural race in November 2023.
The comments came at F1’s Las Vegas launch event to mark one year from the first event. Host Naomi Schiff asked: “I know you guys are absolute professionals but you’ve been here for a day and a half now, slightly distracting.
“It’s slightly hard to stay focused on work. Do you guys think you’re going to be able to stay focused with all of this around you?” Hamilton jokingly responded “nope, of course”, sending the crowds into laughter.
He added: “We have races like Singapore. Monaco for example is pretty hectic. It’s definitely not going to be easy. We will be here to try and win the race of course but hopefully we get to enjoy a bit of what this city has to offer.”
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell set for ‘different’ Mercedes
When the announcement was made earlier this season, the seven-time champion admitted it would be hard for drivers to concentrate. He explained: “Knowing that it’s a real party city, it’s difficult for a racing driver, how are we even going to focus that weekend.”
Hamilton’s former title rival Max Verstappen has also raised fears drivers could get carried away. Earlier this year, the Dutchman had called for F1 to make the weekend a standalone race to allow drivers to recover for Abu Dhabi.
He claimed: “I think a few drivers might not wake up for the race itself. Let’s not do back-to-back for this one, let’s give it like two weeks’ break before and after.” This ultimately fell through with the race scheduled to take place a week before the season finale.
