One of the three U.S. stops on Formula 1’s racing circuit is shifting to a more fan-friendly start time of the American audience.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix, which has traditionally started at 1 a.m. ET (10 p.m. local) since its inception in 2023, will now begin two hours earlier, at 11 p.m. ET (8 p.m. local).
The shift will bring the Vegas race in line with other nighttime Grands Prix around the world, which also begin at 8 p.m. local time.
With the earlier start, ESPN, who airs Formula 1 races in the United States, may need to alter its college football schedule. Last year, Auburn’s thrilling four-overtime win over Texas A&M, which kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET more-or-less served as a lead-in for Las Vegas Grand Prix coverage given it went so late. ESPN won’t be afforded that cushion this year, and may need to find a way to start its primetime college football game a bit earlier to accommodate the change.
The new start time should help attract a larger television audience in the United States. Last year, the Las Vegas Grand Prix averaged just 905,000 viewers on ESPN, down 30% versus the race’s debut the year prior (1.31 million viewers).
Considering that the race aired in the middle of the night for much of the country, those are solid figures. But one could reasonably expect a significant improvement this year with the 11 p.m. ET start.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.