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F1 introduced the confirmed 2023 season schedule to the world earlier this week, confirming a record 24 races in the upcoming season of the most prestigious racing series in the world. This has got everyone talking about not only the record number of races in a World Championship season, but the confirmation of the new Las Vegas Grand Prix, slated to run on Saturday next year.
The city of Las Vegas was announced as the third race in the United States of America, a country where the sport's popularity is ever increasing. F1's return to Sin City next year will also mark the sport's first Grand Prix event to be held on a day other than Sunday in 38 years. The 1985 South African GP at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit saw former driver and champion Nigel Mansell take points in a race held on Saturday instead of the usual Sunday routine.
The race is slated to start at night, which means viewers in European nations can expect an early morning Grand Prix. The starting time of 10:00 PM Pacific Time also makes the sport's appearance on the iconic Las Vegas Strip a race which will probably end at midnight, given the 2-hour cap for the Grand Prix.
F1 has been associated with the typical GP weekend for ages now, with practice sessions due to run on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the main event on Sunday. The introduction of the Sprint Race last year somewhat shook things up, while keeping the main event for Sunday. F1, however, is no stranger to racing on days other than Sunday. As it turns out, the sport has raced every single day of the week in the olden days, when commercial commitments weren't as big of a deal.
Seven times F1 races were held on a Saturday
It might come as a shock to younger F1 fans, and maybe even older ones, that the sport has raced on a day other than Sunday for 73 times in the past, making the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix the 74th time. The following Grands Prix have seen the drivers battle it out on track for the ultimate prize in racing on a Saturday:
#7 British Grand Prix
The very first World Championship race held at Silverstone in 1950 was run on a Saturday, the tradition continuing all the way till 1977. The 1979 and 1981 seasons also saw the British Grand Prix being held the day before Sunday, with the last being in 1983. This amounts to a total of 30 British Grands Prix alone that have been held on Saturday.
The 1983 British Grand Prix saw Alain Prost take the checkered flag in P1 after starting third on the grid in his Renault-manufactured car. Home hero Nigel Mansell took P4 in his Lotus-Renault.
#6 Dutch Grand Prix
The country of the Netherlands hosted a total of two Grand Prix events on Saturday in the history of F1 in 1969 and 1982.
Scuderia Ferrari's Didier Pironi took his third and final Grand Prix victory at Zandvoort in 1982, with Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg following the French driver onto the podium positions.
#5 Canadian Grand Prix
The sole F1 event to run on a Saturday in the country of Maple Leafs was the 1969 Canadian Grand Prix. The race was held on the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park circuit and was won by Belgian driver Jackie Ickx, who was driving a Brabham-Ford.
Ickx's teammate and team owner Jack Brabham finished second and Jochen Rindt rounded up the top-3 positions.
#4 US Grand Prix
One of the races to be held on a Saturday was in 1959 in the United States of America. The event saw Bruce McLaren take his first F1 victory at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida.
The New Zealander drove his Cooper and won by a slim lead of 0.6 seconds over Maurice Trintignant, who was driving another Cooper T51 entered by a different team.
#3 Swedish Grand Prix
The 1978 season of the F1 World Championship was held at Scandinavian Raceway in Switzerland and saw Niki Lauda clinch victory in the Gordon Murray-designed Brabham BT46B 'Fan Car' in its sole appearance on the track.
Riccardo Patrese and Ronnie Peterson made up the rest of the podium in second and third place respectively.
#2 South African Grand Prix
The most recent race to be held on a Saturday in the F1 World Championship was in 1985. The event was scheduled for the day before Sunday for 18 times before 1985. The race on the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit saw Nigel Mansell take the top spot in his Williams-Honda.
The podium comprised of Keke Rosberg and Alain Prost in second and third place.
#1 Caesar's Palace Grand Prix
F1's visited Sin City in the years 1981 and 1982, when the World Championship saw the drivers race in the city's popular casino and hotel Caesar's Palace's parking lot. The track, whose layout was rather uninspiring, saw the race start on Saturday. In the sport's last appearance in Las Vegas in 1982, Keke Rosberg finished in 5th place to seal the driver's championship, with Alain Prost winning in his Renault-manufactured car.
The 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, confirmed for next year, is set to go live on Saturday, November 18 at 10:00 pm Pacific Time. This also makes next year's upcoming race the only one to possibly finish at midnight.
