16 November 2023 , 21:18
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Formula 1 chiefs have banned Las Vegas' newly-famous Sphere from displaying red, blue and yellow to prevent drivers from being distracted during this Sunday's Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen joked this week that he might "shunt into the wall" if the display was too distracting, while other drivers have made their feelings on the attraction clear. Opened in September and going viral after U2 opened the venue with an eye-popping concert, the Sphere can display all sorts of dazzling graphics both inside and out, and it's one of the many pieces of Las Vegas iconography which the drivers will whizz past amid a carnival atmosphere in Sin City.
"I hope they put something nice on it," three-time world champion Verstappen said, as F1 returns to Vegas for the first time since 1984. "That definitely would be a distraction for me, I might shunt into the wall, so let's not do that."
Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo didn't seem to be fussed. "It's very obvious, it's huge and we're not going to miss it," the AlphaTauri star admitted. "But truthfully when you get in that kind of rhythm and that zone you're aware of everything but you don't really notice it.
"I got to my hotel yesterday and it was only this morning that I noticed these massive pieces of art on the wall. I didn't even see them because yesterday I went straight to the room, straight to the bed. My attention and my focus was there so I wasn't even aware of the other things in the room. So it's a little bit like that."
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The Las Vegas Sphere opened in September (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)Get involved! Who'll win the Las Vegas Grand Prix? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
Williams driver Logan Sargeant, who hails from Florida, perhaps summed it up best, though. "It's either going to be really cool or really annoying," Sargeant remarked.
The glamour surrounding the Las Vegas Grand Prix has threatened to overshadow the actual racing, something which Verstappen has already complained about. Following a star-studded opening ceremony on Wednesday, which included performances from singers Kylie Minogue and John Legend, the Dutch champion bemoaned: "For me, you can skip this.
"It's not about the singers. We are just standing up there, looking like a clown." Verstappen also declined to attend a party hosted by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali at the Wynn casino because he had "zero interest."
"I think it is 99 per cent show, 1 per cent sport," the Red Bull ace added, as quoted by Reuters. "They [Formula 1] still make money if I like it or not, so it is not up to me. But I'm not going to fake it. I always voice my opinion in positive things, in negative things, that's just how I am. It's not really my thing. Some people like a show, I don't like it at all."