General Admission tickets are the cheapest way to access the Las Vegas F1 circuit as a spectator. But are they worth it?
I was in the T-Mobile Sphere zone General Admission area at last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix and this is a review of the facilities and the track views from the standing room only areas.
Plus I list some tips and must-bring items for those of you who are lucky enough to be attending the F1 in Vegas.
Contents
Las Vegas Grand Prix - General Admission areas
General Admission (GA) tickets at the Las Vegas Grand Prix provide access to one of three standing-room only areas around the Strip circuit. These are:
- T-Mobile Zone at Sphere General Admission
- Caesar’s Palace Experience
- Flamingo General Admission
With a General Admission ticket your access is limited to only one of these three areas, depending on which one you buy tickets for.
You cannot walk around the rest of the circuit or enter any of the other areas.
Are these tickets worth it? As you’ll see below, the viewing platforms in each GA zone are available on a first-come first-served basis. If you can’t get in one of those then you’ll have no view of the track. Read on for more info.
My guide to Las Vegas F1 parking & Monorail gives some tips on how to park closest to these zones and avoid the traffic chaos.
If you need somewhere to stay during the F1 in Vegas, my guide to the best, cheapest and most expensive Las Vegas F1 hotels shows the nearest places to the different zones.
Las Vegas GP General Admission Tickets
General Admission tickets for the Vegas F1 race can be purchased as either 3-day or single-day tickets. These are all sold in very limited numbers and will sell out very quickly.
For last year’s race I bought my Vegas GP tickets through StubHub, and paid less than the list price for them as I bought them just a few days before the event, when prices had come down. I’d recommend holding out and doing the same.
They have lots of Vegas GP tickets for sale even when they’re sold out on the official site.
I had a great buying experience and will use them again for F1 tickets. Their FanProtect guarantee is very robust and keeps both your tickets and money protected.
Las Vegas F1 General Admission viewing
General Admission tickets for the Vegas F1 race are sold as ‘standing room only’.
This means there’s no trackside seating area provided for GA ticket holders and also that you won’t be allowed bring your own folding chairs or stools. However, as the info below shows, there are viewing bleachers in these zones which are first-come first-served.
T-Mobile Zone at Sphere
I was in this GA zone at last year’s Vegas GP and it wasn’t great for viewing the track at all.
The official map shows one Standing Room Only area on the inside of Turn 6.
However in reality there’s actually three raised bleacher viewing platforms on the inside of Turn 6, plus a ground-level standing area in front of granstand SG8 that runs from Turn 5 to Turn 6, as below:
I filmed the video below showing the views from each of these different areas. This was filmed during practice day on the Thursday, just after the gates opened. That’s why the stands are so empty. They would be packed on qualifying and race days:
The views from these different spots aren’t particularly great. Even on the back row of the platforms it’s not very easy to see over the barriers. And when you do the cars only appear for a brief moment.
The middle platform is the worst view as the view to the right is blocked by the foot bridge directly adjacent to it.
The screen on the main stage shows coverage of the action, but that’s directly behind these platforms so you have to turn around to see it.
The bleachers are first-come-first served, and on the qualifying and race days they are full up almost straight away. So if you want a spot on one of those, you’ll need to line up at the entrance at least 30 minutes before it opens, and then be prepared to run to grab a spot!
Flamingo General Admission Zone
The Flamingo GA zone was new at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. It includes some large bleachers on the left-hand side of Koval Lane, betweens Turn 4 and 5. The zone is closer to Turn 5 and Turn 4.
From these bleachers, all you’ll see is the cars zooming past from right to left at high speed. You can’t see the braking zone or entry of Turn 5 from here. Plus, last year there was no TV screen opposite the bleachers, so no way of keeping up with the action on the rest of the track when you couldn’t see the cars.
Once again, the bleachers in this zone are first-come first-served. They will get busy on qualifying and race days, and if you manage to get a spot but leave it to get some refreshments, it’s likely somebody else will have taken your spot when you come back.
This video shows what the view is like from here.
Caesar's Palace Experience
The Caesar’s Palace Experience at the Las Vegas GP should be avoided. As this Reddit thread describes, last year this zone offered ZERO views of the circuit. Instead there was just a TV in a parking lot next to the track and all the feedback was that it was a complete waste of money.
What else does General Admission include?
T-Mobile Zone at Sphere
Vegas F1 General Admission tickets for the T-Mobile Zone at Sphere include access to the outside (not the inside) of the Sphere, where there is a huge temporary stage set up for the headline musical performances and artists across the weekend. This is where the biggest artists will be playing.
See the Vegas F1 concert lineup for full details on who’s performing on which days during the weekend.
Additionally there’s loads of food and drinks vendors, plus other games and entertainment.
There’s also a Fan Zone within the T-Mobile Zone at Sphere. Like most of the other F1 races this includes things like racing simulators and a few merchandise vendors. The queues for the merch vendors were always long.
When the track is live the screens on the main stage show coverage of the action, so if you’re not viewing the track you can always see what’s going on.
Flamingo GA zone
There is a smaller stage in the Flamingo General Admission zone where some less well-known artists and DJs will be playing during the weekend. There’s a fan zone with some games, other entertainment, a large TV screen to watch the track action and lots of food and drinks vendors.
Is General Admission worth it?
So is it worth getting a General Admission ticket? Personally, I don’t think so. If you don’t manage to get a spot in the first-come first-served bleachers in either the T-Mobile or Flamingo GA zones, you’ll have no view of the track at all and may as well watch it on your TV at home.
Instead, I’d wait until closer to race weekend for ticket prices to come down on StubHub. Then I’d pick a grandstand instead, and if you manage to grab a good price then you’ll pay the same or even less than an official GA ticket.
Which grandstand should you pick? See my full guide to the Las Vegas F1 grandstands for info on where to sit and what the different views are like from each stand.
And for info, of the three GA areas listed above, only the T-Mobile Zone at Sphere also has grandstands within it.
Officially, with General Admission tickets, you can’t access any of the grandstands within the T-Mobile Zone at Sphere.
Unofficially however, what I found was that your tickets are only checked when you enter the Zone. Once inside the Zone your tickets aren’t then checked when you enter a grandstand, so anyone could walk in any stand. But don’t rely on this, buy a grandstand ticket.
Las Vegas F1 General Admission tips
The official Las Vegas GP FAQs provide some information on attending the event. Below I’ve highlighted a few of the most important points.
What to wear
The Vegas Grand Prix is a night race held in November. Some of the F1 sessions run through the middle of the night, see the full Vegas F1 schedule for details.
Vegas at night in November is bitterly cold. Make sure you wear warm enough clothing. I didn’t wear enough warm stuff last year and was freezing.
See my full Vegas Grand Prix dress code guide for some ideas and suggestions.
What time to arrive
The Fan Zones open a few hours before the track action begins. If you want to get a seat in the bleachers, get there at least 30 mintues before the gates open.
For 2025 these are the Las Vegas GP spectator gate opening times:
- Thursday, November 20: Gates open at 2:30pm and close at 9:45pm
- Friday, November 21: Gates open at 2:30pm and close at 8:45pm
- Saturday, November 22: Gates open at 2:30pm and close at 9:45pm
Bag policy
The official bag policy is as follows, and they’re very strict on this:
- Clear plastic bags that don’t exceed 12” x 6” x 12” are ok
- Small bags or fanny packs that don’t exceed 6″ x 9″ are ok
- Diaper bags are permitted and subject to search
Prohibited items
Items you’re not allowed to bring with you are:
- Animals (except service animals)
- Strollers
- Chairs or stools (collapsible or non-collapsible)
- Non-clear Bags
- Professional film, audio or photo equipment
- Flags, signs, banners or promotional materials
- Noisemakers, bells, whistles, airhorns, megaphones, vuvuzelas (are they still a thing!?)
Most F1 circuits state that you’re not allowed to bring in ‘professional film or photo equipment’ but usually everything from your camera phone to GoPros and SLRs is fine.
You cannot bring in chairs or stools, so the Standing Room Only area in the General Admission zone is just that – standing only.
Food & drink
There’s lots of food and drinks vendors available for purchase:
The queues to get the food inbetween F1 sessions were pretty long, so if you can time it to when everyone else is in their seats then do that.
Alcohilic drinks are available, below are some prices:
What to bring to the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Here’s my list of things to consider bringing to the Las Vegas Grand Prix:
General
- Tickets – digital copies easily available (already downloaded) on your phone
- Money – cards, contactless payment
- Small bag – fanny pack size for the essentials
Weather Protection
- Warm clothes – it gets COLD at night at this time of year
- A small foldable waterproof poncho might be worthwhile in case it rains (it can do surprisingly often in Vegas in November).
- Windproof clothes
Electronics
- Fully charged phone
- Pay for F1 TV Pro for one month and download the app for the weekend so you can watch or listen to live coverage / commentary and keep up with the action more easily.
- In-ear headphones to connect to your phone
- A set of noise cancelling over-ear headphones to go over the in-ear headphones from your phone. They help cancel out the noise of the passing F1 cars so you can hear the commentary more easily.
- Battery bank / power pack
- Spare camera batteries
- Spare memory cards
Spectating
- Ear plugs or ear defenders, especially for young kids
- Small foldable cushion (useful on grandstand seats)
thanks for posting the excellent Vegas F1 guides . scored a resale Sphere grandstand 6 near turn 7 as suggested, practice evening only all I can afford . didn’t realize concerts will be inside the Sphere until I saw it here which is a pleasant surprise
will get an affordable Wednesday pm opening ceremony ticket resale as they are now available
some Strip area hotels checking in 15th and 16th are quite affordable, about $30usd + resort fee
grandstands only include food, soft drinks/water, unless part of a premium package/section in which beer/liquor is also included
Great stuff Frank, and thanks for confirming about the beer / liquor and the cheap hotels! Hope you have a great trip.
Great article with lots of info I wasn’t aware of. Are the concerts included in the 3-day GA tickets? I snagged a couple through the official site for under $500 each!
Hi Jordan, yep access to the concerts in the T-Mobile at Sphere zone is included with your GA tickets across the whole weekend. Nice job on snagging the tickets, I’ll see you there!
Great article – Thanks!
Do you happen to have any information on the shared hospitality suites? I am able to get discounted Heineken House race day tickets but I am wondering if the race views from Club SI and Club Paris are better even if food/drink/service at Heineken House probably better. Also wary of why the discounted tickets for Heineken House. They were originally more expensive than the SI and Paris but cheaper now with the discount.
I don’t have much information on the different views from the suites I’m afraid. But don’t be put off by the discount – all of the hospitality options have massively undersold so tickets are getting more and more discounted by the day.
Thanks for the response!
Thanks for all this great info! Do you know if T-Mobile Sphere Grandstand ticketholders will have access to the GA section?
Hi Markus, T-Mobile Sphere grandstand ticket holders will have access to the whole whole T-Mobile Sphere Zone, which is the same access as GA ticket holders will have. The only thing grandstand ticket holders won’t be able to access is the Standing Room Only viewing area.
T-Mobile Sphere grandstand ticket holders cannot access the other Zones (East / West Harmon)
Is there any resource that has actual photos of these grandstands and seating areas? Thanks!
9:23 in this video shows an aerial view of the grandstands next to the Sphere. https://youtu.be/mQucTPPH5RA?si=SVBfS4Lmb2xpzmFr
But they’re still in the very final stages of construction. I’ll be there on Wednesday, follow my Instagram and I’ll post some pics.
Cuál es tu Instagram ?
https://www.instagram.com/oversteer48
Thank you very much for the detailed information. I am a resident of Las Vegas and was shut out this year, but have made the deposit for GA area for next year.
Thanks for the awesome review. I just moved to Vegas and have enjoyed the race in Austin for a few years. How did you get to that zone? Is there a path from the strip to get to it?
There was a long winding route through the Venetian Expo that we had to walk through to get to the Sphere Zone.