Fans’ energy is full throttle for racing spectacle on the Las Vegas Strip

For mother-daughter duo Julie and Hailie Bonz, the Las Vegas Grand Prix is a dream come true.

Julie, a Las Vegas native now living in Des Moines, Iowa, grew up with a passion for racing — even trying her hand at it herself. She remembers watching the Caesars Palace Grand Prix in the early 1980s, when Formula One briefly called Las Vegas home. Back then, she and her friends would talk wistfully about how incredible it would be to see racing down the Strip one day.

Now that it’s happened, she “can’t honestly fathom” that the dream has become reality.

“I’m, like, 45 now and back then, I was like, ‘Oh my God, that probably will never happen again because of the way the Vegas Strip is and how busy it’s gotten,’ but it’s truly incredible that they were able to do this,” Julie Bonz said Thursday during the practice round. “It’s just a really, honestly, phenomenal experience (and) there’s nothing like this right now, so we’re just grateful to be here.”

This marks the second year they have made the pilgrimage to the Las Vegas Grand Prix together. The race is tonight.

Hailie Bonz, a 19-year-old student at the University of California, Irvine, discovered Formula One while watching the inaugural 2023 Las Vegas race. She was instantly hooked, binge-watching older seasons to immerse herself in the sport’s history. Her mother surprised her with tickets to last year’s race — Hailie’s first-ever Grand Prix in person.

They’re already scouting next year’s calendar for their next adventure.

On Thursday night, both arrived decked out in Lewis Hamilton gear, ready to cheer on the seven-time world champion, who joined the Ferrari F1 team this season after a 12-year stint with Mercedes. Hailie’s devotion runs deep — she even designed custom nail sets themed for Hamilton and McLaren’s Lando Norris, switching between them throughout the weekend.

“It kind of came full circle; our first F1 race (we) attended was here in Vegas, exactly one year after I watched my first F1 race, (and) now we’re here again,” Hailie Bonz said. “F1, there’s just such an interesting dynamic, no matter what you watch, I think it’s one of the most interesting sports to be a part of.”

Fans from around the globe descended on the circuit for the third annual event — from a Japanese couple who flew in from Tokyo to support Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, to a pair of Londoners renewing their vows before an Elvis impersonator at the F-1 Neon Chapel.

Among them was Karla Olivares, a young woman from Dallas experiencing only her second-ever trip to Las Vegas — and her first Grand Prix outside of Texas.

Olivares’ journey to the sport began two years ago with, of all things, a TikTok meme. A viral clip of a young boy shouting “Leclerc! Leclerc! Leclerc!” made her laugh, then piqued her curiosity. One Google search about Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc later, and she tumbled down the Formula One rabbit hole.

This weekend, she came with a friend to support Norris, sporting McLaren’s signature papaya and black in sequined shorts and long boots — a Vegas-worthy tribute to her favorite driver.

“I feel like this (race) is very Vegas,” Olivares said. “It’s just very different; more fun and it’s less hot (than Texas). Also, there’s more driver interactions as well, (and) we’ve been able to see a lot of drivers.”

During an afternoon walk through the Pit Lane, Olivares and her friend caught glimpses of several drivers — Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz Jr., Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Norris.

The highlight came when she convinced a McLaren crew member to deliver a handmade braided bracelet she’d crafted for Norris during her flight to Vegas. Woven into it: two charms bearing his initials and a small playing card — a fitting good luck token for a race in Las Vegas.

Dwayne and Amanda Howard arrived from Texas several days early to soak up everything the city had to offer. Their itinerary: the Michael Jackson ONE Cirque du Soleil show at Mandalay Bay, the Pit Stop Challenge at New York-New York and the immersive “Wizard of Oz” experience at the Sphere.

But the crown jewel of their trip was the race itself — their first Formula One event.

They came prepared. Dwayne, 47, arrived in a bright red tracksuit emblazoned with the “Rust-eze” logo from Pixar’s 2006 animated film “Cars” — a playful nod to racing culture, even if Lightning McQueen’s world was NASCAR rather than Formula One.

Movie memorabilia and its main character, Lightning McQueen, were ever-present during race weekend thanks to a new collaboration between F1 and Disney that resulted in the “Fuel the Magic” ticket package and special merchandise.

Amanda Howard was matching her husband with a similar red jacket — both bought before the couple decided to upgrade their tickets to the Disney package, said Dwayne Howard.

As Dwayne stood in line to try his luck at a Doritos human claw machine activity in one of the fan zones, he couldn’t wait to see what other memories he could make with his wife this weekend.

“This has been fantastic; everything coming over, going down to the Pit Lane Walk; seeing the teams set up, working on the cars, tuning them. It’s been a blast,” he said. “We’re just really excited to kick off the races and watch everything unfold, and hopefully Max (Verstappen) wins again. But we’re just having a great time soaking everything in for our first experience.”