F-1 still talking about an LV race

Karl-Heinz Urbat

Friday, Aug. 9, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

HOCKENHEIM, Germany -- Rumors of a proposed Formula One race down the Las Vegas Strip in 1998 are intriguing to many in the jet-setting, high-tech racing series.

Many of the team owners, drivers and members of the European press who gathered for the recent Grand Prix of Germany were interested in learning more about the Las Vegas possibility.

The proposed race apparently would be a co-op between several Strip resorts. Mirage Resorts Inc., chairman Steve Wynn has stated publicly that hosting a Formula One race would be an ideal way to open the doors of his new Bellagio property in spring of '98.

Wynn and a group of Mirage Resorts officials and dignitaries -- including singer-songwriter Paul Anka -- attended the Grand Prix of Monaco this past May.

"Las Vegas must be special -- like Monaco -- something you never forget, and (where) you always like to come back," said Craig Pollock, the agent for Williams-Renault driver Jacques Villeneuve.

Some F-1 dignitaries apparently want to see Las Vegas for themselves. Willy Weber, the manager for two-time world champion Michael Schumacher, confirmed the Ferrari driver and his wife recently visited Las Vegas, where they were guests at The Mirage.

Formula One last raced in America in 1992, when the Phoenix Grand Prix capitulated. The globe-trotting series has staged several short-lived races in the U.S., including Las Vegas, where a pair of events were held in the Caesars Palace parking lot in 1981 and '82.

F-1 notes

* THREE-CAR TEAMS IN '97? With the exodus, and/or weakened financial support of many sponsors (such as Elf, Renault, Rolerblades and Nokia) from the world of Formula One -- and now Marlboro's diminished support for next year -- series czar Bernie Ecclestone is out to lessen the damage. In a newspaper interview, he suggested the possibility that the sport's four marquee teams (Williams, Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren) might race next season with three cars each. That possibility seems even more likely because many of the new teams intending to join F1 next season -- Dome and Damas, etc. -- are not having much luck in finding financial support. Dome is reported to be rethinking its plans, and perhaps try again in 1998. Forti Ford also is apparently on its last legs after its sponsor, Shannon, left without paying the bills. Forti didn't start at Hockenheim, and probably won't run at Budapest this weekend. Last year, three teams bit the dust -- Simtek, Pacific and Larousse -- and only one new one, Jackie Stewart's Ford-backed entry, is firm for 1998. And two more current teams, Sauber and Minari, are iffy for next year due to unsettled engine and sponsorship contracts.

* FRENETIC FRENTZEN: One development in the the whole F-1 upheaval is that Heinz-Harald Frentzen -- linked to nearly F-1 team for next year -- may wind up driving for Williams, with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve as teammates. F-1 chief Bernie Ecclestone apparently would finance the third car for Williams and three other teams with pay-per-view television revenues from Germany and England.