F1 News: FIA Makes Last-Minute Change To Las Vegas GP Sphere

A few colors have been excluded from the MSG Sphere.

Formula 1 and the FIA have put a ban on three colors- red, yellow, and blue from the MSG Sphere for the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend to prevent the drivers from getting distracted. 

The Sphere is the world's largest LED screen and is close enough to be spotted by the drivers while they're racing. Since it would be operational during the race, efforts are being made to make it the least distractive.

It has been agreed to not display anything, that can be misinterpreted by the drivers- the red, yellow, and blue colors in particular that drivers look for on light panels at the side of the track. 

Formula 1 has rented the Sphere and the land surrounding it for the GP weekend, which caused Irish rock band U2 to pause their residency at the venue until December 1. 

The sport had been keen to include the Sphere in the event even when it was being made. However, concerns about driver distraction were raised, and as a result, Sphere owners have worked out a solution with the FIA and F1 to avoid issues when the F1 cars are speeding past the streets of Las Vegas. 

Joel Fisher, the executive vice president of Marquee events and operations for MSG Entertainment, was the man responsible for the deal between the Sphere and the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Assuring that all possible efforts have been taken to prevent problems during the event, he told Autosport:

"It's all safe.

“Obviously, we're going to comply with the FIA's requirements, and make sure.

“They've come here at night and tested different colours and different things on there. And we know what we shouldn't show. So we have a show runner to do all that."

When asked about what would be displayed on the Exosphere (the external screen of the Sphere), he said:

"There's going to be some live footage, there's helmets, there's driver cards, there's ads, there's all those types of things, and some other surprises.”

Speaking of the Sphere, the CEO of Liberty Media, Greg Maffei revealed last week that F1 plans to use it extensively in the future. He added:

“We have a long-term relationship with the Sphere, and I think we will have more programming in place.

“Partly because we didn't know if the Sphere would be done, and partly we were hustling to get ourselves done, that combination made it hard to programme for this year. But I think in future years, we'll have a lot more going on.”