Verstappen  lambasted  lavish opening ceremony outside the new $500m pit building.

Verstappen  lambasted  lavish opening ceremony outside the new $500m pit building.

All 20 drivers were introduced via lifts onto a string of podiums, concluding a half-an-hour show which included a drone sequence and a number of musical performances from the likes of Kylie Minogue, John Legend and Steve Aoki.

Lando Norris also revealed he was “not a big fan” of the opening ceremony festivities, while Carlos Sainz believes the sport should soon look at the overall race weekend schedule due to it being “overpacked” with commitments for the drivers.

Practice at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit starts at 4:30am on Friday morning (GMT). The race starts at 6am on Sunday morning in the UK, which is 10pm on Saturday night in Vegas.