Although the US already has an F1 stop in Austin, Texas, the organisation's new American owner is keen to find a second venue stateside and the race appears to be on between the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip and the stylish beach resort of Miami, Florida.

Both potential hosts would be well placed to draw the sort of cash-rich clientele F1 thrives on. However, with the financial clout of the Vegas casinos pushing for the Nevada city to take the spoils, it would be unwise to bet against them.

Photo - Teams can probably leave their wet tires at home the next time they head to Vegas

Past Races That Stormed the Desert

The F1 circus has visited Vegas a total of two times in its history, for what was then known as the Caesars Palace Grand Prix, first in 1981 and then the following year in 82. However, gooner news the race was dropped after the American public failed to warm to a foreign motorsport trying to muscle in on an already crowded marketplace. It probably didn't help that an Australian by the name of Alan Jones won in 81 and Italian driver Michele Alboreto prevailed in 82, denying the home crowd an American born winner to wager on. Another drawback for the race was that it took place in blistering heat, meaning many drivers suffered from heat stroke in the pits.

Rumours of a Return

With the race flopping in the eighties and the track now being reduced to being the foundations of The Mirage and The Forum casino resorts, it might have seemed unlikely that F1 would ever return. But that prospect became reality when American media company Liberty Media acquired F1, with the new moustachioed chief executive Chase Carey declaring he would like to see a Monaco style street race on the Vegas strip. Surely sports and casino fans alike would see this as an added bonus for the strip, with the casinos funding the project also providing the perfect glitzy backdrop to the whole affair. The idea has even been mooted of the race being run as a night-race to negate the issue of overheating. One way or another it seems as though it's only a matter of time before the likes of Hamilton and Vettel are whooshing their cars past the Bellagio's fountains.

Photo: Vegas has everything any F1 fan could ever want, and more