Team Mercedes is banning all of its team members from gambling at Las Vegas casinos ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Sin City is full of distractions and some Formula One (F1) teams taking no chances ahead of the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend. Mercedes-AMG Petronas CEO and Team Principal Toto Wolff has banned its drivers and other team members from gambling at casinos in the lead-up to this weekend’s race.

he doesn’t engage in gambling

The billionaire has never been to Las Vegas before and speaking to MotorSport.com, he explained thathe doesn’t engage in gambling and doesn’t want any of his team to do so ahead of the race. Some other teams could follow suit; Aston Martin Team Principal Mike Krack has mentioned trying to avoid the distractions that a Las Vegas event will bring.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be the Mercedes team’s two drivers taking part in the race, with both still waiting for their first wins of this season. Hamilton has been a visitor to casinos around the world in the past; one incident at a New Zealand property in 2016 led to an argument about the dress code. He took to social media at the time to say that the Sky City casino in Auckland treated him “like dirt” after telling him to remove his hat and sunglasses.