F1 Las Vegas Floods Desert with Celebs, Rihanna, Bieber, Beckham and More

Turns out Rihanna, A$AP Rocky and a ton of other celebs love cars that go real fast ... especially if they're speeding down the famed Strip for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The much anticipated glitzy event -- which got off to a very rocky start -- turned into a massive success ... based on the actual racing action, and the A-list talent who showed up for Saturday night's race.

RiRi and her man sat in with Team Ferrari, putting on headphones to hear the drivers during the race ... while the likes of David Beckham, Heidi Klum, Shaquille O'Neal, Paris Hilton, Cara Delevingne, Axl Rose and Patrick Dempsey roamed the track right before the race.

Arguably, Justin Bieber nabbed the best seat in the house for the race ... as he got to wave the checkered flag as Team Red Bull's Max Verstappen crossed the finish line for his 18th victory of the season.

Ferrari's Charles LeClerc, who started in pole position, finished 2nd and Red Bull's Sergio Perez was third.

The race was Formula 1's first in Las Vegas since 1982's Caesars Palace Grand Prix, and it was easily the most talked about race on the schedule this year.

But, it almost turned into a major flop -- locals were pissed about the monthslong construction and traffic delays, spectators railed about sky-high ticket and hotel prices ... and then, during the first practice session, a drain hole cover flew up and damaged a car driven by Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.

However, in the end, the race itself turned out to be pretty exciting ... making sure normie spectators, and celebs alike, got their money's worth.