Formula 1
“VIVA LAS VEGAS! VIVA VIVA LAS VEGAS!” MAX VERSTAPPEN OVER THE TEAM RADIO AFTER CLAIMING HIS 18TH WIN OF THE SEASON IN SIN CITY.
Long live Las Vegas? Having taken a flamethrower to the race for three days, it was tempting to accuse Max of trolling Formula One in his moment of glory. But he was very much on-message in all of his interviews after the win. By all accounts he had had a serious talking-to overnight from Formula One’s top brass, as well as his own team principal Christian Horner, and even his father Jos, pleading with him to be a bit more diplomatic.
The question is: should we all try to be a bit more positive about this race??
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 18: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas at Las Vegas Strip Circuit on November 18, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
Max and Sergio Pérez continued their 2023 dominance with a brilliant win and third respectively for Oracle Red Bull Racing at the first ever Las Vegas Grand Prix with the team’s 20th season win breaking the previous constructors’ record of 19 wins that Mercedes set in 2016.
Verstappen got past Leclerc at the start, but was handed a five-second penalty as Pérez had to go in the pits with a front wing change after a few laps with Leclerc overtaking Verstappen on lap 16 – forcing the three-time world champion into the pits for a tyre change.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 18: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas at Las Vegas Strip Circuit on November 18, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.
Pérez overtook Leclerc for the lead on lap 32, only for the positions to reverse on lap 35 with Verstappen getting past both to lead on lap 37 as he held on for his record 18th victory with Leclerc edging out Pérez on the last lap to end in between the two Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers.
MAX: “It was a tough one. I tried to go for it at the start, but I just ran out of grip. It put us a little bit on the back foot and I had to pass quite a few cars. You could clearly see the DRS was very powerful so, even when you took the lead, the car behind could still have an opportunity to come back at you which created quite a lot of good racing. Definitely a lot of fun.”
CHECO: “It was really difficult with the damage initially on the front wing. One by one things were going well, we had really strong pace on that first stint but I couldn’t pull away from Charles as my straight line speed was a little bit down. It was quite difficult with the gusts of wind, but luckily we kept it on track. I wasn’t expecting Charles at the end. Las Vegas did deliver.”
I thought the racing was fun tonight and there were some great battles on track. There was quite a lot of graining and low levels of grip, but as a sport we will take a lot of learnings for racing in Las Vegas next year. Photo: Aston Martin.
LANCE STROLL FINISHED P5: That was a fun race! I gained 10 positions in the first corner with a lot of other drivers going wide, moving up from P19 to P9, so it immediately felt like it was all to play for. From that point, we were on the front foot and attacking throughout the race with a quick car.
We made some good strategy calls, pitting under both Safety Cars, and then I was able to pass a few cars into Turn One to secure P5. It was a great track to race at and I’m pleased we were able to put on a good show for the fans.”
Stay tuned to the F1Weekly Podcast # 1019 for The Las Vegas GP debrief and much much more.