The Las Vegas Grand Prix was most likely not only the best race of the season on the track, but also set new standards with the show elements and off-track activities, albeit after a difficult start on Thursday, when the first was just ten minutes in Free practice had to be canceled due to the manhole cover incident and the second free practice was pushed back so far that the fans in the stands had to leave the facility for safety reasons.
However, the big show element surrounding the event in Las Vegas had already divided opinions in advance, which is why the question arises: How good was the Formula 1 weekend in Las Vegas really and did it live up to expectations?
“Yes, absolutely,” says Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. “I mean, it was a great race, exciting. You have long straights, big braking zones and no grip. So it’s difficult for the drivers, but I thought it was a great Grand Prix. And the speeds here are insane.”
“I think the layout of the track is really good. And the surface is super slippery too. You could see the drivers really working today. I closed my eyes a few times, especially on the cold tires on the restart – that was it “It’s really very unsettling.”
“And in general it was an educational experience. And I think as a venue for a race it’s fantastic. The show that Formula 1 put on here was Formula 1 at its best today,” said the Red Bull Team boss.
Charles Leclerc: “I loved it”
His team boss colleague Frederic Vasseur from Ferrari, who was still serving after Carlos Sainz’s car was totaled on Thursday evening, agrees with Horner: “I think that, first and foremost, it is a great success for Formula 1. Everyone was a bit negative , and I think the show was amazing, but at the end of the day the race was amazing and it was probably the best race of the season. So this will set a new standard.”
As far as the drivers are concerned, Max Verstappen was still very negative on the media day, but while the Dutchman has already become tamer over the weekend and sang Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas” over the radio after his race victory, the other drivers are from the Premiere on the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.
“I loved the race,” says Charles Leclerc. “I didn’t expect to have so much fun in the race because in FT2 I think I was behind George [Russell] and I really struggled to overtake him. Then we reduced the downforce and today it was much better. I had a lot more fun. It was a really exciting race so I’ll definitely watch the race again.”
When Sergio Perez was asked whether the event was a success, the Mexican said: “I think so, because it was good for racing. It wasn’t easy to break away from those behind, and it’s a bit like in Baku: When you’re the lead car, life becomes a little more difficult out there, so I think it was worth it.”
Hamilton: Las Vegas showed it to the critics
Lewis Hamilton also agrees: “The race was great. It was one of the best races. And so many people, all the media, everyone was so negative about that race and about the show and all that, I just thought: ‘Leave it Just keep it simple and then we’ll see how it goes.’ And it was a great race! It’s like Baku, only better.”
“I don’t know much about the show, so I haven’t seen that. But I think Vegas put on a great event. And next year it’s going to be even better. Now we’ve been through it once. We’ll be a lot and I’m really grateful to Vegas for inviting us.”
“There was a lot of negativity about three US Grands Prix and people were talking about bringing back old classic races from Europe, but this offered a better race than most of the tracks we race at. I can’t wait to come back and hopefully organize a better race next year,” said Hamilton, praising the event.
George Russell: “Surreal to have been here”
“It was pretty surreal to be here and see everything that’s happening here,” adds his Mercedes teammate George Russell. “The track was actually a lot easier to drive than I expected. It looks pretty easy on the track map, but it actually has a lot of character and is really challenging to drive.”
“Since the track has little downforce, the slipstream really isn’t that big. I don’t know how many overtakings there were in the race, but it wasn’t easy to overtake.”
Criticism of the schedule and route
However, there were also a few critical voices from the drivers, as the low grip and the cold temperatures at night caused some problems. “It was pretty uncertain at these temperatures,” says Alpine pilot Pierre Gasly. “So if we get to see some sunlight in the next few years, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
It wasn’t just in terms of grip that the unusual schedule had its toll, as the team members also didn’t have an easy week with little sleep, especially after the delays to the second free practice session on Thursday. As a doubleheader with Abu Dhabi, the teams now have another big trip ahead of them, with the time zone being turned upside down again with a twelve hour difference.
And not everyone liked the route either: “It’s not on my list of favorites to drive!” said McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. “But in the race, to be honest, it’s pretty good. I think the DRS zone towards the last chicane was a good length, so it wasn’t easy to overtake in that corner.”
“Of course a lot of people were on different tires, many struggled with graining, some didn’t, and so there was a natural difference in speed between a lot of cars. To be honest, that’s the case on any circuit and before the race we thought that “It would be quite difficult to overtake. That was a pleasant surprise and hopefully entertaining.”
Carlos Sainz struggles with the rules
The unluckiest man in Las Vegas, alongside the spectators who only had tickets for training Thursday, was probably Carlos Sainz. First the total loss in training, which led to a grid penalty of ten places, then slipping on the oil at the start, which an old Mercedes spilled during the drivers’ parade, which caused him to run into Lewis Hamilton and spin, and then later in the race Overheating problems slowed down.
“I saw a lot of oil from the cars that we used for the drivers’ parade,” said Sainz when asked about the incident on lap one. “That’s another thing [neben der Gridstrafe]which the FIA should look at, because it’s not fair that all the oil was on the inside track, apart from the fact that the track was already dirty, we used cars that leaked oil on the track, an hour before Run.”
“Of course we regret that we couldn’t fight for victory, because this weekend it looked as if the car was at least capable of making it to the podium and it would have been a great race,” complains the Spaniard .
“It would be nice if Las Vegas remained part of the calendar”
However, Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack defends the organizers for some mishaps at the weekend: “I mean, we had the unfortunate situation on Friday, where the reactions were a bit too extreme in my opinion. Because these things can happen. Things like that happened in other places too.”
“I think all in all, looking back, it was a great event. It was different. And we knew when we came here that it was going to be different. We know that racing in the US is a little bit different than in Europe. But I think we need to be open and learn how the events are done in the US.”
“And I think we learned a lot here. I think the promoter learned a lot and as far as the track goes, maybe we’ll take a step or two for next year. All in all I think it was good. It was very exciting. And it would be nice if this became part of the calendar.”