F1. Las Vegas 2023 Review
0By Dewi Preece, Aiden McLaughlin, Gavin Huet and Chelsea Wintle
Driver of the day
Dewi – Despite being pipped by Leclerc on the final lap (copy & paste Brazil…) I’m actually going with Sergio Perez. The Mexican had more pressure to deal with than any other driver recently, and rose to the occasion in the race. Was nearly plum last after the first lap, fought his way through the field smartly, and was just one too many laps from second place. But ultimately it was enough to seal second spot in the driver’s championship and a slice of history for Red Bull at the same time. He can now finally rest easy looking ahead to next season.
Aiden – A Frenchman wearing a Deadpool inspired helmet – yep, Esteban Ocon is my driver of the day. He lined up on the grid in P16 after dropping out in Q1 in qualifying, whilst his teammate Pierre Gasly started in P4. But Ocon started strongly (and avoided trouble) to make it up to P8 on lap one, and from there, finished in P4. His 12 points were more than the 11 points he had accumulated in the previous eight races. Oh, and Gasly ended up in P11 to make for a mixed result for Alpine.
Gavin – Charles Leclrec was on the pace all weekend long. He put his Ferrari on pole position, then watched Max Verstappen push him off the track at the very first corner of the race, came back to lead the race, only to lose it again to Max as the safety car came out at just the wrong time for Charles. In hindsight the Ferrari should have pitted there, but having only pitted a few laps prior the team felt that position on the track was more important. A mistake that cost Charles the chance for a win, instead he had to fight for second with Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull – and that overtake to seal second place on the very last corner of the race was fantastic, I am not sure Sergio was expecting it or even realised the overtake was on. In a season where Charles has not had a victory it was a good weekend for the Monegasque.
Chelsea – On a weekend when both Ferraris looked stronger than ever, Charles Leclerc takes it for me. After taking out qualifying, he overcame a first corner elbow by Max Verstappen to maintain admirable pace throughout the 50 laps. The five-second Verstappen penalty was as good as useless by the time it was applied, and cost us some potentially exciting racing had the position been returned to Leclerc. Top that off with a final lap lunge on Perez and you’ve got yourself a winner, daring to keep the Ferrari dream alive for 2024.
Moment of the weekend
Dewi – The chequered flag. From Friday onwards I didn’t think anything would trump Sainz and Ferrari’s drain-gate, which ultimately heaped even more pressure on the race itself to deliver – which it did. For me, the most exciting race of the season, and I’m already looking forward to Vegas 2.0, where they can iron out what were often inexcusable oversights for paying fans.
Aiden – It has to be the drain cover, because it affected so much else. A shortened free practice one. Massive damage to Carlos Sainz’s car and a related 10-place grid penalty. A heated press conference from the team principals. A huge delay to free practice two (and the exclusion of spectators and an accompanying class action). A lack of sleep for many. Widespread panic and cynicism that the weekend would be a failure. It all ended up ok, but it certainly stirred things up.
Gavin – A couple of minutes into Free Practice 1 and Carlos Sainz has a drain cover go through his powertrain to ruin his Ferrari and call off the session. Free Practice 2 was delayed as all the drain covers were inspected, removed, and filled over. This was the right thing to do as the driver and spectator safety is paramount. The Ferrari needed a new everything which when you see the incident is not unexpected at all, what was unexpected is that the stewards decided that Carlos will get a 10 place grid penalty because of those repairs. The same repairs that were caused not by the driver, or the team, or any other driver, or any other team, but by the Las Vegas track not being fit for purpose. The rule seems to be geared towards drivers having accidents etc. and not with things that happen outside of their control. Whilst others will say the rules as they are written were implemented correctly (ahem Mercedes) there must surely be a bit of leeway for these cases – maybe the rules need an overarching “integrity” clause that they can invoke to get to the correct decision, you know, like World Rugby has…
Chelsea – The moment when I realised I’d left Friday drinks early to watch a practice session that was red flagged seven minutes in. When the drain cover lifted and tore into Carlos Sainz’s undercarriage (or rather, that of his Ferrari), the tone was set for the rest of the night. There were many disappointed fans who were removed from the circuit prior to FP2 due to safety regulations, who are now (because America) organising a class action lawsuit against the event. Close runner-up was the mixed-up starting grid for the race – eight teams in the top ten. More of that please.
Hot take of the weekend
Dewi – This is the worst season for officiating I’ve seen in my many years following, and something the FIA have to address. It’s not that they get all the calls wrong, but there’s far too much inconsistency from race to race. And the fact Sainz was punished so harshly for the track being underprepared took away from what would otherwise have been a dream weekend for Liberty.
Aiden – This was the best race of the year. Yes, yes, I know Max won yet again, but it wasn’t a procession like it has been for most of 2023, but there was so much uncertainty about which cars would perform, what strategy was best. Chuck in some yellow flags and plenty of overtaking and Formula One can be pleased with a successful weekend. This will be the most painful year for local residents and workers, but hopefully the event can be embraced by them in the future because it is here to stay.
Gavin – Talking to his race engineer after the first corner coming together with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, now race leader Max Verstappen is told the stewards are investigating and responds with “Yeah, send them my regards…” I have never been a Max fan so I may view that comment a bit harsher than others, but that was a big middle finger to everyone and shows that Max just doesn’t care about anything but racing and more specifically, winning. All this means I really don’t care about Max, and you know something, he doesn’t care that I don’t care because he’s racing and he’s winning.
Chelsea – If I had a drink for every time a journalist moaned about the late hour, I wouldn’t have been able to get out of bed Monday morning. We get it, the race is on in the middle of the night. It’s outrageous, you’re tired and have no idea what time it is! Oh look, we’re having breakfast at 2pm! Wacky, but barely newsworthy, and not remotely impressive to those of us who tune in from down here in GMT+13.
Cold take of the weekend
Dewi – Cold is good. Or more specifically, varying temperatures is good. Throughout the weekend, teams were never 100% sure how tyres would play out, how their engines and brakes would handle racing in much lower temperatures than usual, and it threw genuine intrigue into the mix. Just look at the top ten after qualifying and tell me that isn’t an exciting, fresh mix of names! So let’s break the mould a bit and move a few races around the calendar.
Aiden – A reported US$2.0m cost to fix Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari is quite the bill, especially when it’s not the fault of the team. The fact that a drain cover can cause that much damage is one thing, but when the knock on effect is multiple new parts, including a new battery pack which handed him a 10-place grid penalty, then the regulations need to be looked at to provide common sense if something like this should happen in the future.
Gavin – Great race, possibly the best racing all season, but where were the fans? First they were kicked out of the FP2 session, and then you hardly saw any of them during the race because, well, it was at night. One of the things about the US is the sheer amount of people who are turning up for F1 these days but with a night race you just didn’t get a feel for any of that. To me it felt like one of the COVID races where there were no people and therefore no atmosphere. I am sure that the fans there would say it was great but the biggest audience is television. This was a race weekend I was looking forward to as you just knew it would be bigger and better (for a reported US$500 – 700m it should be) but nope, it just seemed to limp along like a Las Vegas crooner in the twilight of their career mumbling through their repertoire.
Chelsea – Just, I don’t know, shut up Max. It was pretty galling to hear him moaning at the top side of the weekend about how he didn’t like the track, how he felt like a clown, and how he’d rather be back in Monaco than stuck in the uncouth behemoth that is Vegas. He had his defenders, and as a fan of the plain-speaking Kimi Raikkonen, I’m partial to a grumbler. That being said, he was edging his way into whiny crybaby territory, so to hear him singing “Viva Las Vegas” moments after he took the chequered flag was a bit gross. Pick a lane, pal.
Most Vegas moment
Dewi – The former broadcaster in me has to go niche here: it came towards the end of the race, Leclerc hunting down Perez on the Las Vegas strip and a helicopter/drone shot followed them for the entire length. I didn’t think they did a great job of showing off the real Vegas effect with the coverage (nowhere near enough sky shots, and where the hell were the fans?!) but that shot in particular summed everything up perfectly. Wheel to wheel battling at 350km, on an iconic piece of real estate. The kind of moment that had me going, “ok, now THAT’S cool!”
Aiden – So many to choose from…the late starts (and finishes) to all the sessions are Las Vegas all over; it’s a city that never sleeps. A class action from the spectators that weren’t allowed to watch free practice two was an interesting twist, and rather American rather than Vegas specific. Verstappen singing along to ‘Viva Las Vegas’ after he’d secured victory. The various helmets, suits and cars that had been given the Vegas treatment. One of the great Martin Brundle grid walks with people we recognised (Shaq! Zlatan!) and some we didn’t (I thought Tiesto was a make of car). But for me, it was the Bellagio fountains that *checks notes* the top three drivers drove to in a Rolls Royce after the race was over. One of the most famous sights on the Strip got in on the act late in proceedings and didn’t disappoint.
Gavin – As Max Verstappen crosses the finishing line to take yet another victory, the man who had been bagging the Las Vegas event all weekend long, the man who was racing in an Elvis inspired racing suit, then burst into some “Viva Las Vegas” singing. Finally all three podium drivers climbed into the “cool-down car” to do a lap before being taken to the podium which some fans thought was the Bellagio hotel but was in fact on the start finish line. Some hits, some misses, contrived, cringe-worthy, and over the top is the only way to look at it, and if that does not sum up Las Vegas then nothing ever will.
Chelsea – Easily the most Vegas-y thing to ever Vegas was former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve marrying his partner Giulia in the paddock, presided over by an Elvis impersonator. She even walked down the aisle to the F1 theme tune! It’s so tacky! I’m so jealous I could cry!
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