“Critics overblown, leaving Vegas after a great race”

Sportsman

Verstappen penalty, then collision, Leclerc with a stop less, but …

Max Verstappen won all three races in the USA this year, both last year as well. This year he already won a record 18 races, and 53 in his career as a Formula 1 driver.
Photo: Reuters

The Las Vegas Grand Prix ended with another winning streak Max Verstappen (Red Bull): Won his sixth consecutive US race, his 18th this year and 53rd of his career, tying him for the third-most wins of all time Sebastian Vettel. He was not on the podium in only one of the 22 races this year. With third place Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and their team achieved what has never been done before – finally the first and second place in the race total. However, the Mexican returned to the podium, for the first time in seven races, after Monza. “What else can you want from your two racers, other than to be first and second in the championship? Perez has found his form again, the right speed. In the last two, three races he is right again,” laughed after the race in Las Vegas team boss To Christian Horner. This year they also won the constructors’ title. A nice present for Horner’s 50th birthday.

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After the free training sessions, harsh criticism of the organization

The manhole cover was the “number 1 star” after free practice.
Photo: Gulliverimage

But even though Verstappen won yet again, the race was anything but boring. They also raced for first place. The new street circuit makes for interesting racing, and the couple is ultimately more important than all the behind-the-scenes show that accompanies Formula 1 racing. And that’s what the Las Vegas Grand Prix needed after all the negative incidents and criticism on Friday. Journalists and fans from all over the world were quite upset after the free practice sessions: the drain cover was raised, the Ferrari race car was damaged, the second practice session at half past three in the morning, the fans were removed from the stands, who thus saw only nine minutes of racing for hundreds of dollars on the first day expensive tickets, and a ten-place penalty To Carlos Sainzalthough he was not to blame for the destroyed powertrain… Ferrari announced that they will have a private conversation with the promoter of Formula 1 and in this case also the organizer of the race in Las Vegas about possible compensation for the damage to their racing car.

The organizer announced that 315,000 fans watched the event in three days, and on Thursday the stands were not even full at the beginning of training, so the number does not seem the most credible. Each day, they could welcome a maximum of 105,000 people to the stands.
Photo: Reuters

“The race was superb, one of the best”

Overtaking to win
Photo: Reuters

“A lot was said, a lot of negative things, but everything was exaggerated. Now we are leaving Las Vegas after a great race,” emphasized the boss of the Mercedes team Toto Wolff. “I think we’ve increased the popularity of Formula 1 in the US. For sure. I can’t find anything negative myself. The pit cover was nothing like that. When I look at the last night: spectacular race, great crowd, great event, great racing. I’ll remember this first race in Las Vegas. She lived up to all expectations.” The seven-time world champion also thought similarly Lewis Hamilton: “The race was superb, one of the best. A lot of people and journalists were so negative about this race and the whole show, but I just went with the flow. And we got a superb race. Like in Baku, only better.”

“We’re all leaving Vegas for a bit of a ***”

There were also familiar faces at the race. Usain Bolt and Terry Crews among them.
Photo: Reuters

In the future, only the timeline will have to be considered. Racing at midnight is physically very demanding for the racers. And not only for them: also for mechanics, engineers and other team personnel. Especially since they now have to move across multiple time zones and race in Abu Dhabi in just five days. Next year, the situation will be even more difficult, as after Las Vegas there will be races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, all three in three weeks. “If there’s anything we need to improve, it’s just the timing. But it’s not easy to find the right one if you want to have good hours in Asia, Europe, the east and west coast of the USA. It was much easier in the past when Formula 1 was only for the European public, ” says the head of the Ferrari team Fred Vasseur. Horner agrees: “We’re all leaving Vegas a little sore. One way or another, it was a brutal weekend for everyone. And we’ve got to change that going forward. We’re never going to completely satisfy the TV audience. This is America’s race. If you were driving at eight o’clock in the evening or something like that, but it would be easier at least for everyone here at the scene.”

But no one can deny that the scenery was really something special. This is how they drove past the MSG Sphere amphitheater, which was constantly changing its appearance. Las Vegas has a ten-year contract to host the race.
Photo: Reuters

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