Introduction
When the race calendar for the 2023 Formula 1 season was announced, it included a new circuit, a street circuit - in Las Vegas.
Interestingly, Formula 1 had previously held races in Vegas, with the city serving as a host in the 1981 and 1982 Formula 1 seasons. Formula 1 had invested millions of dollars into this race, making it the spectacle it was meant to be.
Coming into the race weekend, there were a lot of concerns about the Grand Prix, most notably that of cold temperatures - the drivers would have to race in 4C. As the weekend went on, heating the tires seemed to be a major problem for the drivers.
Free Practice
The problems started during Free Practice 1 - 9 minutes into the session, Carlos Sainz had run over a drain cover which wasn't properly secured, This caused his chassis to be heavily damaged - leading to him not being able to take part in FP2.
It also served as the main controversy during the weekend. After the incident, the marshals spent a few hours securing the drain holes. Due to this, FP2 was delayed to 2:30 in the morning - the spectators were then asked to leave the track and were given 200$ gift vouchers(for the F1 merchandise store).
Qualifying
Once the incidents in the free practice were cleared up, qualifying for the Grand Prix took place around midnight, starting with the Mclarens going out in Q1, Hamilton and Perez out in Q2 and ending with Charles Leclerc taking his 22nd pole position, followed by Verstappen and George Russell.
The Williams of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant taking control of the third row, was the surprise of qualifying.
The Race
Verstappen got an amazing start, finding himself alongside the pole-sitter, Charles Leclerc, at turn 1. As he tried to pass Leclerc for the lead, Verstappen ended up pushing Charles put of the track, for which he was given a 5-second time penalty. At the back of the field, Fernando Alonso had no grip into turn 1 and spun out, getting hit by Valtteri Bottas who was hit by Sergio Perez.
Behind them, Carlos Sainz understeered into Lewis Hamilton into turn 1.
All this led to loose debris on the track, for which a safety car was called.
Credit : Kym Illman
Credit : Kym Illman
Lando Norris was looking to a good points finish after starting from the back of the grid. As he went through turn 12, Lando lost control of the rear of his MCL60.
This led to another crash, calling for a safety car(Lando Norris was taken to the hospital, it was confirmed that he did not suffer major injuries from his accident at turn 12).
Once the safety car was in the pits, Max Verstappen was given a 5-second time penalty for his incident in turn 1 with Charles Leclerc. At lap 16, Leclerc managed to use DRS to pass Versatppen into turn 14.
After the first round of pitstops, Verstappen found himself behind Russell, poised to pass him into turn 12. Not seeing him, George Russell turned in, crashing into the Red Bull of Verstappen. Verstappen's right front endplate was damaged, so was Russell's left front wing.
Following this incident, the stewards called for another safety car, during which race leader Sergio Perez pitted for the hard compound tires.
Once Russell was given a 5-second penalty for the incident, the race restarted.
On lap 32, at turn 14, Sergio Perez overtook race leader Charles Leclerc - but was unable to pull over a second ahead of Leclerc.
Three laps later, the Monegasque overtook Perz for the lead of the race. As the fight for the lead continued, Verstappen has taken p3, Once he overtook his teammate, he blasted down the strip to claim the lead of the race, on lap 37.
At the end of the race, Leclerc made a surprising lunge into turn 14, overtaking Perez for second place.
The race ended with Oscar Piastri taking the last points-paying place.
Credit : Formula 1
2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix Podium
Credit : Formula 1
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