F1 may have won in Las Vegas, but changes are needed for next year

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LAS VEGAS – Midway through his post-race interview, Oscar Piastri paused when the massive fireworks display over the Las Vegas Strip interrupted his train of thought.

“Jesus Christ…” he said, as the sound turned everyone’s heads towards the sky. He deadpanned, “Welcome to Las Vegas.”

Even as F1 ended its Las Vegas weekend on a high with one of the most exciting races of the season, a three-way battle for victory that continued into the closing stages, there was no escaping the significance of the off- track races. show.

It was a point of contention for many. Max Verstappen, the eventual race winner, had already protested on Wednesday that the F1 race in Las Vegas would be a “99 percent show, one percent sporting event”. While some drivers understood the need to embrace the spectacle, they still had a job to do: a race to win and 25 points to fight for. That was their focus.

This was always the dichotomy of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. F1 had long planned for this to be so much more than just another race, and built it into one of the biggest spectacles in global sport. Ironically this actually is used to be one of the most exciting races of the 2023 season, thanks to that exciting late battle and action throughout the field. Getting exciting competitive action, something largely outside of F1’s control, was a nice to have, not a must-have.

It was definitely not an easy race weekend. There are no new varieties. But no new race has had half a billion dollars spent to make it happen. In true Las Vegas style, the stakes were raised.

As I walked out to the grid on Saturday evening, there was a sense of excitement and nervousness typically reserved for title deciders. After 18 months of preparation and hype building, it was time for F1 to deliver results. The chips were gone.

What followed ticked all the boxes for a great F1 event. The neon signs along the illuminated Strip created a spectacular image. The race itself had an exciting battle for victory and many overtaking actions, a rarity on a street circuit. Fears about the cold temperatures making the tires impossible to drive were largely unfounded, although it was difficult during the run-up to Turn 1 and on the restarts after the safety car periods when the tires had cooled.

The circuit pleasantly surprised the drivers. The layout looked quite simple and was possibly compared to an upside-down pig. But the profile of the corners and especially the long DRS zones ensured that there were many overtaking opportunities.

“I didn’t expect to have so much fun in the race,” admitted Charles Leclerc, whose successful lunge against Sergio Pérez lit up the final lap. “I’m sure it was fun to watch. I’ll make sure I watch it again.” George Russell said it was ‘surreal’ to be in Las Vegas, but the track was ‘a lot better to drive than expected’ and had ‘quite a lot of character’.

That does not mean that changes are not needed for the future. Because there are big things that need to be addressed.

Changes needed

Although it produced good racing, the track needs work. Grip was still incredibly low, as is usually the case on street circuits. “You have to struggle with the car, but it’s not a feeling that you get a lot of feedback from,” Daniel Ricciardo explained. “I think if the grip was bigger it would be more fun.” Carlos Sainz also labeled Turn 12, the corner leading to the Strip, as “a bit too dangerous” due to the position of the wall. Steps can be taken to try to help on both counts.

The bigger call for change was ironically related to issues off the track, namely race planning. The lights out at 10pm was the latest in F1 history and the result of many compromises, but the F1 paddock was perhaps the biggest loser. Rarely did a conversation go by without someone mentioning how little sleep they had or how messed up their biological clock was. The delays that led to FP2 finishing at 4am on Friday didn’t help. Ricciardo said people were ‘frenzied’, while Leclerc felt the late timing was ‘a bit on the limit’. Piastri said he wished this was the last race of the season so he could go straight home as he already felt like he was on Australian time.

The extravagant nature of the Las Vegas GP is indispensable. (Chris Graythen – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

It is difficult to find the right time to start the race. The pressure to minimize the disruption of closing one of the world’s most famous roads means it’s not as simple as bringing the start time forward. But it must be something F1 investigates as few in the paddock have appreciated such late starts. It would be more appropriate to turn off the lights at 8 p.m., as we have done in Singapore, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The other factor that made Las Vegas so tough is what comes next: the trip to Abu Dhabi for the season finale. It is a 16-hour journey with a time difference of 12 hours, something everyone must be ready for by Wednesday at the latest. “It’s such a big time shift, especially at the end of a season when everyone is already a bit tired,” said Verstappen. “I think it’s a bit much. So maybe it would be ideal to find another date.”

Things will only get worse next year: Las Vegas starts a triple-header with Qatar and Abu Dhabi to end the year. Ricciardo was shocked when he discovered this on Sunday. “They have to bring it forward because we will be devastated, especially at the end of the season,” he said. Unfortunately, this isn’t feasible for next year, and Las Vegas plans to keep this pre-Thanksgiving date long-term. It just adds to the need to try to bring the race start time forward to make the whole weekend a little easier for the whole paddock.

There are also clear lessons that Las Vegas organizers need to learn. The water valve cover problem is one that can easily be fixed in the future, as we learned the hard way. Then there’s the tone-deaf treatment of the fans in the early hours of Friday morning, forcing them to leave and then offering no refund or apology, but a $200 voucher for merchandise for an event they watched for eight minutes. action on track. Announcing on Saturday that deposits for 2024 tickets were being accepted – itself a sign of how expensive it is to attend the race – was a bad look.

‘Today was fun’

One thing that probably won’t change is the extravagant nature of the Las Vegas spectacle. The city’s identity and reputation will continue to be central to the race, ranging from the wedding chapel in the paddock to the number of Elvis impersonators – I’ve honestly lost count – and the slot machine lever on the time bridges at either end of the race . pit lane. It will be authentically Vegas, for better or worse.

Even Verstappen got into the mood after the win, singing “Viva Las Vegas” over the radio as part of a new tradition he agreed with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

But Verstappen denied the race had changed his tone at Las Vegas. “I always expected today to be a good race,” he said. “As I said before, on long straights and low-speed corners you don’t lose much downforce. That’s never been my problem. Today was fun. I hope everyone enjoyed it.”

Lewis Hamilton called on people on Wednesday to give Las Vegas a chance and not to judge before the race. After the race he admitted he was surprised by how good the track was, adding: “For all those who were so negative about the weekend and said it was all about show, blah, blah, blah… I think Vegas has proven them wrong. ” It is not difficult to see who this comment was intended for.

The race may not have made Verstappen a Las Vegas convert, but it proved that what happens on the track can live up to the hype built off the track.

For that reason, F1 will certainly consider the start of its residency in Las Vegas a success. There’s room for improvement, yes, but after how it all started, it was a huge turnaround for the sport.

According to Verstappen’s measurements, the one percent sporting event outweighed the 99 percent show. Few could have looked forward to those opportunities on Thursday evening.

More of The Athletics‘s Las Vegas Grand Prix coverage:

Why the first Las Vegas Grand Prix was a total failure – and a ‘lesson learned’

Our step-by-step analysis of the Las Vegas Strip Circuit

F1’s ‘unacceptable’ night in Las Vegas: how a water valve cover stopped training

(Lead photo of Max Verstappen: ANP via Getty Images)