© Vladimir RysRace Changing Moments – Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023The first Grand Prix down the Las Vegas strip was something special for both drivers and the Team, here are the moments that made it memorable!
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Max Verstappen took his 18th win of the year in a style we’ve all been accustomed to in 2023, and Sergio Pérez was on brilliant form to claim his ninth podium of the season. Vegas is known as the ‘Entertainment Capital of the World’ and it certainly lived up to that nickname on Saturday night.
2 x Elvis and Charles Leclerc© Getty Images
But what happened over the course of the weekend? Well, we’re here to break it down with the moments that made the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix…
Nothing was going to stop Max from taking his 18th win of the season. Not penalties, collisions or even the threat of manhole covers.
Max was given a five second penalty after he was considered to have pushed Charles Leclerc off the track at turn one on the opening lap. The Team decided to serve that penalty in the pitlane on Max’s first stop to get it over and done with. Fast-forward to lap 25 and Max came together with George Russell after a determined move into turn 12. This damaged his front wing, but didn’t seem to affect his pace so he stuck with the endplate-less wing for the second half of the race.
Racing Line? What's A Racing Line?© Getty Images
On the 37th lap Max took the lead back from Leclerc and was on his way to the victory. It was an impressive race for the Dutchman, but Team Principal Christian Horner was quick to point out that Max loves the fight. “Max revels in a race like that, even though he was on the end of a penalty, the way he came back, the way he fought, it was fantastic. I think he may have changed his mind about Vegas.”
It’s no secret that Checo is the master of street circuits and he proved that on the fastest street circuit in the sport’s history, although it wasn’t the luckiest of starts for the Mexican. If qualifying P12 wasn’t tricky enough, he found himself in P18 on lap two after diving into the pits for a new front wing due to his tangle with Valtteri Bottas at the start.
That early pitstop worked in his favour, though, and he started climbing through the ranks with ease. As others pitted around him the Bull – who is known for making his tyres last – was the race leaser by the 22nd lap.
When Max and Russell collided and the Safety Car came out due to debris on track, Checo, once again was in the pits for a fresh set of hard tyres, but Leclerc stayed out stealing back P1 from the Bull. Checo returned to the action in P2 and looked to be good for the race win, but with the bigger wing on his RB19 he couldn’t match the top speed of Max and Charles Leclerc. He had to settle for P3 after losing out to Leclerc on the final lap, but a podium from P12 on the starting grid is a phenomenal drive.
“It was a very intense race from the start, damaging my front wing, thinking everything was over but then the pace on the hard during the first stint was tremendous and that really brought us back into the race,”: said Checo. “The Safety Car came at the right time for us and from then on, we were looking good, I overtook Charles and I thought I was going to pull away from him but we were carrying a little bit too much wing on the car and I couldn’t. It’s a shame I lost second place but we were lacking a little bit of top speed.”
The King Of The Las Vegas Strip Circuit© Vladimir Rys
We’ve been writing about breaking records for a few weeks now. These include: most wins in a season for a driver; most consecutive wins for a driver; most points in a season for a driver; most points in a season for a constructor; and many more. But the Team has chalked up another one: Most wins in a season for a constructor. The Team now has 20 wins (out of 21 races), eclipsing Mercedes’ record of 19 that they set in 2016.
The Moment That Decided The Race© Vladimir Rys
With seven drivers’ and six constructors’ titles in the books, you’d think that the Team would had captured a one-two finish in the Drivers’ Championship before now, but no! The closest the Team came was last year when Checo missed out on P2 to Charles Leclerc by just three points at the final race of the season. In the heady days of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, the closest they came to finishing the season first and second was in 2010 when Mark missed out by 10 points to Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Even after all the success so far this season, Checo securing second place feels oh so sweet.
“He [Checo] was so unlucky to lose out on second place in the race but it was enough to see him secure second place in the Championship and we are extremely happy for him and the Team,” said Christian after the race.
Checo was obviously happy after securing his best finish in a Formula One Season. “I am very proud to secure the Team’s first one-two in the Drivers’ Championship tonight,” he said. “It’s a massive piece of history for us. It has been a very intense year, the highs in the year have been extremely high but the lows have been super low. As a driver and a human being to come back from those tough moments, is what I take the most from this season. Mentally it was very tough at times but we have managed to overcome all those issues and get the job done. Thanks to my Team and everyone who supported me!”
2nd In The Drivers Championship Secured© Getty Images
