For the first time since 1982, Formula One headed to Las Vegas to host a Grand Prix. The city curated a 6.2 km, 17-corner circuit encompassing the famous strip and the purpose-built paddock facility.
Round 21 also became the first Grand Prix to take place on a Saturday since the 1985 South African Grand Prix, although this change of schedule didn’t stop Max Verstappen from winning yet another race.
There were some stellar drives from up and down the grid which also deserved praise. Find out who shone under the light sand and who gambled and lost in the latest report cards:
Top of the class:
Charles Leclerc – Qualifying: 1st | Race: 2nd
So near yet still so far in the Monegasque’s hunt to end his pole-to-win conversion curse, but I firmly believe there was nothing more Charles could have done to take victory.
Having already passed Verstappen when the Dutchman forced him wide at turn 1 on lap 1, an ill-timed safety car for damage after an incident involving Verstappen and George Russell meant his advantage was cut.
Having pitted a couple of laps earlier, he had to fight against two Red Bulls with a tyre disadvantage. Although he valiantly defended, he first slipped behind Max and then ran wide at turn 14 which allowed Sergio Pérez through.
The Monegasque didn’t let this deter him, keeping close in the final few laps. A brilliant divebomb at turn 14 on the final meant the Ferrari driver would finish second was only 2 seconds off victory in the end.
The Scuderia looked to have the best package this weekend, but it just wasn’t to be. Yet with a haul of 18 points, Leclerc is back in the hunt to overhaul teammate Carlos Sainz in the standings.
Esteban Ocon – Qualifying: 16th (promoted from 17th) | Race: 4th (promoted from 5th)
Ocon was disappointed with Saturday’s qualifying. Whilst teammate Pierre Gasly maximised the Alpine package to start 4th, Esteban was knocked out in Q1.
Roles were reversed on Sunday, as the Frenchman progressed up the field with a long first stint and valiantly held on to P4 until the final lap when he was overtaken by George Russell, who was carrying a five-second penalty anyway. So this didn’t ultimately cost Esteban any positions when the race finished.
Ocon managed the graining that saw Pierre tumble through the field and he reaped the rewards. By taking home 12 points, he managed to cut his deficit in the team battle to just four points. Considering his horrific reliability this season, Ocon certainly cashed in on race day.
Lance Stroll – Qualifying: 14th (demoted to 19th due to penalty) | Race: 5th (promoted from 6th)
From zero to hero best sums up Lance’s weekend. He was given a five-place grid penalty for overtaking under yellow flags in FP3. A mediocre qualifying then consigned him to the back row of the grid after the aforementioned penalty was applied.
His fortunes turned around almost immediately, with the first lap chaos at turn 1 he was running 12th by the end of lap 1 and a gamble to pit under the VSC meant he still came out ahead of the impacted drivers.
He then put on a solid second stint, overtaking both Alpines to progress inside the top 10, capitalising on the mid-race safety car to move further up. Taking the finish in P5 is the Canadian’s best result since Australia and has given Aston Martin a well-needed boost in the Constructor’s standings.
The honourable mention of the day goes to Max Verstappen. I’m willing to overlook his rather petty lap 1 penalty for forcing Leclerc off at turn 1, because he had a couple of unenforced setbacks that he rose above to take victory number 18 of the season. His patient pressure on Pérez negated his tyre disadvantage and a nice move on Charles sealed the 25 points this time round.
The struggle bus:
McLaren
Oscar Piastri – Qualifying: 18th (promoted from 19th) | Race: 10th (+FL)
Lando Norris – Qualifying: 15th (promoted from 16th) | Race: DNF
The Papaya outfit was less than optimistic heading into Las Vegas. With long straights and fast corners, this didn’t look to be a track that was going to suit their package. The results rather backed that up.
A double-Q1 elimination was a painful reminder of how far the team has come since the opening rounds, but the humbling in qualifying still left opportunities on race night.
An ambitious long first stint on the hard tyres for Piastri saw him rise up to running fourth, gambling on a late safety car which unfortunately never came. Still, he was able to fight back to claim the final point-paying position whilst also taking the fastest lap.
A rare DNF for Lando meant that McLaren only walked away with two points from the weekend. Norris lost control on the sweeping left-hander of turn six and crashed heavily into the barriers, prompting a trip to the hospital for checkups. Nonetheless, it’s still an advantage for McLaren in their fight for P4 against Aston Martin. But this weekend was the prime opportunity to secure their position.
Fernando Alonso – Qualifying: 9th (promoted from 10th) | Race: 9th
The veteran was unable to repeat his excellent weekend in São Paulo, as a rare mistake on lap one cost him and the team some vital points in the race.
Alonso spun on his own volition into turn 1 at the start of the race and caused Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and Sergio Pérez to take evasive action that hindered their races.
He did recover to finish where he started, but teammate Stroll came home in P5. Though the gap to McLaren has come down to 11 points, there was a missed chance from the #14 side of the garage to eat into that deficit further.
Williams
Alexander Albon – Qualifying: 5th (promoted from 6th) | Race: 12th
Logan Sargeant – Qualifying: 6th (promoted from 7th) | Race: 16th
Williams had a rocketship in qualifying and a canal boat in race conditions. The slump from row 3 on the grid to P12 and P16 at the chequered flag is a rather humbling reminder of the limitations of the 2023 car.
The FW45 undoubtedly has excellent straight-line speed, but in race trim their tyre wear woes meant that both Alex and Logan sunk through the field rather quickly.
If we’re going to scrape for silver linings, then Logan had by far his most competitive qualifying session and was less than two-tenths from finally outqualifying Albon, but that doesn’t score the team any points – and their fight for P7 with AlphaTauri may have relied on this.
The dishonourable mention of the weekend goes to the Grand Prix organisers, it is to be expected for inaugural events to have teething issues, especially for races as hastily prepared for as this one.
However, the drain incident that cost Carlos Sainz an engine and 10 places on the grid was a good look for neither the Las Vegas organisers nor F1 themselves as there is nothing in the rules to circumnavigate this occurrence.
Then preventing fans from attending the delayed FP2 completed a rather shambolic first day, but at least the racing product on Saturday night’s race was some redemption.
Though the fight for Driver’s standings is largely over, some intriguing inter-team battles hang in the balance ahead of the final round of the 2023 season. There isn’t long to wait as the paddock takes a short flight to Abu Dhabi with the race taking place in just 8 days. Tune in on Sunday 26th November with lights out at 1 pm for UK time, and check back here for the race cards from the season finale to follow.
