The Grand Prix has come and gone from Sin City and it was certainly a memorable one. I wrote about the build-up to the event and included some local perspectives too. There will be news about this race from the commercial, sporting, and legal front in the coming weeks but for now…a brief look back is in order.
In many ways, the Las Vegas Grand Prix served up a three-act play, each one containing both drama and suspense. Overall, the weekend was a success and almost all of the pre-race fears were allayed. If nothing else, FOM pulled-off a successful race against a host of challenges.
Practice
The initial sessions of the grand prix were ominous. First, FP1 was stopped after only eight minutes when a manhole cover destroyed Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari. The cover has to be secured and all the other ones inspected before FP2 could start. Thankfully, there were no more problems found and practice resumed a few hours later. However, the fans had to leave the grandstands by 0200 local time meaning the session had no one in attendance. No doubt a lot of fans were dismayed but practice continued. The good news is that there were no more problems in subsequent sessions and drivers could begin to get some miles on the new circuit.
Qualifying
The qualifying sessions definitely contained some surprises! Ferrari was consistently fast with Leclerc and Sainz grabbing the top-two positions initially (before Sainz’s car was demoted ten places for replacing the components destroyed by the manhole cover). Williams got both cars into Q3 too and Pierre Gasly somehow managed to get his underpowered Alpine in P4. Most teams had their drivers scattered on the grid meaning that some were able to get more out of their cars during this part of the event. It looked like Ferrari had a great chance to take a win from Red Bull.
Race
The race certainly provided some drama as well. Leclerc’s pole position only lasted a few hundred meters and Verstappen duly pulled away from the field. Later, Leclerc passed him for the lead and looked like he could grab his first win of the season. Behind them, there was a lot of action as some car/driver combinations began to assert themselves. After a safety car period, the Red Bull Racing team looked strong and took the lead again. However, Leclerc pulled off one of the moves of the season on Perez on the last lap to secure P2. The only dark spot was Lando Norris’ crash which sent him to the hospital. Still, it was one of the better races of the year, one which many fans will remember for years.
Aftermath
After the post-race ceremonies, the exhausted teams packed-up for the long flight to Abu Dhabi and the last race of the season. The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was a success, at least from a sporting standpoint. What happens between now and the next one is an open question though. Locals are still smarting over all the interruptions the event caused and many question if hosting the event was worth it. FOM spent around $500 million to put the race on, they are betting on it’s future success and signed a 10-year contract to run it. As for the hotels, casinos, and other businesses near the course; no doubt they are calculating how much of a difference the grand prix made to their bottom lines.
So it was a memorable event, but this is just the start of a longer run whose duration is unknown at this time. Will the Las Vegas Grand Prix become a popular fixture on the calendar or another limited engagement that is quickly forgotten afterwards? I’ll continue to post on this because this is a fascinating subject to motorsports fans both here in the US and worldwide.
