Following a bizarre and brilliant Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the teams headed back to the U.S. and into the desert for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Taking place on the streets of Vegas, the circuit isn’t the most appealing for those who love cornering. However, for lovers of speed and overtaking, Vegas is the perfect playground. With two massive straightaways and high speed corners, the street circuit is one of the fastest in Formula 1 history, with drivers reaching speeds over 215 mph in every lap.
This is the second rendition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix after the race made its debut last season. Last year’s grand prix did not disappoint, with close to 50 overtakes happening over the course of the race and drama left and right. With this year’s title race coming to a close and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen potentially clinching his fourth-straight World Drivers’ Championship, I was eager for the race weekend to get under way.
Before the festivities could begin, some interesting news struck the paddock, as Kick Sauber announced junior driver Gabriel Borteleto would be driving for the team next season. That meant both of their current drivers would not return and are without a seat for next season, and there is only one available seat left on the grid for next season, which belongs to the Visa Cash App RB team.
The first Free Practice session saw the drivers struggle for grip on the dusty street circuit, but the two Mercedes drivers, led by Lewis Hamilton, managed to top the time tables. The second Free Practice session (FP2) saw mostly the same things with Hamilton leading the way again. Williams driver Alex Albon struggled with technical issues throughout the session, eventually stopping on track and bringing out a red flag toward the end. Similar to FP2, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll had a technical issue and was forced to stop on the track, bringing out an early red flag. Aside from the technical issues, the drivers made their way around the track without much drama, with Hamilton’s teammate George Russell leading the way into Qualifying.
In Qualifying, things seemed to heat up, with the pressure on the top teams to perform as the season came to what could be an exhilarating final three races. In Q1, there wasn’t much drama, aside from Red Bull driver Sergio Perez coming short of Q2 yet again. He’s been struggling all season and seems to only be getting worse with time, which makes the open seat at RB next season all the more fascinating.
Q2 looked fairly similar to Q1 until things came crashing to a halt at the end of the session. Williams driver Franco Colapinto clipped the wall and sent his car barreling into concrete barriers at a rapid rate. The crash had a terrifying force of 50 G’s, leaving the Argentine driver hunched over the side of his car after the fact. This was the fifth crash for the Williams team in the past two race weekends, and they were forced to rebuild the car yet again. Colapinto escaped the crash without injury, but did have to be evaluated by medical staff twice before being cleared to race again.
In Q3, the drivers set out in a terrific end to qualifying that came down to the wire. Russell eventually took pole position just ahead of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz and Alpine driver Pierre Gasly, who shockingly qualified in third. Championship rivals Verstappen and McLaren driver Lando Norris ended up qualifying fifth and sixth respectively, with Verstappen taking an early advantage in the hopes of securing the Drivers’ Championship title. With the title on the line, I couldn’t wait to see what this year’s rendition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix had in store.
The five red lights went out and the drivers launched down toward turn one, with Russell maintaining his lead after the first corner. Behind him Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who started fourth, drove down the inside of Gasly and his teammate Sainz to move into second. The drivers struggled for grip, as their tires were degrading faster than expected, leading to early pitstops for many of the field to switch tires.
Though he qualified high, Gasly struggled at the start and dropped back through the field, as he reported an engine issue to his engineer on lap 15. He was right, as on lap 16, his engine blew up and started spewing smoke out the rear of his Alpine, forcing him to retire. Fortunately, he was able to make it back to the pits, meaning no safety car was deployed for the incident.
Throughout the field, the drivers were fiercely battling for position — both in the points and outside. Hamilton, who struggled in qualifying, was flying through the field. He was setting fastest lap after fastest lap as he made his way into the top five on lap 19 after starting at 10th. Ahead of him, Russell was also flying, creating a 10-second gap between him and second place by lap 20.
On lap 26, Williams’ woes continued, as Albon was forced to retire due to a power unit issue. Sainz and Ferrari got into a heated argument after the team wasn’t ready for him to come into the pits, forcing Sainz to stay out longer than he wanted. At just past the halfway point in the race, I was intrigued as to which direction things might head, as Mercedes continued to show blisteringly fast pace.
Hamilton continued to show out under the lights, seemingly returning to his old form when he won seven titles with Mercedes, as he moved into second on lap 32. Behind him, Verstappen was keeping Norris at bay and growing ever closer to securing a fourth title. He did lose a podium place to Sainz on lap 42, but that didn’t matter, because all he needed to do was stay ahead of Norris, which is exactly what he did.
Mercedes ended the race with a 1-2 finish, as Russell secured his second win of the season — making Formula 1 history as it was the first time seven different drivers finished with multiple wins in a single season. Hamilton went from starting 10th to finishing in second, in a vintage drive from arguably the greatest driver in the sport’s history. Sainz rounded out the podium in third, helping Ferrari in their fight with McLaren for the Constructors’ Championship.
After a long and hard-fought season, Verstappen secured his fourth-straight World Drivers’ Championship and solidified himself as one of the all-time greats in the sport, becoming just the sixth driver in history to win four or more titles. He didn’t even need the fastest car on the grid this time, which makes the achievement all the more special.
With the World Drivers’ Championship secured by Verstappen, the only thing left in play is the Constructors’ fight between McLaren and Ferrari. I am excited to see how things will work out as we head into the final two races of what has been one of the greatest seasons in Formula 1 history.
Next week, the teams will head to Qatar for what should be a thrilling penultimate race weekend.
