In Pictures: Las Vegas 2023
Formula 1 went “All In”, as they say in poker, with this Grand Prix, as they have invested more than 1/2 a Billion dollars, yes billion, with a “b”, in the brand new Las Vegas Grand Prix, and the race in 2023 marked the 1100th round of the Formula One World Championship. 2023 was the first time since 1982 that there were three races held in the United States in a Formula One season.
Las Vegas previously staged two F1 races, under the Caesars Palace Grand Prix moniker, in 1981 and 1982. It played host to the season finale on both occasions, with Williams’ driver Alan Jones winning the 1981 race and Michele Alboreto taking his maiden F1 victory for Tyrrell at the 1982 encounter. Meanwhile, Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg clinched the title in ’81 and ’82 respectively with fifth-place finishes.
The weekend in Vegas saw a completely different schedule than that of other Grand Prix, with Everything starting on Thursday night, instead of the usual Friday for practices 1 and 2. This was because the Grand Prix was run starting at 10:00 PM on Saturday night. Formula 1 also chose late local times for the rest of the event, with FP2 and Qualifying starting at 12:00 PM local time.
Las Vegas new track was the 12th venue where Formula 1 had raced in the United States, the most by any country. Can you name the other eleven? (answer after the photos)
THE AREA
LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas, often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada.
The city bills itself as the Entertainment Capital of the World and is famous for its luxurious and extremely large casino-hotels. With over 2.9 million visitors as of 2019, Las Vegas is the sixth-most visited city in the U.S., after New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, Orlando, and San Francisco.
Nomadic Paleo-Indians traveled to the Las Vegas area 10,000 years ago, leaving behind petroglyphs. Ancient Puebloan and Paiute tribes followed at least 2,000 years ago. A young Mexican scout named Rafael Rivera is credited as the first non-Native American to encounter the valley, in 1829. And in 1855, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chose Las Vegas as the site to build a fort halfway between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, where they would travel to gather supplies. The fort was abandoned several years afterward. The remainder of this Old Mormon Fort can still be seen at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue.
Las Vegas was founded as a city in 1905 and incorporated as a city in 1911. In late 1941, Las Vegas Army Airfield was established. Renamed Nellis Air Force Base in 1950, it is now home to the United States Air Force Thunderbirds aerobatic team. Following World War II, lavishly decorated hotels, gambling casinos, and big-name entertainment became synonymous with Las Vegas.
In 1951, nuclear weapons testing began at the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Las Vegas. During this time, the city was nicknamed the "Atomic City". Residents and visitors were able to witness the mushroom clouds (and were exposed to the fallout) until 1963 when the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty required that nuclear tests be moved underground.
The iconic "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, which has never been within municipal limits, was created in 1959 by Betty Willis.
The center of the gambling and entertainment industry is the Las Vegas Strip, outside the city limits in the surrounding unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester in Clark County. Some of the largest casinos and buildings are there, although most casinos in the downtown area are on Fremont Street.
THE CIRCUIT
The 3.853 mi (6.201 km) street circuit features 17 corners and a 1.9 km (1.181 mi) straight with speeds well over 340 kph (211 mph).
The circuit runs counterclockwise and starts in a disused parking lot which was re-developed for the pits and paddock area and contains a permanent track. The first corner is a hairpin, and after that the course bends slightly left and then into a fast right, transitioning from the permanent circuit to city streets. The cars go 800 m (0.50 mi) down Koval Lane, before entering a slow 90 degree right, and then entering a long, sweeping left which encircles the new Sphere arena, before going through a left-right twisty section, and then a slightly faster left that transitions onto Sands Avenue. The track then goes through two very fast bends on Sands Avenue before entering a slow left onto Las Vegas Boulevard, otherwise known as the Las Vegas Strip. This is a 1.900 km (1.181 mi) flat-out section with two straights and a slight sweeping left that goes past some of Las Vegas' most famous hotels and casinos, including Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, and the Venetian... The circuit then goes through a tight series of slow corners onto Harmon Avenue, down an 800 m )0.50 mi) straight before going through a very fast left to complete the lap and transition back to the permanent track past the pits.
Being completely new, no one really knows how it will end up being, and except for some simulator experience, the track is a complete unknown for everyone, teams, and drivers alike.
WEDNESDAY
WHAT A SHOW! Formula 1 and the organizers did a phenomenal presentation of the drivers from special stands on the Las Vegas Strip, starting with a concert featuring Thirty Seconds to Mars, Keith Urban, Andra Day, Kylie Minogue, Blue Man Group, Bishop Briggs, Journey, Steve Aoki, J. Balvin, Tiësto, John Legend, and Will.I.Am. There were lights, fireworks, music, and lots of people… Although, the event was not approved by everyone, for instance, Max Verstappen said like ‘he felt like a clown’ during the glitzy opening ceremony, other loved it.
THURSDAY / FRIDAY
Odd hours for this weekend in the USA… FP1 was Thursday night at 8:30 PM local time, FP2 from 12:00 PM Thursday to 1:00 AM Friday morning.
FP1
So many unknowns for the track. And one by one cars took to the track, many displaying special liveries for this weekend, as well as many drivers with special colored helmets.
Many drivers reported slippery track. You could see dust being lifted into the air when cars went by, especially near the walls.
With just 9 minutes into the session, Carlos Sainz stopped his Ferrari on the Strip. It was the first Red Flag of the weekend. Huge, huge blow for the Spaniard as he needed all the laps, he could master to learn the track and its secrets. But he wasn’t the only one having issues, both Williams and both Aston Martin were being worked on, and everybody else losing valuable time while the Ferrari was retrieved. In the meantime, Esteban Ocon’s Alpine was also being worked on after some damage, as well as Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo, bot caused in a similar way to what damaged the Ferrari.
After 20 minutes into FP1, just 9 of them on track, it was informed that the session would not be resumed. Bummer for everyone.
It appeared to be issues with some drain covers not completely sealed, ripping the underside of the cars when passing over them at speed.
In any case, Charles Leclerc had set the fastest lap of those 9 minutes, followed by Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen, Max Verstappen, and Esteban Ocon, the top five.
After inspection by Formula 1 and the FIA, a single water valve cover on the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit failed during the first practice session.
There have been similar incidents in the past. These have taken place on permanent racetracks, for example Shanghai in 2005 and Sepang in 2017 and on street circuits like Monaco where, in 2016, Bottas' Mercedes lifted a drain cover that frighteningly hit Jenson Button's McLaren.
As for how this can happen, one has to understand that a Formula 1 car is designed to create suction (low air pressure) underneath it as this produces downforce, which in turn gives the tires more grip. This suction pulls on the road and could lift a loose manhole cover. For example, under the front wing a manhole cover weighing less than approximately 110kg could be lifted by the car.”
In order to repair the damaged cars, certain restricted parts had to be replaced:
Car 55 (driver Carlos Sainz):
Survival cell
Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)
Energy Store (ES) and directly associated Control.
Electronics (CE)
Car 31 (driver Esteban Ocon);
Survival cell
FP2
The start of Free Practice 2 was delayed while manhole covers were inspected and those deemed problematic repaired.
Since FP1 was shortened by a track problem, FP2 was extended to 90 minutes, and set to start at 2:00 AM local time, but then, at 2, it was delayed for another 15 minutes, five minutes, later, they delayed yet again another further 15 minutes. Crazy to think a Formula 1 session could start so late… or so early some might say…
In the meantime, the remaining fans in the fan zones were removed by FIA personnel. This was the FIA’s statement:
“Due to logistical considerations for our fans and our staff, we have made the determination that we will be closing all Las Vegas Grand Prix fan areas at 1:30 AM PT. We look forward to welcoming fans back later today for exciting FP3 and qualifying sessions.”
As for Ferrari’s request to forgo the penalties associated to the change of restricted parts in Sainz’s car, the stewards decided not to grant it, stating:
“…The Stewards note that if they had the authority to grant a derogation in what they consider in this case to be mitigating, unusual and unfortunate circumstances, they would have done so, however the regulations do not allow such action...”
Finally, at exactly 2:30 AM local time, FP2 was under way. Immediately cars took to the track, trying to recover some of the time lost all night long. twelve drivers on softs, the remaining eight on mediums.
Half time into the session, the top four drivers were separated by just 0.082 seconds, with Leclerc setting the pace, 0.003 ahead of Hamilton, then came Albon, 0.028 behind the leader, and Sainz, 0.082 from Leclerc.
Five minutes later, Alonso joined the leaders, setting the fastest lap at the time, an impressive 0.003 seconds faster than Leclerc. So now there were five drivers within 8/100th of a second. Then Perez did a lap 0.058 slower than Alonso, but good enough for fifth.
Drivers kept improving their times and exchanging top honors by the lap, until about 20 minutes left in the session when teams went for some long runs, to gather information relevant for the Grand Prix on Sunday morning. In the end, it was Charles Leclerc’s 1:35.265 lap the fastest of the extended FP2, followed by Carlos Sainz, then came Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, and Valtteri Bottas the top five.
FRIDAY / SATURDAY
After all the drama the night before, F1 prepared for an error free event with the last one hour practice followed by qualifying starting at midnight.
FP3
By the time practice 3 started, it was 62°F with a 56% humidity, and a weak southern wind. the stands were completely packed with people cheering and having a ball of a time.
Oscar Piastri was the first driver to get out onto the track, followed by his McLaren teammate shortly afterward. And bit by bit, the rest came out as well.
After a few fast laps during the long runs, times started tumbling down as the end of practice approached with everyone doing qualifying runs.
With only 6 minutes left in the session, Alex Albon hit the barrier, and a few meters after he literally lost his left rear tire. And a minute later a red flag was shown, ending the practice.
Fastest was George Russell, with a time of 1:34.093. Oscar Piastri came next, followed by Logan Sargeant, Max Verstappen, and Sergio Perez the top five.
QUALIFYING
A few minutes before the start of qualifying the stewards gave a 5-place grid penalty to Lance Stroll for overtaking under a yellow flag. The other driver facing grid penalty was Carlos Sainz, a 10-place for him.
Q1
Track evolution was key, and the Ferrari looked mighty, setting the fastest laps of the 18-minute Q1. Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu, Oscar Piastri, and Yuki Tsunoda could not go through to Q2.
Q2
The second part of qualifying started and within a minute and a half, eleven cars were on track for the first fast laps. Lap times started tumbling down and Charles Leclerc was the first of the drivers to go into the 1:32s with a mighty fast lap of 1:32.834. 0.504 seconds behind was Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari.
And after some nail biting last laps, it was Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll, and Daniel Ricciardo the ones eliminated, failing to go into the final stage of qualifying.
Q3
The final 12 minutes of qualifying started with everyone coming out early on for their first fast laps. and after the first round, it was the Ferraris again setting the pace. Leclerc 0.022 ahead of Sainz, with Verstappen a further 0.061 seconds behind.
WOW! What a lap by Charles Leclerc edging Carlos Sainz by 0.044 seconds. So, it was Pole Position for Leclerc, his fifth of the season! Behind the Ferraris came Max Verstappen, followed by George Russell, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Logan Sargeant, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, and Fernando Alonso in tenth position.
SUNDAY
By the time the Drivers’ Parade started, it was colder than the past days, adding to the unknowns as keeping optimum tire temperature is a necessity in an F1 car. And talking about Drivers’ Parade, famous UFC announcer Bruce Buffer introduced all the drivers in his unique and recognizable voice.
After the drivers returned, Las Vegas Pre-Race Show continued with an acrobatic show by Cirque Du Soleil.
At 9:10 PM local time, the track was opened, and cars took to the track to do a few installation laps and practice starts, before going to the grid. Ten minutes later, the pit lane closed.
The Ferrari team and their drivers, especially Carlos Sainz, were still fuming about the undeserved 10-place grid penalty given for replacing restricted parts due to the valve-cover not properly secured in place by the promoter, in this case, F1 itself, destroying the underside of Sainz’s SF23 and a few power unit parts as well. Some of the other drivers supported Sainz, although none of the other teams indicated said support.
Donny Osmond sang the United States National Anthem to the roars and cheers from the attending crowd.
And exactly at midnight the formation lap started. A few minutes later the race started…
Verstappen had a fantastic start and caught with Leclerc right before Turn 1, but due to the lack of grip on cold tires, went wide, taking the lead, but driving Leclerc out of the track. Charles managed to keep second place upon rejoining the track. Behind them, a bit of mayhem as Alonso, also on cold tires, spun by himself, ending up facing the wrong way, at the same time, a couple of places behind him, Sainz had understeer entering Turn 1 and touched the rear of Hamilton’s Mercedes, also spinning and ending up facing the wrong way.
The VSC was declared so the marshals could clean up some debris from the broken pieces of cars, as it was not only Alonso and Sainz having moments, so did Perez and Bottas, the four of them going into the pits for new wings and tires.
On Lap 4/50, Lando Norris lost the back of his car and spun around on the straight, way before the corner, he'd already caught the walls and swiped off part of the rear wing before finally crashing hard into the barriers. He was okay. But with so much debris on track and the car still in the run-off area, the Safety Car came out, neutralizing the race. As a result, Perez, Bottas and Alonso all pitted immediately, and then Stroll and Sainz took the opportunity to pit under the Safety Car
Town laps later, the safety car came in, so it was Verstappen leading from Leclerc, Russell, Gasly and Albon, and on Lap 7/50 racing resumed.
Next lap Hamilton went past Tsunoda, and Piastri overtook Hulkenberg. Up front, Verstappen had pulled a bit more than two seconds ahead of Leclerc. The stewards informed the Dutchman got a 5-second penalty for his moment with Leclerc at the beginning of the race, but such was his pace that he didn’t worry much, joking with GP (Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen race engineer).
The race continued with several overtakes taking place especially Hamilton, Perez, and Sainz, who were advancing at a fast pace. Back in front, as much as Verstappen wanted the increase his lead over Leclerc, he couldn’t, and the gap between them remained around the 2 seconds mark, but not for long, and by Lap 15/50, Leclerc started to close the gap to Verstappen, and next lap the Ferrari driver overtook Verstappen at the end of The Strip, retaking the lead of the race on track. Verstappen pitted from second for the hard tire. Piastri also pits, but it was a slow stop for him. And Hamilton who was now fifth had a puncture due to contact when passing Piastri.
On Lap 22/50 Leclerc pitted for hards, this would be his only stop. He came out in third place, right ahead of Sainz, and behind Stroll and the new leader, Perez. Verstappen was three cars behind Leclerc, having to get past Alonso, Russell, and Sainz to get to the Monegasque. On Lap 25/50, Alonso reported he was losing grip on his old tires, Verstappen took advantage and went past him rather quickly. He was now right behind Russell, who was very close to Sainz as well, and at the end of the straight, both of them went past the Spaniard. But there was contact when both Verstappen and Russell tried to go side by side into a very tight corner, resulting in lots of debris on track from both cars, Verstappen’s right front wing endplate, and pieces of carbon from Russell’s floor and bodywork. On Lap 27/50 the Safety Car came out so the marshals could clean the track up.
As expected, there was mayhem on the pits as Verstappen, Stroll, Russell, Sainz, Alonso, Zhou, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, and Hamilton pitted for new tires. The timing of that was horrendous for Leclerc, who had only just pitted and thus hasn't come in. The order was Leclerc from Perez, Gasly, Piastri and Verstappen. Surprisingly, Red Bull decided not to change Verstappen’s front wing as the time lost would have lost them more time than that from the damaged wing.
On Lap 29/50, the Safety Car pulled in and racing resumed. Leclerc’s tires five laps older than those on the RB19s of Perez and Verstappen, and on Lap 32/50, Verstappen went past Gasly for fourth. Piastri was next, but the Aussie wasn’t going to be an easy one to pass as he set the fastest lap of the race up to that point and was 2.3 seconds ahead. Perez was in hot pursuit of Leclerc, as he had closed the gap to less than a second, but Leclerc was managing his batteries masterfully, impeding Perez’s overtake, but the Mexican was too much, and with DRS got past Leclerc at the end of The Strip.
By Lap 33/50, it was Perez leading from Leclerc, Piastri, and now a very quick Verstappen. Next lap, Verstappen went past Piastri for third. But Leclerc wasn’t going to stay put, and on Lap 35/50, he went past Perez going into Turn 14 with an amazing overtake, surprising Perez, who was not expecting the Monegasque to come from so far behind. The order now was Leclerc leading from Perez and Verstappen, with just nine tenths of a second separating them. Piastri remained fourth, ahead of Ocon and Gasly. Then came Stroll, Albon, Russell and Sainz. Plenty are in a DRS train in the midfield. And at the end of The Strip, Verstappen overtook Perez and was now second, and chasing Leclerc for the win. Next lap, on fresher tires, a determined Verstappen went past Leclerc, also at the end of The Strip. That meant Perez was now catching Leclerc, but Leclerc out braked himself, and Perez easily got past.
Russell was found guilty from his clash with Verstappen and was fined with a 5-second penalty, which was added to his time at the end of the race.
Final lap… Verstappen had a comfortable lead from Perez and Leclerc, and all was set for a Red Bull 1 - 2 again, but Leclerc was having none of it, and going into Turn 14, he went past Perez to reclaim second place.
Max Verstappen had won the Las Vegas Grand Prix, his 18th win of the year, and 53 overall, equaling Sebastian Vettel’s tally. Second came Charles Leclerc after that fantastic pass on Sergio Perez on the last lap.
All in all, it was an exciting race with lots of action from beginning to end.
Interestingly, the top three drivers were transported in a Rolls Royce limousine from the paddock to a special podium in front of the Bellagio fountain for the interviews, after them, they were driven, in the same limousine, back to the paddock building for a not so traditional podium ceremony. While the drivers were being interviewed and watching the water and sound display at the Bellagio, the platforms that hosted so many musical stars for Thursday's opening concert were brought back to for the podium, and under a show of lights and sound the drivers were announced, the trophies given, and the champagne sprayed.
Charles Leclerc was voted Driver of the Day by the F1.com fans.
QUOTES FROM THE PODIUM… Well actually from the Bellagio Fountain!
Answer to the 11 other tracks where F1 had race in the U.S.: Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Indianapolis, Long Beach, Phoenix, Detroit, Caesars Palace, Dallas, Miami, and COTA. With Las Vegas new track being number twelve.