(Motorsports news) After a challenging start to the weekend, Formula 1’s first visit to Las Vegas in forty years was an extravagant occasion off the circuit but produced an exciting race. Max Verstappen had to battle his way to the top of the podium, where he eventually assumed his usual position. During that moment, he appeared vulnerable as Charles Leclerc pushed him all the way. However, those who had bet on red were left disappointed since Leclerc was unable to overcome Verstappen’s odds, and the house prevailed once more.

A race where safety cars and tyre graining made the timing screens resemble a slot machine with frequent changes for position, as surprise qualifiers were dealt poor hands in the race and those who started towards the back could play their ace cards at the right time, was underpinned by a battle for the lead, and later, Leclerc’s battle with Sergio Perez over second.

Verstappen hardly ever concedes a loss:

Nothing short of a worldwide catastrophe could halt the unstoppable Dutchman’s ascent to victory in Las Vegas, despite the possibility of a mishap involving a Leclerc pass, a five-second penalty, and a run-in with George Russell. Alternatively, an a little shady setup in a city-state in Southeast Asia…

Verstappen later accepted a five-second penalty for running Leclerc out of the race going into Turn 1, but he appeared to be on track to pull away and make up the lost time at his first pit stop. However, things didn’t quite go as planned since the mediums started to grind on the Red Bull, allowing Leclerc to reduce the distance once more and then attempt a pass with DRS assistance before Verstappen stopped him.

Perez is back on track, but he still needs to improve his last-lap defense:

Fernando Alonso’s perseverance may have been underestimated by Sergio Perez, who appeared to have secured a last-ditch podium at the Brazilian Grand Prix two weeks ago. The seasoned Spaniard made a bold drive at Descida do Lago to retake third place, forcing Perez out of the top three.

Perez was looking good in second place in Las Vegas. Even though Verstappen passed him for the lead, he had dominated parts of the grand prix after being forced to the front by two safety cars that had avoided first-lap contact with Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo. In an effort to assist his teammate in taking second, the Dutchman withdrew to allow Perez to assist him over the 1.4-kilometer back stretch, enabling the Mexican to fend off Leclerc’s late-race resurgence. 

Still, things didn’t exactly work out. Perhaps unaware of Leclerc’s desperate slide down the inside of Turn 14, Perez watched as the Ferrari lapped up the tow from a Red Bull with a little higher downforce wing. Perez didn’t achieve Red Bull’s goal of a 1-2 finish this time, but he had done enough to finish on the podium. In any case, the driver from Guadalajara seems to be in much better form these days than he was in the middle of the season, which has all but eliminated any talk about his future with the club.

Leclerc “threw himself into it,” but it was insufficient:

“I must admit that I’m quite pleased with today’s performance. After the race, Leclerc pondered, having just defeated Perez for a last-ditch podium push. “I think we didn’t leave anything on the table and until the very last lap, the last corner of the last lap, I gave it all and managed to get that second place,” he said. “On the other hand, obviously disappointed because I really believe that without the safety car, the win was ours.”

During the first round of stops, Verstappen’s five-second penalty for bowling a wide at Turn 1 had given the edge to Leclerc, who had been the more impressive of the two drivers on the front row. Leclerc had been able to see his Ferrari through a challenging part of the race while others had begun to see graining, all thanks to some clever tyre management. He could extend his run on the mediums to the conclusion of lap 21 if the Ferrari could maintain a more constant level of heat in the tires throughout.

Verstappen, on the other hand, had stopped five laps earlier. Leclerc had the advantage of less-worn tires and temperature retention in a straight-line shootout to the finish. However, Verstappen was able to quickly enter the pits and change to a new pair of hards to reverse the lead thanks to the mid-race safety car.

Reviews of the pre-weekend build-up are mixed, with some saying that the Vegas lights are excessively bright:

The drivers were launched on moving platforms during a ceremony that included drone shows, neon lights, and celebrity appearances. This was Las Vegas’ first grand prix since 1982. As usual, the drivers’ opinions differed, with some falling for the hyperbole and others making every effort to avoid it. Max Verstappen said, “You can all skip these things, in my opinion.” “Just standing up there, you look like a clown; it’s not about the singer. It’s 1% an athletic event and 99% a performance.”

“I have to say that I think places like this one, with the investment that has been done and the place that we are racing, I think it deserves a little bit of a different treatment and a little bit of extra show of what we did today,” said Fernando Alonso, sounding more diplomatic. I’ll go above and above for an occasion like this.”

After a minor collision, Norris is fine; Piastri saves McLaren’s weekend:

Following his third-lap collision at Turn 12, Lando Norris had a brief hospital stay, but following a check-up, the British driver was declared clear. The McLaren driver’s day ended early when he grazed a bump, lost control of his vehicle, and smashed into the tire barrier at the end of the curved section of road. This threw McLaren’s fortunes on Oscar Piastri, who turned around the Woking team’s terrible qualifying result with maybe one of the most spectacular drives in Formula One history to take 10th place.

Both drivers started the race faster than they had from the starting grid, and Piastri overcame a collision with Lewis Hamilton to surge into the high echelons of the standings. The Australian’s choice to begin the race on hard tires, however, had cost him because he had to stop twice for medium tires, which hindered his progress throughout the race. Alonso passed Pierre Gasly in the latter stages of the race, but he was too far ahead to catch.

“It’s just a huge shame because Oscar was really outstanding,” McLaren CEO Andrea Stella stated. “Today’s speed was rather unexpected, for some reason. It is unfortunate that we began the race on hard tires and had to stop early due to an incident involving Hamilton. Nevertheless, a safety car was stationed where it was needed today.

Mercedes’s championship run to second place is still stuttering:

Mercedes now leads Ferrari in the constructors’ standings by just four points as a result of George Russell’s five-second penalty for colliding with Max Verstappen during the race. This incident ultimately led to the safety car that aided Verstappen’s victory. Because of Ferrari’s improved performance in the second half of the season, the Brackley team will need to exert maximum pressure in the Abu Dhabi finale to maintain their second-place finish among the constructors.

Russell demonstrated remarkable speed on the hard tire, charging past Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll to take fourth place late in the race. However, because of the tightness of the top 10, he was forced back to eighth place, trailing teammate Lewis Hamilton. After being tagged by Carlos Sainz at the first corner, the seven-time champion had to deal with his own challenges. Later, he got a puncture when racing with Oscar Piastri, which required him to make another effort to reach the points.

Also read: Why Verstappen is incorrect and correct on the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix?