Wikipedia

2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix

The 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023) was a Formula One motor race that was held on November 18, 2023, at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It was the twenty-first and penultimate race of the 2023 Formula One World Championship and the first running of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Race 21 of 22 in the 2023 Formula One World Championship
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Layout of the Las Vegas Strip Circuit
Layout of the Las Vegas Strip Circuit
Race details[1]
Date November 18, 2023
Official name Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
Location Las Vegas Strip Circuit
Paradise, Nevada, United States
Course Street circuit
Course length 6.201 km (3.853 miles)
Distance 50 laps, 309.958 km (192.599 miles)
Weather Clear
Attendance 315,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:32.726
Fastest lap
Driver Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:35.490 on lap 47
Podium
First
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Second
Ferrari
Third
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Lap leaders

Charles Leclerc took pole position, with fellow Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz qualifying second, although Sainz started twelfth due to a grid penalty. Max Verstappen therefore started second in, and ultimately won, the race, followed by Leclerc and Sergio Pérez, in a hard fought battle that saw multiple changes in race leader. Pérez secured second in the Drivers' Championship, giving Red Bull Racing their first ever 1–2 in the Drivers' Championship.

Background

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The event was held across November 16–18. It was the twenty-first round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship and the first running of a Formula One World Championship race run under the official name of Las Vegas Grand Prix. It was the 1,100th Formula One World Championship Grand Prix since the inaugural season in 1950.[3]

The event marked the first Formula One race in Las Vegas since the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix and the first street race in the city since the 2007 Vegas Grand Prix Champ Car. It took place around the Las Vegas Strip on a brand-new street track.[4] It was the third and final Grand Prix in the United States to take place on the 2023 calendar after the Miami and the United States Grands Prix, and marked the first time since 1982 that there was three races held in the United States in a Formula One season.[5] The Grand Prix began at 22:00 local time (UTC−8) on Saturday, November 18, 2023, becoming the first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix race to start on a Saturday since the 1985 South African Grand Prix.[6]

Circuit design and layout

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Main article: Las Vegas Strip Circuit § Layout

The 6.201 km (3.853 mi)[7] street circuit runs counterclockwise and features 17 corners and a 1.9 km (1.2 mi) straight.[8][9] It starts in a former parking lot which had been bought by Formula One for $240 million and developed into the pits and paddock area, and now contains the permanent part of the circuit.[10] The track goes down the Las Vegas Strip.[11] The 1.9 km (1.2 mi) flat-out section with two straights and a slight sweeping left curve goes past some of Las Vegas's most famous hotels and casinos.[12]

Track certification

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On March 5, 2024, the BBC reported that FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had allegedly tried to pressure race officials into not certifying the circuit in time for the race. This came the day after it was announced that Sulayem had also been placed under FIA investigation for allegedly persuading stewards to overturn a penalty given to Fernando Alonso at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.[13][14] The FIA later cleared Ben Sulayem over any wrong doing over either incident.

Championship standings before the race

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Coming into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 524 points. He led his teammate Sergio Pérez by 266 points and Lewis Hamilton by a further 32 points. Hamilton was ahead of Fernando Alonso in fourth by 28 points, with Lando Norris in fifth, three points behind. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship with 782 points, 400 points ahead of Mercedes and a further 20 points ahead of Ferrari. McLaren, in fourth, was behind Ferrari by 80 points and ahead of Aston Martin, in fifth, by 21 points.[15]

Entrants

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See also: 2023 Formula One World Championship § Entries

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with the exception of Daniel Ricciardo, who replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri starting at the Hungarian Grand Prix.[16][17]

Tyre choices

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Further information: Formula One tyres

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively), the three softest compounds in their dry tyre range, for teams to use at the event.[18]

Practice

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Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on November 16, 2023, at 20:30 local time (UTC−8).[1] Charles Leclerc was fastest ahead of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. The session was red-flagged after Carlos Sainz Jr. stopped on track due to hitting a loose metal cover on the track surface; the session was abandoned to fix the issue.[19] Sainz's car floor was damaged extensively; as was Esteban Ocon's.[20] The damage caused to Sainz's energy store resulted in him having to take a third unit, outside the two permitted. This led to Sainz receiving a 10-place grid penalty for the race.[21]

The second free practice session was held on November 17, 2023, and was scheduled for 00:00.[1] The session was extended from 60 to 90 minutes to make up for the curtailed first practice and was delayed by two and a half hours while the circuit's draincovers were checked.[22] The session was topped by Leclerc ahead of Sainz and Fernando Alonso.[23] The third free practice session was held on November 17, 2023, at 20:30. The session was red-flagged with three minutes remaining, when Alexander Albon stopped on the track after hitting the wall; it was not resumed and was topped by George Russell, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant.[24]

Following the curtailed first practice session, fans were ejected from the venue at 1:30.[25] Due to that, the second practice session was held without many fans in the grandstands.[26] Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali issued a public statement regarding the incident.[27] The organisers of the event gave out merchandise vouchers worth $200 for the in-circuit store.[28] The ejection of fans led to the Dimopoulos law firm, together with the Nevada-based law firm JK Legal & Consulting launching a class action lawsuit on behalf of 35,000 fans.[29]

In a press conference held with team principals after the first practice session was curtailed, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, who was noticeably irate during the session, was critical of the drain cover issues, stating that the damage to Sainz's car cost them "a fortune".[30] Conversely, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff criticised the negative feedback regarding the Grand Prix and downplayed Sainz's accident while praising Liberty Media and the organisers of the Grand Prix's efforts in setting up the event.[31]

Qualifying

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Qualifying was held on November 18, 2023, at 00:00 local time (UTC−8).[1]

Qualifying classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 16   Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.617 1:32.775 1:32.726 1
2 55   Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1:33.851 1:33.338 1:32.770 121
3 1   Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:34.190 1:33.572 1:33.104 2
4 63   George Russell Mercedes 1:34.137 1:33.351 1:33.112 3
5 10   Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 1:34.272 1:33.494 1:33.239 4
6 23   Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1:34.634 1:33.588 1:33.323 5
7 2   Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 1:34.525 1:33.733 1:33.513 6
8 77   Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:34.305 1:33.809 1:33.525 7
9 20   Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:34.337 1:33.664 1:33.537 8
10 14   Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:34.422 1:33.617 1:33.555 9
11 44   Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.307 1:33.837 N/A 10
12 11   Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:34.574 1:33.855 N/A 11
13 27   Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 1:34.265 1:33.979 N/A 13
14 18   Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:34.504 1:34.199 N/A 192
15 3   Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 1:34.683 1:34.308 N/A 14
16 4   Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.703 N/A N/A 15
17 31   Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1:34.834 N/A N/A 16
18 24   Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:34.849 N/A N/A 17
19 81   Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.850 N/A N/A 18
20 22   Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 1:36.447 N/A N/A 20
107% time: 1:40.170
Source:[32][33]

Notes

  • ^1 – Carlos Sainz Jr. received a ten-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of energy store elements.[21]
  • ^2 – Lance Stroll received a five-place grid penalty for overtaking under yellow flags in the third practice session.[34]

Race

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The race was held on November 18, 2023, at 22:00 local time (UTC−8), and was run for 50 laps.[1][35]

Race report

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Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen started on the front row of the grid. At the first corner, Verstappen forced Leclerc off the track, receiving a five-second penalty for the move. Fernando Alonso spun at that same corner and collected Valtteri Bottas, but both continued without major damage. A virtual safety car period was observed while the damage was cleaned from the track.[36] Lando Norris lost control of the rear of his car and had a heavy crash on the third lap of the race, marking his first retirement of the season. The safety car was brought out to recover his stricken McLaren MCL60. Norris went to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada for precautionary checks and was discharged the same day.[36][37] Leclerc passed Verstappen on track before Verstappen had pitted and served the penalty. Though Leclerc extended his first tyre stint, pitting a few laps before a safety car came out due to an incident between George Russell and Verstappen that left debris on the track. The safety car allowed the Red Bulls and much of the rest of the grid to pit without losing significant time, reducing Leclerc's advantage.[36]

The pair of Verstappen and Leclerc fought for the lead throughout the race along with Sergio Pérez. By the end of the race, Verstappen had a small but comfortable lead with Leclerc and Pérez fighting over second. Leclerc passed Pérez on the final lap to secure second, with Pérez rounding out the podium.[36] The third-place podium handed Pérez second place in the Championship, giving Red Bull their first ever 1–2 in the Drivers' Championship. The two Mercedes drivers also secured their positions in the Drivers' Championship: Lewis Hamilton secured third place by finishing seventh. His teammate George Russell's eighth place finish secured him eighth position in the standings, which marked the lowest Drivers' Championship finish for a Mercedes driver since 2012.[38]

Race classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1   Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 50 1:29:08.289 2 25
2 16   Charles Leclerc Ferrari 50 +2.070 1 18
3 11   Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 50 +2.241 11 15
4 31   Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 50 +18.665 16 12
5 18   Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 50 +20.067 19 10
6 55   Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 50 +20.834 12 8
7 44   Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 50 +21.755 10 6
8 63   George Russell Mercedes 50 +23.0911 3 4
9 14   Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 50 +25.964 9 2
10 81   Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 50 +29.496 18 22
11 10   Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 50 +34.270 4
12 23   Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 50 +43.398 5
13 20   Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 50 +44.825 8
14 3   Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 50 +48.525 14
15 24   Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 50 +50.162 17
16 2   Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 50 +50.882 6
17 77   Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 50 +1:25.350 7
183 22   Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 46 Gearbox 20
193 27   Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 45 Engine 13
Ret 4   Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 2 Accident 15
Fastest lap:   Oscar Piastri (McLaren-Mercedes) – 1:35.490 (lap 47)
Source:[33][39][40][41]

Notes

Championship standings after the race

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For full season standings, see 2023 Formula One World Championship § Results and standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
  • Competitors in bold and marked with an asterisk are the 2023 World Champions.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 – F1 Race". Formula 1. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  2. ^ "315,000 Attend 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix Weekend". f1destinations.com. November 18, 2023. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  3. ^ "Why we're excited for the Las Vegas Grand Prix". McLaren.com. November 10, 2023. Archived from the original on November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  4. ^ Pryson, Mike (November 11, 2022). "F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix: Amazing First Rendering of Bellagio Fountains Grandstands". AutoWeek. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  5. ^ Richards, Giles (March 31, 2022). "Las Vegas to become third American F1 grand prix venue in 2023". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  6. ^ Smith, Luke (September 26, 2022). "When is the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix? Date, track information and more". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
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  14. ^ King, Ryan Erik (March 5, 2024). "FIA President Tried To Cancel F1's Las Vegas Race With Fixed Track Inspection: Whistleblower". Jalopnik. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
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  25. ^ Kalinauckas, Alex (November 18, 2023). "F1 fans removed from grandstands ahead of delayed Vegas FP2". Autosport. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
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  27. ^ Cooper, Adam (November 18, 2023). "F1 explains why spectators were ejected from Las Vegas track before FP2". Autosport. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  28. ^ Cleereen, Filip (November 18, 2023). "Vegas GP fans offered F1 merchandise vouchers after being sent home". Autosport. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  29. ^ Cooper, Adam (November 18, 2023). "Law firm launches legal action over F1 Las Vegas GP spectator ejections". Autosport. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  30. ^ Mitchell, Rory (November 18, 2023). "Vasseur hits out after major Sainz damage: 'It's just unacceptable'". RacingNews365. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  31. ^ Mitchell, Rory (November 18, 2023). "Wolff lashes out at Las Vegas critics: You're talking about a f***king drain cover!". RacingNews365. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
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  33. ^ a b "Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 2023 – Starting Grid". Formula 1. November 18, 2023. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  34. ^ "Stroll handed five-place grid penalty for Las Vegas Grand Prix after overtaking under yellow flags". Formula 1. November 18, 2023. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  35. ^ "Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 – F1 Race – Las Vegas Strip Circuit". Formula 1. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  36. ^ a b c d "Verstappen beats Leclerc and Perez to Las Vegas GP victory". Formula 1. November 19, 2023. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  37. ^ "Lando Norris: How McLaren driver suffered huge accident at Las Vegas GP after first DNF of 2023 F1 season". Sky Sports. November 10, 2023. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  38. ^ Kelly, Sean (November 19, 2023). "Best facts and stats from the Las Vegas Grand Prix". Formula 1. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  39. ^ a b c "Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 – Race Result". Formula 1. November 18, 2023. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  40. ^ a b "Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 – Fastest Laps". Formula 1. November 18, 2023. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  41. ^ "Las Vegas 2023". StatsF1.com. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  42. ^ "Infringement – Car 63 – Causing a collision" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. November 18, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  43. ^ a b "Las Vegas 2023 – Championship". StatsF1.com. November 18, 2023. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
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Previous race:
2023 São Paulo Grand Prix 		FIA Formula One World Championship
2023 season 		Next race:
2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Previous race:
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Previous F1 race in Las Vegas: 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix 		Las Vegas Grand Prix Next race:
2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix
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