Formula 1 is back in Las Vegas for the first time in over 40 years for a Saturday night race on The Strip in which Red Bull could become the first team to win 20 races in a single season. We preview what to watch out for and who to back in the 2023 Las Vegas GP!
Viva Las Vegas
The biggest sporting event in the world in 2023. That’s how race organisers have described this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. The all-new Saturday night event has been much hyped since it was first announced back in March 2022. With good reason, too. The 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix will be unlike anything we have seen in Formula 1 before.
This isn’t F1’s first visit to Vegas. The sport raced on the far from glamorous parking lot of the Caesars Palace resort for two races in 1981 and 1982. The track failed to capture the imagination and is often derided as one of the worst the sport has ever raced on. Flash forward 40 years and F1 has gone all out to put things right in 2023, even investing large amounts of their own money into making the event a success.
F1’s newfound popularity in the United States has enabled a third race in the country to be added for 2023. It’s the first time since 1982 that the USA will host three Grands Prix in a single season.
A leap into the unknown
The first race on a new circuit is always a little difficult to predict, given the potential unknown variables. That’s even more true at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, for the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix will be held on a cold November night which could result in one of the coldest Formula 1 races on record.
This will be the first F1 Grand Prix since the 1985 South African Grand Prix not to take place on a Sunday. It begins at 10pm local time in Vegas on Saturday. Warming up the tyres will be a difficult task in such cool conditions and with some rain forecast, we could see scenes similar to the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, where drivers struggled to skate around the track even at slow speed. The difference is, of course, the proximity of the street circuit’s barriers. It could be a costly weekend.
The track itself is narrow, which could harm overtaking opportunities. That being said, the circuit’s long straights – and the potential for plentiful DRS usage – should aid passing.
A record 20 for Red Bull?
With just two races remaining this year, 19 of the 20 Grands Prix so far in 2023 have been won by Red Bull. Max Verstappen’s victory at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix saw Red Bull equal the record for the most victories in a single season.
Mercedes also won 19 races in the 2016 season, a year which was famed for its intra-team battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. There has been no such battle between Verstappen and Sergio Perez this year, with Verstappen taking 17 wins to Perez’s two in the early stages of the season.
Another win this weekend for Red Bull would make them the first in history to secure 20 Grand Prix victories in a single year – a statistic which would cap off a truly stunning season for the champion team.
Is the fight on for third in the standings?
After looking like he could challenge Sergio Perez for second place in the 2023 Drivers’ Championship, Lewis Hamilton will be looking over his shoulder after a disappointing weekend for Mercedes in Brazil.
Hamilton finished only eighth while team-mate George Russell retired at Interlagos in what Team Principal Toto Wolff branded “unacceptable” and Mercedes’ “worst weekend in 13 years”. With Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz all finishing ahead of Hamilton in the Brazil race, the battle for third place in the standings has closed up.
Hamilton leads the way on 226 points, Alonso on 198, Norris on 195 and Sainz on 192. Aston Martin enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence in Brazil, culminating in Alonso securing his first podium finish since August in an epic last lap duel with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Norris’ form continues to be impressively strong too, with him securing his fifth podium in the past six races last time out.
Another podium finish for Norris seems like a relatively safe bet given McLaren’s recent showings. If he records another second or third place result, Norris will overtake Nick Heidfeld as the driver to have had the most podium finishes without securing a victory. A podium finish for Alonso, meanwhile, would see him usurp Alain Prost from fourth place on Formula 1’s all-time podium list.
Sargeant looking for more points on home soil
Logan Sargeant becomes only the third driver to race at home three times in a single season at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, after Eddie Cheever in 1982 and Antonio Giovinazzi in 2020. Sargeant’s best result – and only point – so far in his maiden season came on his last trip home for the 2023 United States Grand Prix in Texas. Could home luck be on Sargeant’s side again in Las Vegas?
The good news for Sargeant and Williams team-mate Alex Albon is that the FW45 is speedy in a straight line. That should help on the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, which features two 800 metre straights plus a 1.9km flat out run down The Strip itself. Albon was able to qualify in the top six for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, a track which features similarly long straights. Albon is also expecting the cooler temperatures to play to Williams’ strengths, which could help them massively in the Constructors’ Championship.
All to play for
For the teams further down in the championship order, there’s plenty at stake at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix. If the race is as chaotic as some are expecting, it could be a real opportunity to get into the best championship position before next week’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Williams are seventh in the standings and are now just seven points ahead of AlphaTauri.
The Red Bull junior team have enjoyed a very decent run of form in recent races. Over the past three rounds, they’ve picked up 16 points, compared to the five points scored across the previous 17 races. They could be a threat to Williams’ seventh place, especially if they have another good run and claim more points in Las Vegas.
18+ | begambleaware.org
*Prices subject to change
