Martin Brundle on the results of the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle summarized the results of the Las Vegas Grand Prix…

The Las Vegas Grand Prix disappointed some people, including those who desperately hoped the big show would fail. The start of the first training on Thursday, when the lid of the drainage pit opened, was the most unfortunate of all.

Hours later, with the fan and guest areas unceremoniously vacated due to safety and traffic concerns and emergency repairs completed, the racers took off at 2:30 a.m. for 90 minutes. The sound of the cars echoed through the empty stands creating a surreal feeling, but after that everything was fine.

The track is very fast, the new asphalt is shiny and smooth. I did a few laps with the Aston Martin DBX and found the circuit quite technical and challenging in places.

Of course, this is not just a series of 90-degree bends between concrete blocks, as in the distant past. Some straights seem too long, but they play their role in the race.

Each of the twenty riders impressed me with how resilient they were in overcoming challenges, unusual schedules and jet lag to hit the track with enthusiasm.

The schedule at this time of year, with cold nights and qualifying starting at midnight and racing at 10pm, really felt like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. I’m not sure if this actually works, other than closing the public road a little later, and I hope this can be resolved next year.

I stood in the pit lane for a while, looking around, admiring the buildings, the scenery, the atmosphere, the lights and the screens and thinking about how far Formula 1 has come in recent decades.

There were 12 people on the entry form for my first Tyrrell race in Rio in ’84, including Ken and Nora Tyrrell and both drivers. There were no guesthouses, there was no camper, Stefan Bellof and I sat in the pits or in the trailer all day. There was no sponsorship and all media communication was through our journalist friends when we met in the pit lane. Bernie Ecclestone stood at the gate checking that programs were being sold and tickets were being checked.

On the training day the track was cleaned up and fresh paint applied somewhere. The main stand on the back straight had no roof to protect it from the blazing Brazilian sun, and from time to time a fire truck sprayed water on the fans patiently waiting for the race to start.

Now the races take place in incredible locations, are watched by tens of millions of people around the world and are sponsored by the biggest companies in the world.

But all this does not matter if the race turns out to be uninteresting, and luckily this time everything worked out!

The Ferraris were fast, just like at Monza, and their low downforce, high top speed aerodynamics worked well.

Carlos Sainz’s car was seriously damaged in the first practice after contact with an open drain hatch. The team had to replace many things, including the energy storage, for which he was penalized by losing 10 places on the starting grid. After the session, Carlos kept himself under control but was clearly beside himself with anger, as was his team, who considered the punishment unfair given the circumstances. And they wanted to know who would pay for the damage.

There are hundreds of pages in the technical, sporting regulations and the international sporting code, but there is nothing that allows stewards to legally turn a blind eye if something seems unfair to them.

It is dangerous to set a precedent where stewards can unilaterally ignore rules in the name of common sense and fairness in force majeure situations, even if all teams and other key bodies agree. But we do need to add language that can be enforced without fear of subsequent lawsuits or abuse by teams in other scenarios.

Charles Leclerc started from pole again, Red Bull realized that they could not stay ahead of Ferrari in qualifying and reduced the downforce on Verstappen’s car, which started second, which came in handy in the race.

The asphalt with little grip and the cool night air made for a very unpredictable starting field. Both Williams drivers, Kevin Magnussen in Haas F1, Pierre Gasly in Alpine and Valtteri Bottas in Alfa Romeo, finished in the top ten. At the same time, Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes and both McLaren drivers did not reach the final, as did Sergio Perez.

The new asphalt was slippery and the lack of support racing to cover the line with waste rubber prevented the track from developing as usual. In addition, the asphalt temperature was approximately equal to the low air temperature, which is unusual for Formula 1 racing tires.

It didn’t help that one of the historic cars used for the drivers’ parade lost a huge amount of oil on the left side of the straight, which was already slipperier than the right side. The oil had to be removed with a special powder and then using sweepers and blowers.

I don’t know how Verstappen, from that dusty side of the grid, got ahead of Leclerc’s Ferrari in the very short time before the first corner, but they went in wheel-to-wheel.

According to the rules, if your front axle is at the same height as or in front of your opponent’s front axle at the apex – not always easy to determine this point in a long corner – then you have earned the right to space and legal overtaking. But at the same time it is necessary to control the car and stay on the track, which Max did not do when he took the Ferrari.

Like Leclerc at Ferrari, most of us assumed Max would have to regain the position, but he didn’t and was given a five-second penalty. Under normal circumstances, and even with a two-second margin, this was a very mild punishment.

Then, due to a serious accident by Lando Norris, the safety car came out, Max made a pit stop, served a five-second penalty and rolled back.

An accident happened in the first corner of the race. The cars spun on the slippery asphalt, crashed into each other and headed to the pits for repairs. Among them were Perez, Alonso and Sainz, but when the safety car came out they had the advantage of being able to pit without losing time.

The grip in the race was so low that it seemed as if the drivers were driving on intermediate tires on dry asphalt, but at the same high speed as in Monza or Baku.

Throughout the fifty laps they showed poise and courage as they attacked and overtook each other. This is one of those races where I suddenly saw in the commentary booth that there were only three laps to go – the time had passed unnoticed.

There were many contacts. Verstappen overtook George Russell so brutally that the Mercedes driver did not even see he was being attacked and was given a five-second time penalty, dropping him to eighth place. George expected a lot from this season, but was clearly disappointed.

For the second time in the last two races, Perez lost position on the final lap as Leclerc, rightly crowned the best driver of the day, brilliantly took the lead with three corners to go. However, Perez secured second place in the Drivers’ Championship, securing Red Bull’s first-ever Drivers’ Championship double.

Oscar Piastri set the fastest lap of the race and attacked aggressively from his low position at the start. He has been involved in too many incidents, this time with Hamilton, but if experience is added to his speed he will become a great driver.

Lance Stroll drove a great race in the Aston Martin, finishing fifth after starting from 19th position, while Sainz finished sixth after a penalty.

Verstappen didn’t like everything about the Grand Prix in Las Vegas, but he did take a brilliant 53rd victory in the race. Like all other racers, he really enjoyed the hectic race.

Leclerc failed to win for the twelfth time after starting from pole position and clearly regretted that both Red Bull drivers behind the second safety car had changed tires and he had not.

Another desert race is coming up, we are moving from North America to the Middle East – there it will be a little warmer and the next Formula 1 season will end.