Alonso: A lot can be improved for the second race in Vegas

Fernando Alonso believes that the organizers of the Las Vegas Grand Prix should take a number of measures before next year’s race, including to reduce the influence of the “danger factor”.

Alonso finished 9th, although he thought the race was over for him in the first corner after the start, when his Aston Martin spun 180 degrees under braking and was caught by Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo.

The two-time world champion is therefore happy to have finally reached the finish and gained a few points, but he is concerned that the grip on the new city circuit in Las Vegas was at a very low level, which was further aggravated. due to the cool weather.

The air and asphalt temperatures on race day were clearly higher than initially predicted, but next year’s calendar will see this stage moved a few weeks later.

“The race went well, but the grip was extremely low,” said Alonso after the finish. – I know that everyone was in the same conditions, but sometimes on city roads this becomes a danger factor. It was a strange feeling: it felt like we were driving in conditions where the asphalt was half dry, half wet and on a highway.

Driving on such a track is not that much fun when the speed is about 360 km/h, but there is no grip, no normal visibility, the car bounces terribly on bumps and so on.

I understand it probably looked spectacular from the outside, but our cars are not designed to take corners at 50mph. These cars are designed for circuits such as Suzuka, Barcelona and Silverstone, where the potential of Formula 1 technology can be maximized.

That is why the championship calendar must be balanced. I believe that work is being done in this direction, but I do not think that a one-sided approach applies here. We also need to keep some traditional races, where Formula 1 cars can really shine.”

However, the Spaniard emphasized that he had fun in the cockpit of the car, and overall the debut Las Vegas Grand Prix lived up to expectations, but he hopes organizers will make efforts to achieve significant improvements next year.

“There were some interesting duels on the track, but as I said, due to the low grip and temperatures, the tires were under a lot of pressure, which led to more granulation,” Alonso added. – We will probably be able to improve something when preparing for this race next year, using the experience and knowledge we have gained this season.

But the race went well, everything was well organised. Probably the schedule has been shifted too much to the night, which is inconvenient for the mechanics, for the drivers, for the press, for everyone. I think next year everything will be much better. This was exactly the case in Miami, where the difference between the first and second years was very large. There’s a lot to work on in Las Vegas, but overall it was a fun event.”