Valtteri Bottas got a good starting position, but dropped to last in the first corner. Max Verstappen drove to victory.
F1 returned to Las Vegas this weekend after a 41 year hiatus with a very dramatic race.
After many stages, crashes and overtakes, he drove Red Bull to victory Max Verstappen, who didn’t get to celebrate easily, however. He suffered a five-second time penalty in the race for overtaking at the start.
– That penalty put us on the back foot. I had to pass a few cars and the safety car came, so there were a lot of events, Verstappen said.
– If the person behind stayed within the DRS distance, he had a good chance to keep up. That’s why there was a lot of good racing today. Definitely a fun race, Verstappen continued.
Second drove Charles Leclercwho passed in a fantastic way on the last lap by Sergio Perez.
– It was a competition! I enjoyed it so much. I’m obviously disappointed with second place, but it was the best we could do. There couldn’t be a better race for the first time in Vegas, Leclerc beamed.
– This was a good race. It was not easy to run away from the drivers behind, Perez said.
Bottas race ruined
From the seventh frame Valtteri Bottas the race was ruined already in the first corner, the world champion Fernando Alonso because of. The Spaniard controlled the opening corner far too eagerly and braked late.
Alonso’s Aston Martin spun in front of Bottas. The Finn had to stop in his place for a moment and also Sergio Perez drove after the Alfa Romeo.
– Fernando attacked from the inside and spun. I got stuck, had to brake and someone hit the rear end. The diffuser got scattered. Pretty big pieces were missing here and there, Bottas summarized on Viaplay.
Bottas lost grip
Bottas pitted and fell behind the whole bunch. In the end, the Finn was 17th.
– It (the diffuser) explains that speed quite well. There was no grip.
According to Nastolainen, it was to be expected that it will be difficult in Las Vegas in terms of partying.
– It was to be expected that the first round will be slippery. However, it was so slippery that it is easy to surprise. It’s a shame that it hit your target like that, Bottas said.
Bottas didn’t have much left from the weekend.
– It didn’t go very well. All in all, a successful weekend from the organizers. Is it worth the hype, I don’t know, Bottas said.
Russell and Verstappen collided
It happened in the race and it also happened later, because in the middle Verstappen and George Russell collided, and the safety car was brought back onto the track. Bottas had time to visit the pits a moment earlier, so he had to play the role of the victim in the situation.
The race was not easy for Verstappen either. The Dutchman overtook Leclerc at the start, but by driving outside the Monaco track. He received a five-second time penalty and with the pit stop, he was far from the top.
However, a collision with Russell brought the safety car onto the track again and brought the group together. After that, Verstappen pressed the gas to the bottom and rose to the top of the competition.
Verstappen held the lead until the end.