Lewis Hamilton finished seventh at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and later gave a glowing review of the track which had received plenty of criticism in the build-up to the race
Lewis Hamilton may have loved the Las Vegas Grand Prix track in the end, but early in the race he was suggesting it should be stopped.
It was an eventful start to the Grand Prix as a virtual safety car was deployed almost immediately after several incidents at the first corner. Hamilton was one of those who made contact with another car but, unlike a few others, did not spin.
He did lose a lot of time though and so he was towards the back of the pack when Lando Norris lost control at high speed and slammed into a wall. That crash brought out the full safety car while the McLaren was recovered.
Neither George Russell nor Hamilton pitted, but they were both worried about being behind the safety car on the slick new surface. In light of that and the chilly weather, Hamilton was especially worried about the risks.
He said on the radio, “There’s no grip out here,” and then hinted that race control might have to think about calling off the race. “We are in danger because of how slowly we are moving. They must either halt this or move more quickly,” he continued.
Russell also sent out a radio message expressing his concerns. “Tyre temps are dropping like a stone here,” he stated. It’s definitely time for the safety car to move on.”
Luckily, neither of their worries materialized because, once racing got underway again, they continued without any problems until the heat returned to their tires. And in spite of a dramatic race in which he experienced multiple disappointments before coming in seventh, Hamilton said in the aftermath that he had enjoyed competing on the new street circuit.
“I’m really grateful that the race was so good, and I’m really happy to have had a positive race,” he stated. I’m not sure how entertaining it was to watch, but there was a lot of overtaking. It was superior to Baku.
“I honestly didn’t think the track would be this amazing, but as I completed more and more laps, I found that I truly enjoyed racing. Many excellent opportunities to overtake. I believe Vegas disproved everyone who was so pessimistic about the weekend, saying things like “it’s all about the show,” etc.”
Max Verstappen emerged victorious in the race, marking his 18th triumph of the current campaign, while Charles Leclerc overcame Sergio Perez in the last lap to take second place from the Mexican. Following his hard hit, Norris was taken to the hospital as a precaution but was later discharged with no long-term injuries.
Leave a Reply