It was all showbusiness and glitz in Vegas for the race. Mickey and Minnie Mouse waved the drivers onto the truck for the parade, as each was announced American style. The trophy was a neon rainbow cascade of colour and the Disney marching band accompanied the Star Spangled Banner.
This circuit is easy for overtaking, so nothing was guaranteed for any driver, wherever they qualified. Norris pulled out an aggressive start and went straight into Verstappen's path and then off over a corner; he dropped to third behind Russell. Luckily, Piastri had also lost places off the start, having collided with Lawson. Bearman made up four places and is firmly in contention for rookie of the year, or at least was at that point in proceedings. Bortoleto won't be, having tried to make up too many places off the grid and tagging Stroll, who spun into others. Gasly also lost seven places from a great starting position. Hamilton on the hard tyre was in 12th by the second lap, having started at the back. There were bits of Lawson's wing all over the track so Virtual Safety Car conditions were called for to clear the track. It was hard to keep up with everything that happened.
Antonelli and Albon were both noted for starting infringements; it was a late call as the stewards were busy investigating things up and down the pack. Suddenly, LeClerc came to life and started to overtake one car after another. Russell was less happy as he was encountering problems with his steering. Albon went into the back of Hamilton; the VSC edict came again to clear up the debris.
There were very traditional mid-race stops (a few folk went early), Norris and Sainz (running in 4th) led the way. Piastri got Sainz straight away. Verstappen took a free stop and there would be little that could happen to stop him winning the race.
It was Lap 34 when Norris finally made a good move and got past Russell for second. It was incredibly disappointing that Sainz had dropped back to 7th after the pit stops. After his initial mistake, it was a good recovery race for Norris but it will always be "what could have been". LeClerc's promise mid-race didn't amount to much. Antonelli's drive really stood out and could help him overtake Bearman for Rookie of the Year.
There were three non-finishers: Albon, Bortoleto and Stroll, all of whom disappeared quite quietly and presumably went to try their luck elsewhere on the Strip.
Terry Cruz drove the pink Lego Cadillac around the track to chauffeur the drivers to the podium. All in all it was a great show and, of all the races on the calendar, is the one that I'm most drawn to attending. There was an epilogue to the show though hours later, when both McLaren cars were disqualified. I'm slightly annoyed that such a teeny-weeny margin could hand Verstappen yet another championship, although I suppose he will really have to battle now and not just wait and see what happens. Another ding-dong between Norris and Verstappen could be interesting. I'm also pleased that it bumps Sainz right up in the points.
No comments:
Post a Comment