Red Bull leaves Las Vegas with victory number twenty of the unrepeatable 2023 season. For the first time the team achieved a double in the drivers’ world championship, the arithmetic certainty came thanks to the third position achieved by Sergio Perez, now certain of the first place honor behind Max Verstappen. A goal that Red Bull had never achieved, not even in Sebastian Vettel’s golden years. “It’s not a bad birthday present – commented the newly fifty-year-old Christian Horner – it was very kind of Formula 1 to organize this event to coincide with my anniversary! We can say we saw an unprecedented weekend from start to finish.”
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, on the podium after the victory in Las Vegas
It’s really the year of Red Bull. Everything has been said about the quality of the work done by the team and the skills of SuperMax Verstappen, with many replies, but to complete a perfect menu there is also (when needed) a pinch of good luck. Verstappen would have played for the victory with Leclerc today in Las Vegas, in any case, but the safety car that came on track on lap 26 made the task a little easier. The official car instead offered a very substantial bonus to Perez, who without the freezing of the race would have found himself (after the stops were over) in the group of Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso. Instead, Checo saw himself projected into the fight for the podium, eventually arriving even if on the lowest step.
“It’s always difficult to say what the tires would have been like at the end of a longer stint – underlined Horner – but we made the right choice with the safety car, despite the call costing us a few positions with Max when he returned to the grid. track. But it’s difficult to say whether the safety car was decisive or not.” One aspect that clearly emerged was the change in performance that Red Bull had when switching from medium to hard tyres.
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Verstappen and Perez on the podium in Las Vegas: first and third
“On the medium tyres, we weren’t as competitive as Ferrari – confirmed Horner – but on the hard tyres, the car worked much better. Despite the damage suffered in the collision with George Russell, Max did an exceptional job, Checo found himself at the back of the group and eventually finished on the podium. Overall, it was a very positive weekend for us, it’s our twentieth win of the year, it’s going to take a while for this season to sink in!”
In the end Verstappen celebrated more than on other occasions, and this is indicative of how hard-fought and tight his race was. After sending greetings to the race direction as soon as he learned of the five-second penalty due to the maneuver against Leclerc at the start, Max had to use his entire repertoire to make his way.
“I had to be patient in some circumstances – he explained – I found myself in traffic on several occasions, then there was contact with George (Russell), I think he didn’t see me and in the collision I damaged the car a little. my front wing. But fortunately the structure had no consequences, and I was able to continue without problems.”
“Regarding the start – he explained – you have to keep in mind that on this track as soon as you go off the racing line the grip is very low. I braked and there was no grip, I didn’t want to push Charles off the track, but I kept sliding on all four wheels, and I ended up wide in turn 1. At that moment you’re full of adrenaline and I wasn’t happy with the penalty, but looking back on it, it’s It was the right decision.”
Verstappen also responded positively to the team’s request to give way to Perez, who was busy on the final lap defending second position from Leclerc’s assault, and Max agreed this time. It wasn’t enough for Checo to make him take second place, but for once we saw Verstappen in his team-player version. Things that probably only happen in Las Vegas.
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