The Highs and Lows of 2023's Las Vegas GP

(Image Source: Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports)

With the Las Vegas GP wrapped up, let's talk about the highs and lows of this race weekend. Being a fan of the sport since 2018, I want to go over the most talked about GP. With this new track being added to the calendar, there was a lot of buzz surrounding it, both positive and negative. If anything, it was more negative than it was positive. If you're like me and follow an adequate amount of social media pages that follow the sport, it was tough to not get wrapped up in the negativity.

Now I admit there were a lot of things that gave me the ick, but I cannot deny the fact that it was one of the most exciting races of this very predictable season.

THE HIGHS

1. A good track addition to the calendar

With a very predictable season this year, this race added a lot of the excitement that most race fans wanted. Despite the usual podium winners, this race gave us 82 overtakes with the race leader changing 7 times! Most of the races have been with Max Verstappen pulling away and staying in the lead. At this race, he faced a 5-second penalty (although I think the call should have been that he gave the position back to Charles Leclerc). Throughout the race, you wouldn't have known who would place 1st, 2nd or 3rd. It was a great battle between Perez, Leclerc and Verstappen. There were a lot of decent battles throughout the midfield as well during 50 laps and I was glad to have stayed awake for it! The track had low grip which made for more exciting laps, although they could have done a better job cleaning up the oil that was on the track. I'm honestly happy this track is here to stay for another 10 years.

LUKEWARM

1. That hilarious moment with Checo

Whether you agree with me or not, I found the moment Sergio Perez looked like a lost puppy hilarious after Bruce Buffer announced his name. They may be the greatest drivers in the world, but when it comes to social situations like this, they can be like the rest of us, as awkward as ever.

(Image Source: SkySports)

Now I'm not saying I was a fan of this whole ceremony, but I sure was a fan of this moment. In my eyes, it honestly was so adorable. Checo pulled a Roomba and had no idea where to go after being announced. I can't say how many times I've rewatched the clip. As much as this moment was one of the highs for me, I think it could have been done without it, it was disorganized and should be saved for UFC. Drivers aren't fighters, they don't need someone yelling in their face right before a race.

2. The opening ceremony

This one may be controversial but personally, I thought it was okay! If you're going to bring a sporting event to America, there's going to be some events that are extra. Americans (not all) do like their glitz and glamour more than some others and especially when you're in Vegas. I will say that I wasn't a fan of how they brought the drivers up, it gave me Hunger Games vibes and they looked like they didn't want to be there. I don't blame them. They're there to drive, not be paraded around.

But the show itself was pretty decent and had a pretty good lineup of performers. If you go to other races (at least in Montreal), there was some sort of live performance. I can understand that it's cringe to some fans, but when expanding to new countries, sporting events must cater to local culture. After all, you're in Vegas, you're going to be getting full-blown, over-the-top experiences.

THE LOWS

1. The drain cover incident

With the race starting to kick off with FP1, it all ended when a drain cover decided to give Carlos Sainz a surprise which ended the whole session. With only 9 minutes of racing, fans were sent packing so that the issue could be fixed. You would expect that with all the money being spent on this track, something like a manhole cover would be welded properly. With the drain covers being fixed around the track, it delayed FP2 by over 2 hours, by then it was so late into the night that fans were not allowed back in their seats, which they paid for. Not to anyone's surprise, with this being in America, a lawsuit was launched by the fans.

(Image Source: Formula 1)

Also, to the dismay of Carlos Sainz, the FIA slapped him with a 10-place grid penalty, which in my opinion was not fair on him. Had it been his fault that they needed to change the chassis, then it would make sense. In this case, it was a complete accident and no driver should get that kind of penalty.

2. Too many celebs

Other races will have celebs show up, but it doesn't center around them, nor are there many. I'm not a huge fan of celebs, but some enjoy the sport as much as the average race fan and deserve to be there. Some may just be there to market something, and you what? That's fine. However, Vegas was crawling with them. It became less about the sporting event and more about a massive party.

In my opinion, it would be super cool if F1 allowed some of these spots to open up to fans. Have a draw or sell VIP experiences for some fans to get the ultimate experience and nerd out in the garages, etc.

3. Expensive

Being one of the most expensive races on the calendar, it priced out a lot of fans who wanted to be there. However, in the end, they ended up lowering ticket prices last minute on FP1 and FP2. Not that it matters because ticket holders weren't allowed in during FP2 and FP1 was only nine minutes long. Even hotels lowered their price just as race weekend started. So unless you decided to fly out the Friday morning and hope you can land a room and some tickets, it wasn't happening.

For a weekend pass to races in Hungary, Canada, or Imola, for a weekend pass in the grandstand would be approximately less than $400 USD. In Vegas, you were looking at $1040 USD for the weekend in the grandstands. For a sport that has only recently gained traction in this hemisphere, I think F1 really overestimated the amount of fans and their income. One can only hope, but it would be nice to have tickets decrease in price for future races and allow more fans into the event.

CONCLUSION

With a 10-year contract, there is plenty of room for improvement. A brand-new track will naturally, bring lots of chaos. It was far from perfect, but that means, plenty of room to grow. Perhaps, more affordable tickets allow more race fans in and fewer celebs. No more drain covers auditioning to be scare actors. No more dirty tracks, there was a lot of oil on the track during race day. Perhaps, fewer cringe moments and being more about the race. Whatever it may be, this GP is here to stay!