- 2 days ago
19/11/2023
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00:00From Las Vegas, this is Formula One.
00:04The world's greatest sport awaits its newest stage.
00:07This town has waited 40 years for the pinnacle of motorsport to return.
00:12And this will be a Saturday fight night like no other that this town has seen.
00:20It is showtime.
00:22Our Saturday night fight is five lights away.
00:26And Formula One goes racing on the streets of Las Vegas
00:30with Charles Leclerc cutting across Max Verstappen, who is on the dirty side.
00:34The top two go off the road.
00:36Do they open the door for George Russell?
00:38Massive spin in the middle of the pack as well.
00:40Max Verstappen takes the lead in the opening 200 meters of the Grand Prix,
00:44but he was deep into the first turn as he did so.
00:47Cars absolutely everywhere.
00:48Russell is in third.
00:50Gasly is in fourth.
00:51Kevin Magnussen has improved a couple of positions
00:53as we have the yellow flag out in sector one.
00:56Sainz is at the back.
00:57Bottas and Alonso were involved in that as well
00:59as they scrub off the speed down turn five.
01:02And despite a chance to try and fight back DC,
01:05it's Charles Leclerc in second and Max Verstappen leads.
01:08Yeah, that was a very surprising getaway in my mind from Max.
01:11What a brilliant start from the dirty side of the grid.
01:15And typically aggressive Max on the run into the corner.
01:21Perez, who started 11th, he was directly behind Fernando Alonso,
01:24who was directly behind Valtteri Bottas.
01:27So did they all meet in the middle when they came down there?
01:29Alonso's in as well, so is Bottas.
01:31So here we go.
01:32We go to the race start.
01:34Look at the launch from the P2 man.
01:35Max Verstappen off the line.
01:37And then he's going to dive to the inside.
01:40They both go off.
01:41I thought George Russell might have an opportunity.
01:43There was a decent enough getaway initially from Charles Leclerc,
01:46but he glances in the mirror, realizes he has to go defensive.
01:49And he's at the mercy of the lane that Max takes.
01:52This needs to be addressed now.
01:54It is a joke if he gives the position.
01:56He wasn't in court at the apex, then he pushed me wide.
02:00So he needs to give that position back.
02:02I completely agree with Leclerc there.
02:05As we go on board with Valtteri Bottas.
02:07This was his best start of the year,
02:09but he only really made use of it into turn one.
02:12A little wiggle there.
02:13And he's, yeah, he's just wrong place, wrong time.
02:15Does get tagged in the back as well.
02:18So they're fighting for space,
02:19but no idea of grip levels at this stage.
02:22And that is why he needed the nose change.
02:24Let's see what happens to Carlos.
02:26You're going through all that oil dry.
02:28Oh, he tags Lewis.
02:29Yeah, he just went in too deep.
02:32The stewards are looking at lap one, turn one.
02:36It's under investigation as a result.
02:38And you've, oh, who's gone off the road in the background there?
02:41Lando Norris, I think.
02:43It's the McLaren.
02:43And Lando Norris goes off the road at turn 12.
02:48Norris into the barriers.
02:49The safety car, the full safety car is out.
02:52And we have had a dramatic start to the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
02:57Lando Norris deep into the runoff area there.
03:00And that is a strange one.
03:03It looks like, unless there's been an issue with the car,
03:06it looks like he's lost it with combined lateral braking.
03:10Just misses the back of his teammate
03:12as he makes his way to the Tech Pro barrier there.
03:16So, you know, good thing with a long crash
03:18is the energy is dissipated.
03:20Yeah, look, I think he touched.
03:22I think we could hear some touching of the ground.
03:23And it's unloaded the car.
03:25And he's got in this sort of tank slapper situation.
03:29Minor lock-up there for Charles Leclerc.
03:31Wow, he's almost into the gearbox of Max Verstappen.
03:33Now, the big question is, how early will Max bolt?
03:36And it looks like he's gone already.
03:38He's gone, and he's caught them napping a little bit.
03:39That lock-up into 14 definitely hurt Charles' exit.
03:43And now no pressure from behind.
03:45Max Verstappen already with a massive 1.1-second cap into turn 1.
03:49The restarts have been phenomenal.
03:51Here's a chance for Oscar Piastri.
03:53Looking to make a move on the dirty, dusty part of the racetrack.
03:56Hard tyres versus soft.
03:57You should not be able to fire those hard tyres up
04:00in a way where you're able to get by.
04:02And yet the Australian driver was able to do so.
04:05Sole remaining McLaren, now up to 10th position.
04:09There were two drivers on soft tyres.
04:12That's the grippiest tyre, but it expires first
04:14at the start of the Grand Prix 1.
04:15Now, let's see if Hamilton can go around the outside.
04:17It would be a great move if he manages it.
04:20And he does so.
04:21Up to 11th place, those soft tyres not working on the Alfa Tauri.
04:24Max Verstappen is given the 5-second penalty
04:27for forcing another driver off the track.
04:30Historically, sometimes you get penalised.
04:33Sometimes you get away with it.
04:34Today, Max Verstappen's penalised.
04:37But have Red Bull got it right
04:38by leaving him in the lead of the race?
04:41And can he now easily build the 5-second gap that he needs?
04:44He'll take that at the first stop.
04:47And he tried the inside before.
04:49Now he's tried the outside line,
04:51taking the position away.
04:52Esteban Ocon up to 7th.
04:54He was out in Q1 yesterday,
04:56but a melee at Turn 1 has changed his race around.
04:59And now you've got an Alpine in 7th and an Alpine in 4th.
05:03Sergio Perez, who loves a street circuit.
05:06Five of his six Grand Prix victories have come at temporary facilities.
05:10That is opportunistic.
05:12That is brilliant from Esteban Ocon,
05:15who hard charges his way by
05:17after the disappointment of qualifying.
05:19That was superb stuff.
05:20And we weren't expecting many overtakes there today.
05:24You know, it's interesting.
05:26There's a good mix of hards and mediums on right now
05:28as the racing continues down the strip into Turn 14.
05:33And it's getting very, very, very tight
05:35no matter where you look on track.
05:37Oscar Piastri has gone up to 7th position.
05:39And then we go driver's eye view.
05:43Piastri trying to fight by.
05:44This is Lewis Hamilton trying to charge past Logan Sargent as well.
05:47And he does so further back.
05:49Sergio Perez is now up to 10th position.
05:51He has cleared the Haas as we see Magnussen now bolting to the pits.
05:56And this is how Sergio Perez was able to fight his way by.
06:00This is over 200 miles per hour.
06:03Got the speed.
06:04Does he go to the left?
06:05Does he go to the right?
06:05Is the track wide enough?
06:07He gets past the Alfa.
06:08And then when the Haas pitted in, he got past Magnussen as well.
06:13Charles Leclerc fed up of the stat that he started from pole position 11 times in a row
06:19and hasn't been able to convert it.
06:21That's the worst run in Formula 1 since the 1980s.
06:24And he's desperate to end that stat.
06:27The tyres are going to get really f***ing late.
06:30I understand, Max.
06:32Giampiero Lambezzi on the radio.
06:35A picture of calm.
06:36Max Verstappen with his mirrors full.
06:391.2 miles flat to the floor in the wheel tracks.
06:42He's being called to the pits.
06:44Charles Leclerc doesn't know that.
06:45He's going to try and pull the move now.
06:47The scarlet Ferrari to the inside.
06:49Charles Leclerc takes the lead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
06:54It's game on at the front of the field like we haven't seen for so long in Formula 1.
06:59And the crowd adoring that moment.
07:02Ferrari seemingly able to take their tyres further as Max Verstappen comes into the pits.
07:08Yeah, and he's going to find himself coming out behind Logan Sargent.
07:13If this is a normal stop.
07:15And, well, no.
07:16There's the wait.
07:17There's the wait for the five-second penalty.
07:19Good point.
07:20There's a few cars are now making their way to the pits.
07:23Okay, Albin's in the pits as well.
07:25So is Piastri.
07:26It's a melee at Turn 1 that started this race.
07:29It's action everywhere you look at the moment.
07:32McLaren looking all right with Oscar Piastri, who goes on to the hard times.
07:35But it's a slow stop.
07:36Yeah, the front right wasn't there.
07:39Let's check in with our race leader.
07:42And the moment he was able to reclaim the place that he lost in the first 175 meters of the
07:47Grand Prix.
07:50Hamilton's radioed in saying he's got a puncture.
07:52Diving down the inside of the Australian driver.
07:55Piastri trying to hang on to it.
07:57That enough to puncture the tyre.
07:59And sparks out the back of Piastri's car.
08:04That does sound like Hamilton.
08:06Yeah, he's lifting.
08:06He is really in a bad way here with this puncture.
08:09That's Sainz going through.
08:10That's Joe going through as well.
08:12And Hamilton gets rid of the bollard.
08:16Back to trackside pictures.
08:18Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez.
08:20Second and third at the moment.
08:21But Perez on that hard tyre.
08:23Attacking now with DRS.
08:25And Perez taking the position away then.
08:28Found himself behind Ocon after that scrappy opening lap to the Grand Prix.
08:32Drivers taking avoiding action.
08:34But Perez, in a sharp contrast to what we've seen for the rest of the year.
08:38They're able to get a tune out of those hard tyres.
08:41And it's going nicely for the Mexican driver who changed those tyres at the start of the Grand Prix.
08:46Because he changed the nose.
08:48Got rid of the mediums.
08:49Went onto the hard.
08:50And that man's career is built on coaxing a performance from a tyre longer than others are able to do
08:57so.
08:58The body language of Max Verstappen's car does not say to me, I'm taking these tyres to the end of
09:03the Grand Prix.
09:05You think he's just absolutely gone for broke here.
09:07Oh, is he going to try it on the inside here into turn 12?
09:10Oh, it's going to be contacted.
09:12It is contact.
09:13Max Verstappen into the side of George Russell.
09:16He was committed.
09:17And in turn 12, the two of them come together.
09:20Right.
09:20Is that damage only from George's car?
09:23Or is some of that from the Red Bull?
09:25It's tough to tell if there's wing damage to the Red Bull.
09:27Definitely floor damage to the Mercedes.
09:31Safety car out.
09:32So who takes it?
09:33And so that is a massive benefit for the man who's put one of his best stints together of the
09:38entire season.
09:39And Sergio Perez gets a 2.4 second stop.
09:42And he's suddenly a contender.
09:44Absolutely.
09:45He almost took his front jack man with him.
09:46He was so electric away from that pit stop.
09:50And that has actually played to his benefit very well.
09:52Max Verstappen has pitted.
09:54Did he do front wing as well?
09:55I don't think it looked like it was a long enough stop.
09:58Okay.
09:59It's a 3.3 second stop for Stroll.
10:01Verstappen had a 2.7 stop.
10:03Russell 2.9.
10:04Russell lost the wheel cover.
10:06Now that safety car line is vitally important.
10:08And I think Max Verstappen got out ahead there of Esteban Ocon.
10:12And that's where they measure it when you rejoin after pitting under the safety car.
10:17Max just a stuart update again.
10:20Turn 12 incident with Russell is under investigation.
10:22Okay.
10:24It just looked like he just didn't see me at all.
10:26He just turned it onto my wheel.
10:27Because he didn't expect me to pass him there.
10:30And fair enough.
10:31Because I don't think anyone's done that so far.
10:33Yeah.
10:33Because we're going back green.
10:34There's penalty for Russell for causing a collision.
10:37Is the verdict of the stewards.
10:38So Max Verstappen penalized earlier in the Grand Prix.
10:41It's George Russell who's got the five second penalty for causing the collision at the incident at turn 12.
10:47There's confirmation of the penalty at the top of your page.
10:50Meanwhile, the safety car has disappeared.
10:52They're trying to generate tire temperature.
10:53And we're back to racing speeds around Formula One's newest venue that is providing so much by way of entertainment.
11:01And Pierre Gasly worried Sergio Perez into a defensive shape.
11:04That's Fernando Alonso to the inside of Logan Sargent.
11:07And he's making 11th place with that move.
11:09But the rear of the car very nearly getting away from him when he applied the power.
11:14Another move around the outside.
11:16We've got the Haas trying to go past Daniel Ricciardo.
11:18And that is a sweet pass once again for Nico Hülkenberg.
11:21Late, late, late on the brakes.
11:23And later still for Oscar Piastri who makes the corner.
11:26Who makes the place.
11:27And takes third.
11:28That was brilliant.
11:29That was absolutely brilliant.
11:31He's taken advantage of this very difficult restart.
11:34To see cars weaving under race conditions.
11:38Desperately trying to get temperature in their tires.
11:40It's just so unusual.
11:44Oh my word, they're getting close to the exit of turn 12 there.
11:48But of course they're pushing on.
11:50And if these two fight each other too hard.
11:53Oscar Piastri, a race winner in the sprint format earlier this year, could join the party.
11:57You know Verstappen's going to be in the mix as well.
12:00But Gasly, half defense into turn number five.
12:02Can't afford too many of those as he tries to cling on.
12:05That is close under braking.
12:07This is a resurgent Sergio Perez.
12:10But he's right on the edge.
12:11Yeah, a little bit of oversteer as he rolled the car into the corner.
12:16Where the Red Bull looks so strong.
12:18And we saw it from Max's on board.
12:20Those combined entries into turn seven, into turn 12.
12:24Where you're braking and turning at the same time.
12:27The confidence that both Checo and Max have.
12:29They're really closing up on the car in front in both scenarios there.
12:33Massive amount of lap time.
12:34And both of those lead on to important parts of the racetrack.
12:36As DRS is open again.
12:38This is the best run so far for Sergio Perez.
12:41Sergio Perez to the apex first.
12:44Sergio Perez to the lead of the Grand Prix.
12:47Having started in 11th.
12:48He had the run.
12:49He had the DRS.
12:51And the fans in the grandstand love another pass.
12:54Because we've got our third race leader tonight.
12:56And his name is Checo.
12:58Wow, what a turnaround.
12:59We are seeing some show under the lights in Las Vegas.
13:03It's been such an ebb and flow.
13:05The race started Advantage Red Bull.
13:06Then Charles was able to real Max in Advantage Ferrari.
13:10Now it's gone back the other way.
13:12Advantage back to Red Bull.
13:13Incredible move from Perez here.
13:16The pendulum swings back to Red Bull.
13:19Charles Leclerc doing everything in his power to stay within the DRS.
13:25That is his only hope of getting back against Sergio Perez.
13:28Max Verstappen getting past or at least trying to.
13:31Under braking.
13:32Oscar Piastri not fighting that one too hard.
13:34And Verstappen on the charge.
13:36Up to third.
13:37Oscar did a good job on the initial brake hit.
13:39He outbroke Verstappen initially.
13:42But then Max just rolling off that brake pedal.
13:44As the Alpines now nose to tail.
13:46Ocon trying to get around Gasly.
13:48Is he going to take a stab into turn one?
13:50These two are side by side.
13:53But not for much longer.
13:54The two teammates battling it out.
13:57And Esteban Ocon deep into turn one.
14:00Gasly sweeps on by.
14:02Great racing between these two.
14:04Nervy moments on the pit wall for Alpine.
14:07These two have history this season.
14:09Back in Australia where they collided after a great run.
14:13Gasman we want to hold position for the moment please.
14:16Hold position for the moment.
14:17Get me a replay of that move around the outside.
14:21Esteban Ocon going all in in Vegas.
14:24And taking fifth place.
14:27Gasly played the team game there.
14:29If that had been a different liveried car.
14:31I think that would have been a different braking zone entirely.
14:35Perez looking to change the narrative.
14:38Having had such a tough campaign.
14:39After those brilliant two wins at the very start of the season.
14:42But since then the championship has belonged to Max Verstappen.
14:45Charles Leclerc wanting to win his first Grand Prix since July 2022.
14:50And Max Verstappen looking to demoralize those ahead even further.
14:55Yeah.
14:55You just saw the car stepping out of Max Verstappen as he entered onto the strip.
15:02So he is pushing hard on those tires.
15:04And Charles Leclerc going to the inside.
15:06I was going to say if he's going to take a risk there's a chance.
15:09I think Perez might have been caught by surprise.
15:11Another change of lead in Las Vegas.
15:14And it's Charles Leclerc back again.
15:16But he seemed to come from miles back.
15:18Did Perez miss a gear or something?
15:21You know where did that come from?
15:24And Perez getting wide of the apex.
15:26This will give Verstappen a chance to get a run on him.
15:29I think the run is going to turn into a slam dunk pass.
15:32We haven't had many of them so far today.
15:34Are we about to resume the battle between Leclerc and Verstappen?
15:38The three race leaders in your picture at the moment.
15:41But he's in a change of position between the two ripples as we go over the bumps.
15:44And it's Max Verstappen who takes second place in the race.
15:48And will try and reclaim the lead.
15:50Pass, repass and pass again.
15:53Delirious stuff out front.
15:54It's Charles Leclerc going, right, who is it?
15:56In the mirrors.
15:57It's the world champion.
15:59Game on at the front.
16:01Charles really seems to have found form.
16:03But he's got a wounded Verstappen behind him.
16:06Missing his front wing end plate.
16:08Doesn't seem to be affecting him too, too much.
16:10Fastest lap of the race last time around.
16:12And he does have a tire advantage.
16:14His tires are about five laps newer than Leclerc's.
16:18But man, that Ferrari does not seem to have the advantage on the hards.
16:22Stay with it.
16:23Double tire.
16:24We work together.
16:25That's Hugh Bird trying to keep Sergio Perez's head up.
16:28But there's a real opportunity now for Max Verstappen.
16:31And Charles Leclerc knows it.
16:32Driving on the mirrors now.
16:34Checking the left one.
16:34Checking the right one.
16:35Trying to keep the world champion behind.
16:37We go down the strip.
16:38We're going to get another change of lead.
16:40Max Verstappen takes the place back.
16:42But look at how brave on the break Charles was.
16:44But he couldn't close the door.
16:46Verstappen takes the lead back once again.
16:50And this has turned out to be some spectacle under the lights.
16:54But it's the dominant man in 2023 who gets past his teammate.
16:58Gets past the man who beat him in qualifying yesterday.
17:01And the three-car battle now led by Max Verstappen.
17:04Well, what a race.
17:07Just great, great stuff from both drivers.
17:10So much commitment.
17:12We have seen Grand Prix earlier in the year where the straight line performance of the Williams was mighty.
17:17If you think back to Spa, it just didn't work for them.
17:19Although they've got that aerodynamic efficiency, they still have to get the setup right.
17:24And it's hard to gauge at a new circuit.
17:27They've given Alex Albin a chance.
17:28This race completely changed by the full safety car.
17:32There's a big opportunity now for George Russell who appears in your picture ahead of the Williams.
17:37Nothing Alex Albin could do.
17:39And that is a good pass as we move our way through there.
17:42Was very nearly another one further back.
17:45Max Verstappen has set the fastest lap of the Grand Prix.
17:47But Charles Leclerc is not letting him off.
17:49He's just done a personal best.
17:52Leclerc would desperately love to make that pass.
17:54Can he sit there for the remaining laps?
17:57And that's a wide moment for the Williams driver.
17:59And a disappointment for Alex Albin who sees first Russell, then Sainz, then Alonso overtake him.
18:07And he drops out of the points.
18:09Lewis Hamilton trying to get by as well.
18:11And diving to the inside.
18:13They've got a yellow flag in sector two.
18:15We were hearing momentarily that Pierre Gasly is reporting an issue with the battery to his team.
18:23And that's also a clean pass from Lance Stroll.
18:26Gasly not able to do anything against the offset in speed.
18:30We're understandably focusing on the battle for second place at the moment.
18:35But Gasly has George Russell right behind him.
18:38Off the road!
18:38Goes Charles Leclerc!
18:40At Turn 12.
18:42And having led this Grand Prix for so long.
18:45And having had his best chance to win so far this season.
18:48One Red Bull got by.
18:49Then the other Red Bull got by.
18:51And there'll be no chance after that moment at Turn 12 to retake the place this time.
18:58Oh, just not enough front axle grip there.
19:01And he's been brave on the brakes.
19:02But on this occasion, just a bit wide on turning.
19:07Here's the other Alpine though.
19:08Coming under pressure.
19:09Man, that is quick.
19:10Down the straight.
19:11As they build up to 200 miles an hour plus under braking.
19:15And Fernando Alonso moves up to 8th position.
19:18Gets past Pierre Gasly.
19:20But he went deep DC.
19:21Yeah, he did.
19:22And luckily in that particular sequence of corners.
19:26There's enough racetrack for him to get away with it.
19:28And wheel-to-wheel action here.
19:30This is so quick through 17.
19:32That is unbelievably brave.
19:34We've been waiting to see two drivers go wheel-to-wheel through there.
19:38It was around the outside early on for Lewis Hamilton.
19:41Down the inside this time.
19:43Huge speed.
19:44Huge commitment.
19:45A 9th place.
19:47Piastri on the medium tyre.
19:49Unable to put the pressure on Pierre Gasly for the final point at the moment.
19:53Further up though.
19:54This is the battle for 8th place.
19:56And this is Lewis Hamilton.
19:57Up against his old sparring partner.
19:59Fernando Alonso.
20:00And that move is made early on.
20:03No contest into turn 14.
20:06Hamilton up to 8th place.
20:08The checkered flag is illuminated around the last lap.
20:13It is waiting on the main straight.
20:15And there you go.
20:16He has dropped back.
20:17He has dropped back to play the team game there.
20:20Max Verstappen.
20:202.1 seconds.
20:22Asked by the team to do that.
20:24He plays the game.
20:25And he tries to give him a slipstream.
20:28And you would get an effect from 2 seconds of the slipstream.
20:31Leclerc.
20:31Does he risk it all in the final meters of the Grand Prix?
20:34This is where it matters.
20:35Such an important exit out of turn 12 for Checo.
20:38He seems to have gotten the power down nicely.
20:40Getting a little bit of draft from his teammate.
20:42Is Leclerc going to be close enough?
20:44DRS open.
20:45Here we go.
20:45This is the last real corner on the racetrack.
20:48It's flat to the floor by the time that you get out of 14, 15 and 16.
20:52Charles Leclerc is going forward to the inside.
20:54Has he got the car slowed down?
20:55What a move, Charles Leclerc.
20:58Absolutely brilliant.
20:59At the last real chance that he had to make the pass.
21:02Checo tries to fight back.
21:04What a performance from the top three.
21:06Max Verstappen puts his name up in light once again.
21:09And it's very close to the line.
21:10But it's Charles Leclerc who takes second place with a bold and brilliant move at the last real opportunity.
21:17On the last lap, it's 18 Grand Prix victories for the season for Max Verstappen who wins the Las Vegas
21:24Grand Prix.
21:25Then it's Charles Leclerc.
21:26Then it's Sergio Perez.
21:27And on the last lap as well, George Russell gets fourth place.
21:31He got by Esteban Ocon.
21:33That's entertainment on the streets of Las Vegas.
21:37But Russell, having made the pass, has the five-second penalty applied.
21:43And it was for pride rather than position.
21:46Ocon in fourth, Stroll in fifth, Sainz sixth.
21:49Then Hamilton, Russell, Alonso and Piastri.
21:53Your order after a breathless, delirious, thoroughly entertaining Las Vegas Grand Prix.
22:00Three out of three here at the stage, Max.
22:02Should we call it a royal flush?
22:05Well done, Max.
22:05As BGGP said, three out of three.
22:08Well done.
22:08First ever Vegas race.
22:10Yes, let's go, guys.
22:12That was quite fun out there.
22:14At least I had fun.
22:15I mean, it's a bit more difficult for us, but it was good.
22:19I think we expected it to be a really interesting street circuit, but not on that level.
22:24In the end, the top three separated by 2.2 seconds.
22:27They all led the Grand Prix at some point.
22:29They all put it together.
22:30And look at one stage, it looked for all the world like it was going to be Leclerc's day by
22:35quite a margin.
22:36Then it looked like the timing of the safety car had swung it towards Perez.
22:40And we got suckered in, Hinch.
22:42Of course Max was going to win.
22:44Of course.
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