{"id":297851,"date":"2023-11-20T23:54:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T23:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=297851"},"modified":"2023-11-20T23:54:02","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T23:54:02","slug":"f1-set-unlikely-record-at-las-vegas-grand-prix-despite-verstappen-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/racing\/f1\/f1-set-unlikely-record-at-las-vegas-grand-prix-despite-verstappen-criticism\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 set unlikely record at Las Vegas Grand Prix despite Verstappen criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The historic Las Vegas Grand Prix may have suffered a nightmare start to life with\u00a0Formula 1\u00a0in practice, but the race itself certainly lived up to its immense billing. Three-time world champion Max Verstappen emerged victorious from an action-packed thriller that featured the most overtakes in any Grand Prix this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

F1 owners Liberty Media are believed to have spent around $500 million to bring a Grand Prix to Las Vegas. With the excitement and intrigue provided over the race, it might be considered money well spent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Including Verstappen\u2019s pass on Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc on lap 37 to take a lead the Red Bull would not relinquish, the 2023 Las Vegas GP had\u00a099\u00a0overtakes. This is the highest amount of overtakes in a dry race since the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix, which featured 170.<\/p>\n

Mercedes icon Lewis Hamilton led the way with 15 – the most in a single race by any driver this season. Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo\u2019s Guanyu Zhou was overtaken more than any other driver (13).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 99 overtakes are the highest ever total for a debut F1 race and the sixth most of overtakes ever seen at an F1 Grand Prix. The figures will make for enjoyable reading for F1 bosses with the Las Vegas Grand Prix proving to be a success, allaying any fears the street circuit track – including a straight down the iconic strip – could not produce many overtaking opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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However, four long straights into fairly heavy braking zones made for plenty of overtaking opportunities. The passing opportunities all followed one another, which made it very difficult for drivers to break the tow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The section between T5 and T9 appeared to be the sole section where a driver could really make a gap, which led to a more congested and competitive field. As a result, the Las Vegas Street Circuit should reliably produce good racing for fans in the coming years.<\/p>\n

The number of overtakes is a big win for F1 following a weekend of headaches. First practice was a disaster, with a loose manhole cover severely damaging both Carlos Sainz\u2019s Ferrari and Esteban Ocon\u2019s Alpine after Verstappen had spoken out against the weekend.<\/p>\n

The Dutchman insisted he was not a fan of the glitzy driver introduction ceremony, which took place on Wednesday night and saw the 20 competitors step onto stage amid blasting music. He referred to the Las Vegas race as \u201999 percent show and one percent sporting event\u2019.<\/p>\n

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