Race Recap: Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi

The last double header of the 2023 season saw the Formula One (F1) grid travel to the streets Sin City and the Yas Marina Circuit.?

F1's trip to Vegas certainly did not start out smoothly. Just minutes into Free Practice One, the session was cancelled after Ferrari's Carlos Sainz ran over a drainage cover which brought out a red flag.

Fans attending the session were forced to leave and Free Practice 2 took place in the early hours during the morning, which would be a private session where fans were allowed to watch. Given the exorbitant pricing of the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, fans were naturally upset and frustrated — so much so that F1 triggered a class action lawsuit on behalf of 35,000 people who bought tickets for the cancelled first practice session.?

Meanwhile the season finale in Abu Dhabi witnessed the FIA testing out a new artificial intelligence technology to tackle track limits breaches — in light of the inconsistent penalties that had been handed out for track limit violations through this season. The "Computer Vision" technology would use shape analysis to work out the number of pixels going beyond the track edge.

That said, for the last time in 2023, let's dive into the key storylines that happened in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi:?

(All image credits go to Formula One)?

Las Vegas serves an exciting race against the odds

There has been a lot of scepticism towards the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix (besides the Caesars Palace race that F1 had in the 1980s). This was not helped by a full day of running being cancelled, which left a lot of angry supporters.

Despite that, there was an exciting battle for the lead and 2 Safety Car periods as the whole field had seen some battling up and down the order. The track's layout also allowed for some exciting battles between the drivers.

All in all, it is a decent race and a decent surprise, as Las Vegas makes for a better spectacle than the Miami race earlier this year.

Ferrari comes up short due to bad luck

Oh, Ferrari. You could hardly blame the Scuderia, as they genuinely had some bad luck this weekend.

Sainz had qualified second fastest and was set to follow a front-row lockout but had been demoted ten places for having to replace his energy store following damage to his car from a loose metal cover. From there, his Sunday was spent in recovery mode, and ultimately he finished sixth.

Leclerc, meanwhile, who started from pole, was forced off the track by Max Verstappen at the start. Despite repassing the world champion, Leclerc came in for his stop just a few laps before the Safety Car was deployed for the incident between Verstappen and Russell. This eroded his lead, but he got lucky to take second place away from Sergio Perez with a spectacular last lap overtake.

Mercedes struggles through a messy weekend

Mercedes had a messy weekend as they squandered their comfortable margin to Ferrari for second in the Constructors Championship.

Hamilton and Russell got tangled with other drivers, namely Oscar Piastri and Verstappen. Whilst Hamilton’s clash with Piastri was a racing incident, Russell’s contact with Max (and subsequent penalty dropping him from 4th to 8th) could have been avoided if the Mercedes driver had been more patient in his overtaking.

Both drivers would finish behind the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, making Abu Dhabi more difficult than it ought to be for the Brackley outfit.

Contrasting fortunes for the Alpine drivers

The Alpine team experienced contrasting weekends for its staple of drivers.

Esteban Ocon had a difficult qualifying after his ‘race’ with Max Verstappen had courted controversy and made him unable to progress past Q1. Despite this, Ocon had an excellent first stint and kept out of trouble to rise up the order. Taking advantage of better tyre wear, he passed teammate Gasly and only lost fourth on the road to Russell before regaining it due to the Brit’s penalty.

Gasly, meanwhile, had a decent qualifying by placing fifth on the grid (which became fourth after Sainz’s penalty). Despite this, his graining hard tyres during the race dropped him like a stone and he finished a disappointing 11th and scored no points.

Piastri salvages scraps from a difficult McLaren weekend

After Lando Norris crashed out on Lap 3, all of Woking hopes were pinned on young Oscar Piastri to salvage something from the weekend.

To his credit, the young Australian drove brilliantly to salvage P10 after clashing with Lewis Hamilton and taking his second set of hard tyres right to the end before a late stop for medium tyres (to fulfil the two-tyre compound rule).

While Vegas channelled memories of Mclaren’s slow start to the season, Piastri’s racecraft added some points on the board, which may prove crucial in securing fourth ahead of Aston Martin.

Post Racing Thoughts: Jon

"Overall, the biggest story was the layout, which created an exciting race with differing variables. Having a track with many overtakes and two Safety Cars is quite a way to put on a debut race despite the scepticism from the paddock.

Besides this, Ferrari’s misfortune is a notable headline grabber, but it should be noted that they have closed the gap to Mercedes in the Constructors Championship to a tight four points ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix."

A record-breaking season for Max Verstappen?

It wouldn't be Max Verstappen if he doesn't end the race breaking records. With his 19th win in 2023, he caps off this season with the highest points total of all time with 575, the largest winning margin in a championship and the first driver to lead over 1000 laps throughout a season.

His teammate, however, was slightly unlucky as Sergio Perez was handed a five-second penalty after a racing incident with McLaren's Lando Norris as he was fighting for fourth place into Turn 6. Despite securing second in the drivers' championship (Red Bull’s first 1-2 championship finish in their history), the Mexican leaves Abu Dhabi on a sour note — echoing his performance this season.?

Mercedes secures second in the constructors’

Heading into Abu Dhabi, Ferrari and Mercedes were locked in a tight battle in the constructors' with just four points between both teams who were fighting for that coveted second spot. Gaining a position — or losing it — can be worth in the region of US$10million. In the cost cap era, that extra cash can significantly impact a team's budget for the following season.

When the chequered flag fell, it was the Silver Arrows who sealed second place in the constructors’ championship. Despite Ferrari's Charles Leclerc's brilliant tactic of letting Perez pass to build that five second gap, his efforts were in pain to prevent George Russell from claiming the final podium spot and for Mercedes to enjoy this victory amidst a "really challenging season," given the W14's performance.

An impressive debut season for Fernando Alonso?

Fernando Alonso's surprise move from Alpine to Aston Martin paid off in style as the double world champion finished in the points in Abu Dhabi to come fourth in the drivers' championship, his best finish in over a decade.

In Alonso’s debut season with Aston Martin, he managed to secure an impressive eight podium finishes. Aston Martin also remained one of the most improved teams on the grid, their 55 points total from 2022 turning into 280 by the time the 2023 season finale drew to a close. While they fell behind in the development race at certain points this year, it's certainly a valuable lesson for the Silverstone outfit as they prepare for their 2024 campaign.?

Williams triumphs over AlphaTauri in the constructors’ battle?

Albon lined up and took the chequered flag in 14th place after overcoming a difficult start that dropped him down to 18th. Despite thatl, the British-Thai driver had done enough for the Grove based team to help secure seventh in the constructors standings — marking William's best finish in the Constructors Championship since 2017.

Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver that could have helped Alpha Tauri secure that seventh spot, having qualified sixth. The Japanese racer opted for the unfavoured one-stop strategy, which saw him fade in the closing stages on older tyres. He finished eighth, a couple of places shy of what was needed.?

Arrivederci, Franz Tost?

Key members of the paddock took a moment before the start of the season finale in Abu Dhabi to say their goodbyes to Franz Tost who is retiring after 18 years of running the Faenza-based team. Tost’s departure marks a significant moment in the history of the sport.

Since the inception of AlphaTauri in 2006, Tost has served as the team’s guiding force. Known for his workaholic nature and focus on the future of the team, Tost’s influence has been instrumental in shaping AlphaTauri’s trajectory. Most importantly, AlphaTauri — formerly known as Scuderia Toro Rosso — housed 17 F1 drivers, which includes several drivers on the current grid such as Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen, and Pierre Gasly.?

Post Racing Thoughts: Nathan

“Abu Dhabi has always been an interesting race for me to watch. While most of us will remember the venues for its close championship battles, there are just certain years where it won’t deliver the action-packed season finale we were all looking for.

That said, it was nice to see Ferrari and Mercedes fight for second in the constructors' championship. Here's hoping that the other teams are able to close the gap to Red Bull next year!”?

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This newsletter was written and edited by Hew Hoong Liang (Nathan) and Jonathan Khoo (I know: they both have similar names ??).

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