Time On Track: Episode 22 – Las Vegas

What was billed as the biggest racing spectacle of the season took place in Las Vegas this past weekend, and after a rocky start, the  race itself actually delivered on its promise. Tight racing throughout saw multiple lead changes and no shortage of great passes among the field. We saw some triumphant comebacks and late charges from the back of the pack, along with plenty of contact along the way. That said, the end result felt inevitable from the get go, but this one was far from certain for much of the race.

Charles Leclerc kept pressure on both Red Bull cars the entire evening, managing to claw back 2nd place on the very last lap to split Versappen and Perez, equally his best result of the season. Elsewhere, Ocon and Stroll had strong showings to round out the top 5, while the Mercs once again found themselves on the ropes due to some unlucky moments for both drivers, including a 5 second penalty for Russell which dropped him to 8th place, just behind Hamilton.

The glitz and glam of the strip proved to be a worthy addition to the calendar, even after some growing pains for the track saw the first practice session stopped after just 9 minutes. Cooler whether and no support series running on the surface led to some problem areas at the beginning of the race, but we hope to see this track continue to mature and lock in a place on the calendar moving ahead.

This coming weekend will see the final race of the season take place in Abu Dhabi, where our own Blake Buettner will be on hand to see the race live, so keep an eye out for a special episode to close out the series.