In the round-up: Ferrari closed to within four points of Mercedes in the constructors championship in Las Vegas but Carlos Sainz Jnr says their result should have been even better.
In brief
We should have been in the fight – Sainz
Sainz should have started the Las Vegas Grand Prix from the front row of the grid alongside his pole-winning team mate Charles Leclerc. However a 10-place grid penalty dropped the second Ferrari to 12th.
Ferrari incurred the penalty when they replaced the energy store on Sainz’s car, a step they had to take when his power unit was wrecked by his collision with a loose water valve cover on Thursday. The stewards turned down the team’s request not to apply the penalty, saying they did not have the power to do so.
Sainz was infuriated by the decision, and said it detracted from the fight between the two teams. “You saw what happened up front and the pace Charles had,” he said. “With two Ferraris up there. I think we would have had a very good, fun race for the podium or for the win.
“So we missed out a bit on that. Although it was a good day for a team in terms of the constructors, it should have been even better.”
Practice tyre runs key to Las Vegas success – Krack
Teams who used their hard tyres early in practice at the Las Vegas Grand Prix put themselves at a disadvantage, says Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack. While most teams had two fresh sets for the race, others ran the hard tyres in practice, which meant they couldn’t run an optimal strategy.
“The key today was to have a good understanding of the tyres and the strategy,” said Krack. “It was always the plan to do them something, what we did there. And obviously there was a little bit of luck involved in the beginning, to make a lot of positions.
“But I think all in all, the key today when you look at who has how many hards left and we didn’t, I think you see the ranking that the ones that did not – I think with the exception of Esteban – I think everybody who did not have two went out of the points.”
Vesti returns for Mercedes
Mercedes junior driver Frederik Vesti will reappear for the team this weekend in first practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Formula 2 driver, who arrives at Yas Marina with a slim chance of beating Theo Pourchaire to the title, will replace Lewis Hamilton for the opening practice session.
He previously took over George Russell’s car at the Mexican Grand Prix and will satisfy Mercedes’ obligation to run junior drivers in two practice sessions under the regulations. He will also appear for the team in the post-race Young Drivers’ Test a week from today.
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🚨 Announcement 🚨
MP will join the F4 UAE Trophy round in Abu Dhabi this weekend, with Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi! #F4UAE #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/8NSx5scdqA
— MP Motorsport (@OfficialMPteam) November 20, 2023
After #LasVegasGP difficult to know which time zoom I’m in right now 🤯
— 周冠宇 | Zhou Guanyu 🇨🇳 (@ZhouGuanyu24) November 20, 2023
I was in Vegas for work during F1. Other than the FP1 debacle, it all seemed to go quite well. I spoke with a few fans in passing. They seemed to be quite happy with the Vegas experience. The lack of commute to the track and ample amenities was a recurring theme 🧵
— Ryan Lewis (@RyanLewisRacing) November 20, 2023
Buemi, Hartley and now De Vries. Red Bull’s second F1 team is a brilliant training ground for future Toyota WEC drivers.#F1 #WEC
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) November 20, 2023
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