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The 2023 F1 Las Vegas GP ended with Max Verstappen clinching his 18th win of the season. After what has been a rather eventful race weekend, the race was brilliant with so many factors at play. It had a safety car, a virtual safety car, a battle for the win and everything good that one can hope for.
While the days leading to the race might have been a bit underwhelming, the action on track was certainly not. Verstappen won the race from Charles Leclerc who clinched P2 from Sergio Perez in a sensational last lap battle. Esteban Ocon was P4 in the race and shadowed in the end by Lance Stroll in P5.
In a race where we had interesting twists and turns throughout, what did we learn? Let's take a look.
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2023 F1 Las Vegas GP: What did we learn?
#1 Charles Leclerc wins the title in the right car
You couldn't help but feel sad for Charles Leclerc after the 2023 F1 Las Vegas GP. The driver gave his all and if not for the safety car he would have won as well. Having said that, there's one thing that Leclerc showed this weekend and that in the right car, he can take the fight to Max Verstappen and beat him as well.
Both Verstappen and Leclerc share great admiration for each other and it shows as well. These two elites engaged in a title battle is something that every fan would be hoping to see soon.
#2 Sergio Perez has lost a position twice on the last lap in two races
It looked great for Sergio Perez at the safety car restart. He had Leclerc in his sights and Verstappen in traffic. He had fresh tires while the Ferrari's tires were 5 laps older.
It seemed to get better when he got the lead while the Dutch was still making his way through the field. The fact that he would end the race in P3 is shocking. More importantly, it's the lasting image you take from a race. This is now 2 races in a row where Sergio has been outfoxed by a driver. This doesn't look good, does it?
#3 Alpine's pit call to Esteban Ocon made zero sense
Esteban Ocon's drive from P16 to P4 did not get the kind of credit it deserved in the end but one thing that confused everyone was the Alpine team radio. Ocon was substantially faster than his teammate Pierre Gasly and it was evident from the start of the race.
When he closed and was about to overtake it didn't make sense for Alpine to butt in with the team radio ordering him to hold station. The fact that Ocon overruled the call was interesting but Alpine making such a call was just strange.
#4 George Russell blew a podium with his mistake
George Russell will be kicking himself after the 2023 F1 Las Vegas GP primarily because of the contact he made with Max Verstappen. Maybe he didn't see the Red Bull driver but that cost him dearly.
This has been a theme of Russell's season though, too many mistakes and this time around it cost him a podium.
#5 The F1 Las Vegas GP on Sunday was a saving grace
In all fairness, the weekend has been horrible for the organizers. Be it the delayed practice sessions, the class action lawsuit, or even Max Verstappen being very critical of the F1 Las Vegas GP event.
There's been far too much negativity around the event and the organisers have done their bit to make it worse. They all did however need a strong race to have some positive lasting impact. The 2023 F1 Las Vegas GP has proved to be a saving grace for the organizers and they need to build on this to have a better product in the future (and that includes the sideshow).
