F1 Las Vegas GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Live AppleTV Race Audio
After a difficult Friday with FP1 being called off after eight minutes due to a dislodged water value cover that caused damage to Carlos Sainz's Ferrari and Esteban Ocon's Alpine, and then FP2 being run in front of empty grandstands, F1 enjoyed a far more positive Saturday.
Charles Leclerc secured pole position with Max Verstappen set to line up in second after Sainz was hit with a 10-place penalty - this coming after Ferrari replaced his battery as part of the repair work needed following his early-event incident.
So, that was the Las Vegas GP. Plenty of pick through and digest, but we don't have too long to do it because the 2023 F1 finale is next weekend. We'll be back for the Abu Dhabi GP with opening practice on Friday. Until then, go well and enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
Verstappen on his 53rd F1 career win: "It was a tough one. I tried to go for it at the start. We both braked late and I ran out of grip and went wide so the stewards gave me a penalty for that. So I had to pass quite a few cars and then the safety car came out.
"Even with the DRS here it was very powerful so when you took the lead, if the car behind stayed in DRS it had the opportunity to come back at you. That created a lot of good racing here today so it was a lot of fun."
Leclerc on his second place: "What a race, I enjoyed it so much but I am disappointed to finish second, the best we could do. At the start it was very tricky because I think Max lost the grip and broke me into this inside. We passed him back and were really strong.
"We got unlucky with the safety car. We didn't pit as we didn't know what the others will do, so we went for track position and keeping first place but it was difficult with the older tyres."
Perez on not being able to defend against Leclerc: "I overtook Charles but I couldn't pull away from him because I was carrying too much front wing in my car. So my straightline speed was a little bit down and I couldn't pull away."
Perez on his very hectic race: "It was a really difficult [start] with a broken front wing so we basically went to the back of the grid. But we picked them off one by one, we had really strong pace on the first stint to get back into contention and then the safety car brought us into the race [at the front]."
Perez's overalls, all red for a Vegas special, make this a really weird visual. Two reds suits separated by Verstappen's all-white one. They are being driven the podium, which appears to be halfway around the track.
The podium trio climb into a Rolls Royce which has become an impromptu cooldown room. Good thing they are all friendly after this race as this would've been awkward.
Verstappen gives a rendition of Viva Las Vegas over team radio in celebration before jumping out of the car and into the arms of his Red Bull crew. See, he does like Vegas after all!
Verstappen wins and Leclerc takes second from Perez! What a finish! Russell finishes fourth on the road but drops to eighth with his five-second penalty.
Justin Bieber is ready with the chequered flag on the final lap. Verstappen is dropping back to give the slipstream to Perez to defend against Leclerc.
Piastri makes his move as Gasly's miserable second half of the race continues. P10 for the McLaren driver now. Alonso is five-seconds up the road, so this may be as good as it gets.
Having only recently stopped, Piastri sets a new fastest lap of the race with a 1m35.490s. He's currently P11 but is closing quickly on Gasly to reach the all-important top 10.
A very simple move in the end for Hamilton. With DRS, he slides down the inside of Alonso at the end of The Strip. P8 now but that could become P7 after Russell's penalty is applied.
Hamilton makes a stunning move on Gasy through the final corner at close to 200mph. After lapping in the top five not too long ago, Gasly is falling back at a rate of knots.
Verstappen is marching towards victory as he sets another fastest lap to push his lead to 3.8s over Perez. Leclerc is 1.1s behind the Mexican and has five laps to try to attack back.
Verstappen's lead is up to 1.6s, as he is told to look after his front-right tyre by Red Bull, while Leclerc is keeping Perez at bay despite having no DRS to defend with.
Another fastest lap from Verstappen but Leclerc is just keeping in DRS range. Red Bull tell their lead driver he's going to have to work hard to break the tow.
McLaren have provided an update on Norris following his second lap crash.
"Following Lando’s incident earlier, he was transferred to the circuit Medical Centre and has now been taken to University Medical Center for further precautionary investigations."
What a move by Verstappen to take the lead! At Turn 14 he uses DRS to pull ahead up the inside of Leclerc and nails his braking to hold off the Ferrari fighting back on the outside.
