In the round-up: Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack believes the criticism F1 faced over the disrupted start to its Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend was excessive.
In brief
Reaction to Vegas disruption “too extreme” – Krack
The start of practice at the new Las Vegas Strip Circuit was badly disrupted after a water valve cover came loose and damaged cars belonging to Ferrari and Alpine. When practice finally resumed, well behind schedule, fans had been cleared from the grandstands. Ferrari lost their front row lock-out due to a penalty Sainz received as a result of the damage incurred in his incident.
However speaking after the race Krack said that disruption should be weighed up in light of the fact Formula 1 had two trouble-free days of running from there on, including a lively race.
“We had the unfortunate situation on Friday, obviously. I think the reactions went a bit too extreme because these things can happen, these things have also happened in other places.
“I think all in all, when we look back, it was a great event. It was different and we knew when we came here that it was different. We know that racing in the US is a little bit different than racing in Europe. But I think we have to be open and learn how events are run in the US.”
Bearman and Fittipaldi to test for Haas in Abu Dhabi
Haas will run their reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi in Formula 1’s post-season tyre test in Abu Dhabi, and have chosen Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman for the young driver test sessions.Fittipaldi is in his fifth year as part of Haas’ team and last drove for them in a tyre test at Silverstone in July.
Bearman first drove for Haas in first practice at the Mexican Grand Prix. He will do the same in the opening session at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he will also contest the supporting Formula 2 races.
Following his F1 test appearance at Yas Marina Circuit, Bearman is expected to take part in the subsequent F2 test, as Ferrari have already confirmed he will stay in the category next year.
Las Vegas GP watched by 1.3m in US
Formula 1’s US television broadcaster ESPN announced the Las Vegas Grand Prix attracted the sixth-largest audience for an F1 race this season, despite its 1am starting time for viewers on the country’s eastern coast.
ESPN reported 1.3 million viewers watched its live broadcast of the first race at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Its most-watched race this year is the Miami Grand Prix, seen by 1.96 million, which had a more favourable starting time of 3:30pm for east coast viewers.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
McLaren (Norris) crash at Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 (YouTube)
'Aircraft owned by Lawrence Stroll, the billionaire owner of the Aston Martin Formula One team, recorded a combined 1,512 flights since the start of 2022. His private aircraft, including two helicopters, also made the most journeys of 15 minutes or less.'
CBS developing workplace comedy with Haas Racing team principal Guenther Steiner (Deadline)
"The project, which does not yet have a writer attached, will be set in the world of sports with a 'Steineresque' boss at the head of the ensemble."
Rosberg tips Hamilton and Mercedes to challenge Red Bull for the F1 title in 2024 (Daily Mail)
'Very often drivers will be a bit critical when it's too much sponsor work and activation and entertainment and show. Vegas, of course, was one of the biggest shows of the year for F1. So that's why some drivers were critical initially.'
Extensive winter construction work at the Nurburgring (Nurburgring)
'In addition to the work on the asphalt, the Nürburgring is also continuing to focus on the digitization of the Nordschleife. While the first half of the Green Hell was prepared for the use of digital infrastructure last winter, it is now the turn of the remaining 12 kilometers - from the Breidscheid section in Adenau to the Galgenkopf.'
' In FR Americas, Hedge won 13 of 18 wheel-to-wheel races and finished on the podium in all but two races on his way to claiming the Championship with a 105-point lead. Hedge also ran in the Pro Class of the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship and was leading the championship before missing the sixth round due to a clash in scheduling with FR Americas, but currently sits second overall with one event remaining.'
New rF2 Online Experience now live in public build (Studio 397)
'Today, we’re shifting gears from our 'release candidate' phase to the much-anticipated full release of rFactor 2’s latest features.'
Guillermo goes full-on Formula 1 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix (Jimmy Kimmel Live via YouTube)
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Officially saying goodbye to Formula 2!…I won’t be racing this weekend in Abu Dhabi as I focus on my future in Formula E ⚡️
Through my F2 journey of 18 podiums and 4 wins, I got the chance to work with some of the best teams and people – I’m really grateful for everything that… pic.twitter.com/Ii0TePMa3G
— Jehan Daruvala (@DaruvalaJehan) November 21, 2023
Satellite photograph of the #LasVegasGP circuit taken at half past midnight last Friday morning.
At this time the second practice session should have been going on, but it had been postponed.
image © BlackSky, used with permission.#F1 #RaceFans pic.twitter.com/x2v9Kjs4Hy
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) November 21, 2023
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
@NoelyNoel doesn’t appreciate Kevin Magnussen telling his rivals to keep their opinions about the Las Vegas Grand Prix to themselves:
Sorry Kevin, the last thing I want is a grid full of tight-lipped robots who won’t speak out against anything for fear of being reprimanded by the people who pay their wages.
Whatever you might think of Seb, Lewis and the like, they’ve been able to use their platform and visibility to move their causes forward, and I commend them for that.
@NoelyNoel
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Clare Msj, Dane, Rachel and Richard!
Jay
22nd November 2023, 1:54
Lawrence Stroll climate change pioneer and champion!
KentWalker3
22nd November 2023, 2:41
As per the COTD, so many comments are assuming some sort of power conflict between the drivers and the teams. As if the drivers have to somehow stand up for their right to speak in view of the draconian powers of their corporate overseers. I think, in this case, that’s completely missing the point. I read it as Magnussen suggesting that the complainers end up portraying themselves (and by extension, all drivers’) as entitled brats.
As for the last bit about Vettel and Hamilton using their platform, are you really sure that’s such a great thing? Do we begin listening to Lebron James to form our opinions about the situation in the Middle East? Does Idris Elba have an opinion worth listening to when it comes to the ethics of AI? No… I’d suggest that we should talk to people who are qualified. Drivers are qualified to drive. I don’t care about Chase Carey’s idea of the perfect line through Eau Rouge, and I don’t care about Max Verstappen’s view of which races should be on the calendar. Everyone has an opinion. Intelligent people know when they’re qualified enough to present it. Magnussen seems to realize that……
AlanD
22nd November 2023, 12:05
Kent: As for the last bit about Vettel and Hamilton using their platform, are you really sure that’s such a great thing?
Yes, it is. No-one is forced to listen to them, but a lot do, and if they are raising awareness of important points, what is your proble with that. If they were spouting misinformation (like the celeb antivaxxers for instance who now think they are experts in immunology) or if they were self-appointed social media influencers selling ideas for sponsors I’d be less impressed, but they are not. They are doing something worthwhile, and they are not doing it for personal gain.
We are always saying that people with high profiles should be role models, and yet, when such people do worthy things, there are always others quick to jump on them and say they should stick to driving cars.
Aquila_GD
22nd November 2023, 3:09
Judging from the recent COTDs, seems Race Fans have a side in this debate for whether a driver should be so negative about a new race that was brought in to grow the sport to a new market even when all other drivers have said it was a bit too much.
No doubt that Max pre-race criticism contributing to the absolute excessive hammering the race directors received for the loose drain cover which happend in Baku this year and Monaco in previous years.
Avro Anson (@avroanson)
22nd November 2023, 4:54
I don’t understand why people keep saying that it’s happened before and therefore it’s OK.
Let’s take a hypothetical – let’s say a car hits a drain cover and the driver is killed. (Remember Sainz’s seat was wrecked in the latest incident). A coronial inquest takes place, and the promoter and certifying authority are hauled up before the judge. “Oh yes”, they say “it’s happened before in Baku and Monaco. So that makes it OK”.
What do you think the judge is going to say? In the real world, it would be held that this is a foreseeable and known hazard, with precedents. The fact that it was allowed to happen for a third time is no excuse, but is actually an aggravating factor. Off to jail with the lot of you!
Jere (@jerejj)
22nd November 2023, 6:30
@avroanson Indeed. A fatal outcome would be negligent homicide or manslaughter by definition if no preventative precautionary measures were taken beforehand to nullify any possibility.
notagrumpyfan
22nd November 2023, 7:25
I don’t recall anybody saying “it’s OK”.
I’ve seen some comments though saying that it has happened before, and there weren’t as many ‘hypothetical’ consequences in those instances.
AlanD
22nd November 2023, 12:16
This thread started with the comment “the absolute excessive hammering the race directors received for the loose drain cover which happend in Baku this year and Monaco in previous years.”
I don’t think it was in any sense an “absolute excessive” hammering, and the OP saying in that context that it has happened before is what I would interpet as them saying it is okay. The only reasons for mentioning that it has happened more than once before is to either say that it is absolutely unacceptable for it to keep happening when it is a known issue, or to say that these things happen, it is just a hazard that no-one can do anything about.
I am in the former camp. The first time it happened, everyone was shocked that the forces under a car could rip off a drain cover. After that, they’ve known what the problem is, they know the solution, and allowing it to keep happening is negligent and a disregard for safety procedures.
Jere (@jerejj)
22nd November 2023, 6:27
Nice satellite image, although even if FP2 were ongoing, the cars would’ve been unnoticeable from such high above anyway.
COTD couldn’t be more spot-on.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
22nd November 2023, 9:21
With the hype created ahead of the race and message that it would be so great, it will always be under higher scrutiny or comments if it doesn’t reach the advertised high. The reaction had to be expected but at the same time most recognise that they reached the right way and had a good weekend afterwards.
It’s a bit like movie you’ve been told is so great. You’ll watch it with a lot of anticipation and might be disappointed as it was not your absolute favourite as you were expecting. Still a good movie but disappointed nonetheless given the hype.
It’s funny as Las Vegas race actually benefited from fans not believing in the hype. Many comments after the race were like “we was better than expected”…
S
22nd November 2023, 10:28
There’s a valuable life lesson right there… Hype exists solely in the mind of the receiver.
If something doesn’t meet expectations, it was those expectations that were the problem – not the marketing.
osnola
23rd November 2023, 11:15
The race was great, the spectacle not so
Especially the drivers Introduction was embarrassing.
Popping up en going down before you could look at them. Only the Haas drivers received some more attention
Mayrton
22nd November 2023, 9:26
I think the underlying real topic to address here is the question whether the circusification of Liberty Media, in their pursuit to increase shareholder value, contributes to the sport or just to short term revenue for Liberty? Max Verstappen has express this asking out loud what kind of fans are attracted to the sport and in what way. Instead of educating the audience in what the sport means and make them enthusiast about what is needed (car development wise, team effort and athlete/driver wise) to excel in the sport, Liberty focus is on bringing in fans that come to have a drink with friend and listen to music/dj’s, see some celebrities and have an overall day out with a fairly large disregard for the main event (which as Max stated you can do anywhere in the world at any time and is non related to a sports event). That is a choice that is currently being made by Liberty. I could label it as not wanted but that is then just my personal opinion. I am in team Max on this topic, I am here for the sport and the emotions around the sport. The circus around it is totally irrelevant, totally. I do understand, similar to what Max stated, that the people present at a race like to have something to do, so some entertainment is nice but when I am not present at a race I really do not need to see any of that. I do not care what celebrity is in what pit box. I can see that in the post race show or whatever. I am worried about the trend from drs to sprint races to more street races etc. It is clear Liberty media regards F1 as an entertainment franchise (like a Disney would do) firstly and is not so occupied with the sporting elements. Sure a number of people won’t mind but I personally care about the legacy of the sport and the meaning of the sport which is stepped upon massively at the moment.
Tristan
22nd November 2023, 10:03
Paragraphs please! That’s near impossible to read. F1 have clearly set their course and will bring us without the interest in other endeavors along for the ride.
I think there’s huge opportunity for competition along the lines of what F1 used to be, but without the investment required to make that happen it’s a case of like it, or leave it.
Tristan
22nd November 2023, 10:10
I’d still like to know if there has ever been an F1 session in history where the all of the spectators have been kicked out, or if it’s going down in the history books? F1 as a whole are acting like this is all normal in the course of F1, but it was certainly an extraordinary failure on multiple fronts.
Mark Tucker
22nd November 2023, 13:29
Isnt it funny? All the people telling you not to criticise the event and that the event was amazing were all people who were being paid to be there as part of their jobs…
Dale
22nd November 2023, 18:10
Perhaps Mike Krack can remind us where else the fans have filed a lawsuit against the promoter …
AlanD
22nd November 2023, 22:40
In other news, the Aston Martin team principal thinks “Bottass isn’t the only one who can do a calendar….”