'Anticipating That It Will Be Difficult': Vasseur Shares Las Vegas Grand Prix Expectations

F1
Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 11:00
vasseur fred ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari F1 team principal Frederic Vasseur shared his expectations from the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.
The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix is the penultimate race of the 2023 season. On one hand, some excitement about the race might be lost as the fight for the first place in the Championship has been decided long ago.
On the other hand, the battles between Mercedes and Ferrari for the second position and between Aston Martin and McLaren for the fourth position could not be much closer.
The team principal of Ferrari, Frederic Vasseur, expects a difficult race this week in Las Vegas. As reported by RacingNews365, he said:
"Sure, Vegas will be difficult, but I think everybody is anticipating that it will be difficult. It will be more than a night race. It could be... I don't know what."
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff suggested his team looks forward to the Las Vegas Grand Prix despite multiple unknowns. Vasseur would like to use unexpected conditions as an advantage to come back at Mercedes:
"Conditions will be very, very cold, but it's a new track with a kind of special layout. We have to take it as an opportunity to come back at Mercedes [in the Constructors' Championship]"
Ferrari performance engineer Jock Clear stated pretty confidently that the Las Vegas Strip Circuit's low-downforce characteristics should suit the Italian team.
Ferrari team principal avoided jumping the gun with such statements. On whether he had some doubts about the smooth running of the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Vasseur responded:
"We have to trust them. If you have a look at Miami last year, it went pretty well, at least on the racing side. The track was well prepared, and it will be the same with Vegas."