Hamilton Disagrees With Negative Narrative Around Las Vegas Grand Prix

Wednesday, 22 November 2023 at 02:00

Updated at Wednesday, 22 November 2023 at 09:11

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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton responded to the huge wave of criticism that preceded the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton had a very unlucky weekend at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. First, he did not make it out of Q2 during the Qualifying session, and then he fell victim to two incidents during the Grand Prix.

The first incident was in the turn one of the opening lap when Carlos Sainz hit him from the back. The second incident happened on lap 16 when he collided with Oscar Piastri in turn 14, which resulted in a puncture for the Mercedes driver.

In the end, the seven-time World Champion crossed the finish line in P7. Besides all the unfortunate circumstances, Hamilton rated Las Vegas as "one of the best races." He told the media:

"The race was great, it was one of the best races. So many people, all the media, everyone’s been so negative about this race and about the show and all that, [we needed] to just let it be and see how it [went]."

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One of the main critics of the Las Vegas Grand Prix has been the Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, who issued multiple negative statements ahead of the race. Hamilton thinks the race was even better than Baku.

"[It was a] great race, it was like Baku, but better. There’s been a lot of negativity about having three Grands Prix in the United States and people are talking about bringing back the old classic races from Europe."

While Verstappen and Fernando Alonso pointed out that F1 cars are much better suited for traditional European circuits like Spa or Monza, Hamilton thinks that Las Vegas Strip Circuit did not lag behind in racing spectacle.

"This has provided a better race than most of the tracks we go to. I think really hats off to the people that run the show and I can’t wait to come back and hopefully have a better race here next year."

There have been a few controversies throughout the weekend, but Hamilton concluded the event was all in all great and will be even better next year.

"Vegas put on a great event. Next year is going to be even better, now we’ve gone through it and there’ll be loads of learnings. I'm really grateful for Vegas for having us."