Leclerc Disagrees With Verstappen And Other Critics Of Las Vegas Grand Prix

Friday, 17 November 2023 at 01:00

Updated at Friday, 17 November 2023 at 13:43

Scuderia Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc defended the huge show associated with the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Multiple drivers, including Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll, said they did not like the Las Vegas Grand Prix opening ceremony and would rather focus on the racing part of the weekend.

While Stroll said he is not a fan of that and did not sign up for something like this, Verstappen was a bit more straightforward and said he felt he looked like a clown during the opening ceremony.

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While he did not say he particularly enjoyed the show, Charles Leclerc said he thinks it suits the vibe of the whole weekend, and there is no better place in the F1 calendar to do it. He told the media:

"It's a lot, but I think if you don't do that here, you don't do that anywhere. I mean, what's most important to me is that the DNA of the sport remains the same."

The Monegasque driver raised a valid point saying that the show might attract a lot of new fans which otherwise would not come across Formula One.

"However, we need to also take opportunities of these kinds of events in such incredible cities, and make something around it that will maybe attract people that are not interested in racing at first, but then once they get the see the cars in real life then they get interested in racing."

Formula One grew rapidly as a result of its promotional activities in recent years. One of the main driving powers of the growth has been tapping into the American market, which was not too familiar with this sport.

F1 had three races in the United States during the 2023 season, and it is through shows like in Miami, and Las Vegas that promoters try to reach new audiences that could potentially stay with F1. Leclerc concluded: