Rosberg Explains Why Many F1 Drivers Did Not Like Las Vegas Grand Prix Week

Wednesday, 22 November 2023 at 22:00

Formula One World Champion Nico Rosberg explained why F1 drivers looked tired and annoyed during the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The race at Las Vegas Strip Circuit received mixed reactions from F1 drivers and their team principals. One of the biggest critics of the weekend was Max Verstappen, who said the weekend has almost nothing to do with racing.

Red Bull Racing advisory Helmut Marko said that Verstappen could have been perhaps more diplomatic. Still, he explained the week had been really exhausting for the Dutchman because of all the marketing responsibilities.

In his most recent interview with the Daily Mail, F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg explained how the job of an F1 driver actually looks:

"Driving the race car is actually like the smallest part of what we do and especially all the media work and all the work with the sponsors."

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As Marko also explained in his statement, most of the team's sponsors come from America; therefore, the Las Vegas weekend has been perhaps the busiest for the drivers. Rosberg continued:

"In Vegas, there’s so much sponsor work that a driver needs to do, going from one dinner appearance to the next, one activation to the next."

The combination of too many responsibilities outside of driving and the late-night session times is what probably prompted multiple drivers to criticize the event. The World Champion explained drivers sometimes feel like it might influence their performance.

"And we drivers, that’s like the part that we least like about our job. We always want to try and minimize that because it also can negatively impact our performance on the racetrack if we get to the actual driving and are tired or something, or not concentrated."

On the other hand, being an F1 driver is one of the best-paid jobs and it is all thanks to all the sponsors that are willing to pay the teams and fans that follow the sport. Rosberg concluded:

"But it’s part of the game, isn’t it? And we earn a great amount of money as well. And it’s thanks to the sponsors, thanks to the fans. So we just always have to accept that we need to dedicate some time to give back to sponsors and give back to fans because they’re the ones who pay our salaries."