拉斯维加斯-从抵达罪恶之城的那一刻起，马克斯·维斯塔潘就讨厌拉斯维加斯大奖赛的一切。一级方程式赛车的三届世界冠军发现过度和富裕，优先于实际比赛。
在获得本赛季的第18场胜利后，他改变了态度。
“拉斯维加斯万岁!拉斯维加斯万岁!”桑·韦尔斯塔彭穿过飘扬的方格旗贾斯汀·比伯。Verstappen抓住每一个机会抨击周六晚上的奇观，但穿着猫王启发的消防服比赛，并在著名的拉斯维加斯大道上获胜。
“我希望每个人都喜欢，我们确实喜欢。很高兴明年能回到这里，尝试做类似的事情，”Verstappen说，他已经明显改变了他在拉斯维加斯为期一周的立场。
“这是一场有趣的比赛。我很喜欢，”他承认道。
Verstappen在开始时超过了查尔斯·勒克莱尔，然后在还剩13圈时克服了一个点球再次超过了莱克勒克，继续他长达一个赛季的统治地位。Verstappen、莱克勒克和塞尔吉奥·佩雷斯被一辆豪华轿车带到了位于Bellagio附近的一个舞台——“我们直接去了夜总会，”Verstappen告诉他的领奖台同伴——但他们却被邀请观看了赌场著名的喷泉表演。
贝拉焦喷泉已经关闭了整整一周，并作为胜利庆祝的一部分重新启动。当他们站着聊天时，没有一个参与者显得有丝毫兴趣。在收到他们的奖杯后，他们在长街上观看了新年夜风格的烟火表演。
然后，马丁·盖瑞斯开始播放一段节奏强烈的DJ音乐，来娱乐那些打开钱包观看本赛季最昂贵的观众比赛的人。名人在网格上跳舞，每个人似乎都对这场表演感到兴奋。出席的明星包括布拉德·皮特、蕾哈娜、尤塞恩·博尔特和沙奎尔·奥尼尔，F1表示，周末吸引了超过31.5万名观众，估计对拉斯维加斯的经济影响为12亿美元。
“我真的很喜欢它，我特别高兴我们在一个高音符中结束了周末，因为看到这项我如此热爱的运动在周四开始时如此错误，这让我很受伤，”莱克勒克说。“事实上，我们有一场精彩的比赛，这让一切都变得更好。”
这场比赛是本赛季在美国的第三站，比任何其他国家都多，由F1和所有者自由媒体推广。但是这个活动受到了严厉的批评——尤其是被Verstappen批评——因为它强调要成为一场霓虹盛宴。
门票很贵，沿着著名地带的酒店提高了价格，本赛季第21场比赛的体育元素被名人、音乐表演和无数猫王模仿者漫游围场的一切所掩盖，其中包括前F1冠军雅克·维伦纽夫本周早些时候举行婚礼的婚礼教堂。
自由预计将花费5亿美元在它自己推广的第一场大奖赛上，但在周六晚上的比赛之前，围场猜测自由已经远远超出了预算。在周四晚上的第一场练习赛进行到9分钟时，整个活动几乎崩溃，小卡洛斯·赛恩斯在赛道上碾过一个排水阀盖，严重损坏了他的法拉利，F1不得不关闭3.85英里(6.2公里)的赛道进行检查。
在目睹了仅仅九分钟的赛道活动后，粉丝们被迫于周五凌晨1:30离开。第二次练习从凌晨2:30开始，一直持续到凌晨4点，F1没有道歉，而是向任何只购买了周四入场券的持票者提供了200美元的LVGP商品商店积分。周五，针对拉斯维加斯大奖赛提起了集体诉讼。
周六晚上的比赛对F1来说至关重要，尽管这是Verstappen连续第六次获胜，但这是本赛季最激烈的比赛之一。此外，一条因其布局而被比作“飞猪”的赛道因其生动性而受到称赞。
七届F1冠军刘易斯·汉密尔顿为梅赛德斯获得第七名，他说这条赛道“比我们去的大多数赛道都提供了更好的比赛。”
威廉姆斯车队的洛根·萨金特(Logan Sargeant)是F1中唯一的美国车手，他说:“我不认为音乐在围场里整个周末都没有停止过。
莱克勒克和队友赛恩斯在周五以1-2的成绩晋级，但赛恩斯在起跑线上被罚了10个位置，因为法拉利因为撞到下水道盖子而被迫更换赛车。这使得Verstappen一开始就被推到了第二位，他立即扑了过去。
荷兰人迫使莱克勒克偏离轨道取得领先，尽管莱克勒克要求迫使韦尔斯塔彭回到位置上，但韦尔斯塔彭只获得了五秒钟的点球。他在后来的一次进站中使用了它，但他的红牛非常强劲，他在整场比赛中都保持着竞争。
在还剩17圈的时候，莱克勒克超过了佩雷兹，然后三圈之后，韦尔斯塔彭超过了他的队友，获得了第二名。然后，他和佩雷斯合作创造了一个拖车，让维尔斯塔彭在还剩13圈的时候赶上莱克勒克赢得胜利。
佩雷斯已经超过莱克勒克获得第二名，但莱克勒克在比赛结束时夺回了第二名，从而否定了红牛本赛季第七次以1-2结束比赛。
“我太想赢了，”莱克勒克说。“我非常喜欢它。打架多的第二名。没有比在拉斯维加斯的第一场比赛更好的比赛了。”
随着汉密尔顿获得第七名，佩雷斯在赛季车手积分榜上锁定了第二名。
莱克勒克站帮助法拉利将与梅赛德斯的差距缩小到4分，在下周阿布扎比举行的构造者锦标赛中获得第二名。
迈凯轮车队的兰多·诺里斯卷入了一场早期事故，出于预防的原因被送往当地医院。烟火表演后不久，他就被释放了。
F1 exceeds Las Vegas expectations as Verstappen wins one of the most competitive races of the season
Shaquille O'Neal attends the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix auto race, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS --Max Verstappen hated everything about the Las Vegas Grand Prix from the moment he arrived in Sin City. Formula One's three-time reigning world champion found the excess and opulence over-the-top and prioritized over the actual racing.
He changed his tune — literally — following his 18th win of the season.
“Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas!” sang Verstappen as he crossed under the checkered flag waved byJustin Bieber. Verstappen had slammed Saturday night's spectacle at every chance, yet raced in an Elvis-inspired firesuit and took the victory on the famed Las Vegas Strip.
“I hope everyone enjoyed it, we definitely did. Excited to come back here next year and try to do something similar,” said Verstappen, who had markedly reversed his weeklong position on the Las Vegas spectacle.
“It was a fun race. I enjoyed it,” he conceded.
Verstappen passed Charles Leclerc at the start then overcame a penalty to pass Leclerc once more with 13 laps remaining to continue his season-long dominance. Verstappen, Leclerc and Sergio Perez were driven in a limousine to a stage located near the Bellagio — "we go straight to the nightclub,” Verstappen told his fellow podium finishers — but they were instead treated to the casino's famed fountain show.
The Bellagio fountains had been turned off all week and restarted as part of the victory celebration. None of the participants seemed remotely interested as they stood chatting. After receiving their trophies, they were treated to a New Year’s Eve-style fireworks show over the Strip.
Martin Garrix then launched into a throbbing DJ set to entertain those who opened their wallets for the most expensive spectator race of the season. Celebrities danced along on the grid and everyone seemed thrilled with the show. The stars in attendance included Brad Pitt, Rihanna, Usain Bolt and Shaquille O’Neal as F1 said it drew more than 315,000 spectators over the weekend and estimated an economic impact of $1.2 billion to Las Vegas.
“I really enjoyed it and I am especially happy that we finished the weekend on a high note because it was hurting me to see the sport that I love so much starting so wrong on Thursday,” said Leclerc. “The fact that we had an amazing race makes it all better.”
The race was the third stop this season in the United States, more than any other country, and was promoted by F1 and owner Liberty Media. But the event has been lambasted — especially by Verstappen — for its emphasis on becoming a neon extravaganza.
Tickets were expensive, hotels along the famed Strip hiked their prices, and the sporting element of the 21st race of the season was overshadowed by everything from celebrities, musical acts and a myriad of Elvis impersonators roaming the paddock that included a wedding chapel where former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve was married earlier in the week.
Liberty expected to spend $500 million on the first grand prix it self-promoted, but paddock speculation before Saturday night's race was that Liberty had gone well over budget. The entire event nearly imploded nine minutes into the first practice session on Thursday night when Carlos Sainz Jr. ran over a water drain valve cover on the track that badly damaged his Ferrari and F1 had to close the 3.85-mile (6.2-kilometer) circuit for inspection.
Fans were forced to leave at 1:30 a.m. Friday morning after witnessing just nine minutes of track activity. The second practice started at 2:30 a.m. and ran until 4 a.m., and instead of an apology, F1 simply offered $200 credits to the LVGP merchandise store to any ticket holders who had only purchased Thursday access. A class-action lawsuit was filed Friday against the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
It made it critical for F1 to deliver a good race Saturday night and, even though it was Verstappen's sixth consecutive victory, it was one of the most spirited events of the season. Additionally, a track that had been likened to a “flying pig” because of its layout was praised for its raciness.
Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, who finished seventh for Mercedes, said the circuit “provided a better race than most of the tracks we go to.”
“I don't think the music stopped this entire weekend in the paddock,” said Logan Sargeant of Williams, the only American driver in F1.
Leclerc and teammate Sainz had qualified 1-2 on Friday but Sainz was handed a 10-place penalty on the starting grid because Ferrari was forced to change his car due to the damage from hitting the drain cover. That pushed Verstappen up to second for the start and he immediately pounced.
The Dutchman forced Leclerc off track to take the lead, and although Leclerc demanded that Verstappen be forced to give the position back, Verstappen was only handed a five-second penalty. He served it during a later pit stop, but his Red Bull is so strong, he remained in contention the entire race.
Leclerc passed Perez for the lead with 17 laps remaining, and then three laps later Verstappen passed his teammate to take second. He and Perez then worked to create a tow that allowed Verstappen to catch Leclerc for the win with 13 laps remaining.
Perez had worked his way past Leclerc for second but Leclerc grabbed it back at the finish to deny Red Bull its seventh 1-2 finish of the season.
“I wanted that win so bad," Leclerc said. “I enjoyed it so much. Second place with a lot of fights. There is no better race for the first race in Vegas."
With Hamilton finishing seventh, Perez locked up second to Verstappen in the season driver standings.
The Leclerc finish helped Ferrari cut its deficit to Mercedes to four points for second in the constructor championship heading into next week's finale at Abu Dhabi.
Lando Norris of McLaren was involved in an early accident and taken to a local hospital for precautionary reasons. He was released shortly after the fireworks show.
