After years of anticipation about its race in Las Vegas, Formula One raced in Sin City over the weekend for the first time. Despite a rocky start, the event earned good reviews. After starting in second behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the inaugural event — his 18th victory this season and Red Bull’s 20th.
Here’s a look at the good, bad and ugly from F1’s showiest weekend.
THE GOOD
The racing was fantastic. Many feared the Las Vegas Grand Prix would be a dud because of extreme temperatures for racing —fortunately, it was anything but. The cold track provided just enough chaos to keep things interesting — Fernando Alonso lost grip into a 360 spin before the first corner — but it didn’t prevent cars from racing competitively.
The race featured more overtakes than just about every race this season. The track looks far better suited to wheel-to-wheel racing than its street-circuit sisters in Monaco, Singapore and Baku. That’s excellent news for longtime F1 fans, who will be able to enjoy races in Vegas for the next decade.