By Rory Carroll
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) -Drivers said the gamble Formula One took when it rolled the dice on the Las Vegas Grand Prix is paying off but track conditions and the race’s placement on the calendar need improvement.
“I really enjoy this race, it’s one of my favorites,” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said after finishing sixth at the glitzy night race down the famed Las Vegas Strip.
“It’s a good track to overtake, which is quite rare for city tracks, and I enjoy that.”
Veteran driver Fernando Alonso called the third edition of the high-speed competition “fun,” but said improvements were needed.
“The type of asphalt is not to Formula One standard, to be honest,” he said.
“It is too slippery, we cannot put the tires in temperature and there is no grip. And it’s extremely bumpy to the limit of being safe to race. I think we need to talk with the FIA about whether this is acceptable or not.”
Alonso, who finished in 13th for Aston Martin, said the race’s place on the calendar – coming two weeks after Sao Paulo and just a week before the Qatar Grand Prix – was far from ideal.
“It is difficult for us to come here with the time difference and how far it is from Europe and with Brazil two weeks ago,” he said.
“We go to Qatar now straight and it’s a 17-hour plane ride and a 13-hour time difference. I don’t think any other sport in the world will accept that.”
Williams’ Carlos Sainz, whose car suffered significant damage from a loose manhole cover in the first practice for the race three years ago, said track conditions had improved but wanted to see it immediately follow Sao Paulo.
“For me it should be a back-to-back with Brazil so at least you don’t have to go back to Europe, adapt to Europe, and then come back here,” he said, adding that drivers had expressed their dissatisfaction with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
“You could just fly straight up to Vegas, have a week in between, and then have the double header in the Middle East to end the season.
“What are the reasons we can’t do that with the calendar? I don’t know.”
Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies was less critical of the conditions after Max Verstappen stormed to victory for the second time in the three runnings of the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday.
“Every race in Vegas has been better than the previous one,” he said.
“And it feels like Formula One fell in love with Vegas this year. You can feel it with a lot more fans around the track and a lot more atmosphere in the paddock.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Las Vegas; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
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