2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix

## Lap Leaders

The **2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix** (officially known as the **Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023**) was the twenty-first race of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at Las Vegas Strip Circuit on the weekend of November 16 to November 18, 2023.

## Background

### Championship standings before the race

Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen (having secured the title at the Qatar Grand Prix) leads the World Drivers' Championship with 524 points, 266 points from his teammate Sergio Pérez, second, and 298 from Lewis Hamilton in third. Red Bull Racing, with 782 points, lead the Constructors' Championship (having secured the title at the Japanese Grand Prix) from Mercedes by 400 points and Ferrari by 420 points.

### Entrants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with the exception of Daniel Ricciardo, who replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri starting at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

### Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3 and C4 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.

## Qualifying

### Qualifying Report

Qualifying was held on November 18, 2023, at 00:00 local time (UTC−8).

## Race

### Race Report

The race was held on November 18, 2023, at 22:00 local time (UTC−8), and was run for 50 laps.

Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen were on the front row of the grid. In the opening turn of the race, Verstappen forced Leclerc off the track, receiving a five-second penalty for the move. Lando Norris crashed out on the third lap of the race, bringing out a safety car. Norris went to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada for precautionary checks and was discharged the same day. Leclerc passed Verstappen on track before Verstappen had even pitted and served the penalty. Though Leclerc extended his first tyre stint, he ultimately pit just a few laps before a safety car came out due to an incident between George Russell and Verstappen that left debris on the track. The safety car allowed the Red Bulls and much of the rest of the grid to pit without losing significant time, reducing Leclerc's advantage.

The pair of Verstappen and Leclerc fought for the lead throughout the race along with Sergio Pérez. However, by the end of the race, Verstappen had a small but comfortable lead with Leclerc and Pérez fighting over second. Leclerc passed Pérez on the final lap to secure second, with Pérez rounding out the podium.

The third-place podium handed Pérez second in the Driver's Championship, giving Red Bull Racing their first ever 1–2 in the Drivers' Championship. By finishing seventh, Lewis Hamilton also mathematically secured third place in the Drivers' Championship, the first time in his career he finished a season in that position. Fellow Mercedes driver George Russell also mathematically secured his position in the Drivers' Championship at eighth, the lowest position for a Mercedes driver since 2012.

## Notes

1. ↑ Carlos Sainz received a ten-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of energy store elements.
2. ↑ Lance Stroll received a five-place grid penalty for overtaking under yellow flags in the third practice session.
3. ↑ George Russell finished fourth, but he received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Max Verstappen.
4. ↑ Includes one point for fastest lap.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hülkenberg were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Already have won the 2023 World Championship.