Red Bull
As usual in Red Bull, it’s a tale of two weekends for both drivers. Max Verstappen, chasing a fifth world championship and currently in pursuit of the two McLarens, could not have asked for a better weekend. For Yuki Tsunoda, however, it was quite subpar, as it has been for most of this season. Verstappen qualified second behind Norris, lining up next to him on the grid. He went on to finish comfortably ahead of Norris, and after enjoying podium celebrations with his race engineer, Norris and Russell, his initial gains on Norris and Piastri were made even bigger when the two McLarens were disqualified. This left him level on 366 points with Piastri and 24 points behind championship leader Norris. For Tsunoda, the weekend got off to a painful start with a lacklustre qualifying session where he qualified in 19th place. Post-qualifying, Laurent Mekies apologised to Tsunoda, taking the blame for the disappointing performance and saying, “We made a big mistake with his tyre pressure, which meant that he was out there with a setting that basically gave him no chance of being competitive. So, we as a team apologise to him for that.” Tsunoda started from the pit lane after being fitted with a new power unit. He finished the race in 14th place, but was bumped up to 12th after McLaren’s double disqualification. Another pointless weekend for him. Considering both drivers, I think it’s fair to give them a B+, but Max alone would have got them an A.
Grade: B+
McLaren
It’s difficult to stay positive when you finish the weekend with no points and have been disqualified twice. During a crucial weekend when both drivers were hoping to lose as few points as possible to Verstappen, the worst possible outcome occurred. McLaren has struggled at the Las Vegas track since the Las Vegas GP began due to their lack of straight-line speed. However, things were looking relatively positive for Lando Norris when he took pole position in the rain-affected qualifying session on Saturday, ahead of Verstappen. Piastri qualified in fifth place and was looking to make inroads during the race. Norris finished second and Piastri fourth in the race, benefiting from Antonelli’s five-second penalty. However, their joy at their points haul was short-lived as both cars were referred to the stewards and investigated for skid block infringements. As the rear skid blocks measured below 9 mm, both cars were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix. This saw both Norris and Piastri lose considerable ground to Verstappen in the battle for the World Drivers’ Championship. Before meeting with the stewards, this could have been considered a solid B-, but all things considered, there is only one possible grade for the weekend.
Grade: F
Mercedes
The Silver Arrows left Las Vegas feeling happy. They secured second place in the constructors’ standings with a substantial points haul, benefiting greatly from McLaren’s double disqualification. George Russell qualified in fourth place on Saturday, putting himself in a good position to capitalise on Norris’s error on the first lap when he overtook Sainz. After 50 laps, Russell finished third, just behind Norris. Andrea Kimi Antonelli struggled in qualifying; a costly mistake on his final flying lap meant he qualified in 17th place, and he was eliminated in Q1 for the third time this season. However, his race performance was quite the opposite. Despite his 5-second penalty for a false start, Antonelli’s 48-lap stint on hard tyres kept Piastri and Leclerc behind him, enabling him to cross the line in fourth place. The penalty dropped him behind Piastri into P5, but post-race inspections leading to disqualifications for their rivals promoted him to P3 (and Russell to P2). They are now 40 points ahead of third place in the standings with two races to go, so I would like to commend them for their efforts.
Grade: A-
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc’s P9 in qualifying may have been overlooked by some, as all the headlines were taken by Lewis Hamilton’s P20. Both drivers were disappointed after the session, frustrated that they had struggled in the mixed conditions. Leclerc initially took sixth place in the race, behind Antonelli and Piastri, whom he could not overtake. Hamilton managed to climb up to tenth place. However, the extra points gained from McLaren’s misfortune, which bumped them up to P4 and P8, will certainly help in the chase for second place in the Constructors’ Championship, where they are currently in fourth position. The weekend was nothing special, but they somewhat made up for a lacklustre Saturday.
Grade: C
Haas
Neither Esteban Ocon nor Ollie Bearman made it out of Q2, achieving P13 and P14 respectively. However, Saturday’s result turned out to be a positive one, as they left Vegas having achieved P9 and P10. The three points earned by Haas made all the difference in the WCC, as they overtook Aston Martin in the standings. Although it was Bearman’s fourth consecutive points-scoring race, it was still an average weekend overall.
Grade: C+
Aston Martin
Aston Martin will want to forget about Las Vegas. For the third race in a row, they failed to score any points: Stroll was taken out at the first corner and Alonso finished just outside the points in eleventh place after the McLarens were disqualified. The team doesn’t have much to be happy about at the moment, so they will be hoping things turn around soon.
Grade: D
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls
In mixed conditions, the young drivers delivered a strong qualifying performance, with Liam Lawson qualifying in sixth place and Isack Hadjar in eighth place. They have the potential to score some important points in the race. Hadjar finished the Las Vegas GP weekend eight points ahead of Lawson, who finished a lap down after making contact with Piastri at the start and sustaining damage.
Grade: C+
Alpine
Alpine, who are bottom of the WCC standings, did not look any closer to scoring much-needed points in Las Vegas. Gasly performed well to get his car into the top 10 shootout, but Sunday’s race did not live up to the same standard. He finished 13th out of the 15 cars that finished, while Colapinto, who qualified in 15th place, also finished in 15th place.
Grade: D
Williams
At Williams, it seems as though neither driver can ever have a good weekend at the same time. This time, Alex Albon struggled, while Carlos Sainz performed well. Albon crashed into the barriers at the end of Q1, leaving him in 16th place. Sainz, on the other hand, secured third place for Williams, earning him a second-row start. Albon’s weekend went from bad to worse: he was reprimanded for infringing the starting procedure and then given a 5-second penalty for making contact with Hamilton. To make matters worse, he lost radio transmission and ultimately had to retire from the race. Although Sainz dropped back to finish seventh on the road from third on the grid, a top-five finish was still very welcome, especially as it confirmed their position as the best of the rest on the grid.
Grade: C+
Sauber
Similar to the Racing Bulls, Sauber had a mixed weekend. Hulkenberg just missed out on Q3, while Bortoletto was eliminated in Q1 in 18th place. Bortoletto’s disappointing weekend continued when he collided with Lance Stroll, ending both drivers’ races prematurely. Meanwhile, Hulkenberg scored four points for the team, leaving them just four points behind Aston Martin in the standings.
Grade: C
Featured Image Credit: Pirelli.com
Written by Leslie.
Edited by Jessica.
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