LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix has crowned a new champion.
On Saturday night, it was Oracle Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen who came in first. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was able to hold on to second place while Oracle Red Bull's Sergio Perez came in third.
"We go straight to the nightclub," Verstappen questioned while laughing after the race.
"Viva Laaaas Vegas!" sings Max Verstappen in his Elvis-themed race suit on the radio 😂#LasVegasGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/7axGVFiK8c
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 19, 2023
It was a fierce battle between the three drivers who traded places back and forth several times through the later laps of the race. Verstappen said it was definitely tough.
"There was a lot going on in the race. I had to pass a few cars to move up to get into the battle with them. Even if you took the lead, you would still have an opportunity to come back," Verstappen said. "You could really push on the tires. It was a lot of fun. Luckily, we could still win the race. It was a great crowd. I hope everyone enjoyed it because we definitely did. I'm already excited to come back here next year and I hope to do something similar."
Leclerc came in second and said while he's disappointed he couldn't pull out a win, it was still a great battle.
"What a race. That's the best we could do and I thought we were really strong overall. We went for position to keep first and that was difficult with the older tires on the end but we had a lot of fight," Leclerc said. "I think there was no better race for a first race in Las Vegas. The energy around the city is incredible and I really enjoyed it today. I think we shall have more races like that where the racing is like that in the future."
Perez said he thought there was a chance for 1-2 finish for Red Bull at one point.
"I overtook Charles but I couldn't put it away from him. I had too much wind in my car and it slowed me down," Perez said. "It was not easy to basically pull away from the people behind you. Being the lead car made life a little bit harder out there but I think it did deliver."
The victory is Verstappen's 18th of the season and his sixth in a row. This season, he already broke a record that he set in 2022 for the most victories in a single season. The 26-year-old has also broken former Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher's win percentage record this season. Schumacher's record was set in 2004.
