There has never been a Formula 1 race like the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The unusual late-night schedules, the heavy media commitments, and the ostentatious nature of racing on the Strip placed an additional strain on the drivers and teams during the spectacle in the center of the casino paradise. The BWT Alpine F1 Team had to put in extra effort to prepare for the unusual Saturday night race, which included greyscale casino towers and blackout curtains.
To be really honest, I received an invitation from Alpine to join their Formula One team and stay at the Venetian Resort with them at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The race week officially began on Wednesday, when a star-studded opening ceremony reminiscent of a Super Bowl halftime extravaganza took place. Two hours prior, a stunt featuring Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon racing team-branded gondolas in the indoor canals of the Venetian was captured on camera for social media and television. The fact that this wasn’t your typical Formula 1 weekend was unavoidable.
As it turned out, even though it was just 5:00 p.m. local time, it was early in the day for the drivers. The half-billion dollar event’s main attraction, the sporting competition, couldn’t be overshadowed by Vegas’ extravagance and promotional activities. “You need to be on top of your game every single time you jump in the car,” Gasly told me. Regardless of the local time, Gasly and Ocon collaborated with their trainers to ensure they were well-rested and at the top of their cognitive game for the track practices.
Usually, Formula One races begin around 3:00 p.m. But in Vegas, the lights went out at 10:00 p.m. with neon signs and floodlights. All Formula One drivers needed to adjust to a time zone change as though they were competing in Japan instead of Nevada. The days spent on location would begin in the afternoon and conclude in the wee hours of the next day.
The drivers of Alpine had quite early acclimatization. Before race week, on Friday, Gasly worked out in the team’s simulator. On Saturday, he changed his sleep plan. “You don’t tackle jetlag the day you arrive,” he said emphatically. By Tuesday, when he played in the Netflix Cup, a pro-am golf competition at the Wynn Golf Club intended for streaming, he planned to settle into a regular routine.
Speaking about the simulator, it’s a resource that the Formula One teams use extensively to get ready for race weekends. Since this is a brand-new circuit that has never been used for racing, the simulation was even more important for Las Vegas. Engineers must prepare their automobiles, and drivers must become familiar with the course. Before the Alpine A523 ever goes out for practice, the team always tries to have a track-specific setup available, according to Alpine’s technical director Matt Harman.
The drivers’ real experience of the Las Vegas street circuit differed slightly from the simulated version. “The track was well made, but you had like gray towers on the side,” Ocon remarked to me, explaining that it was a really last-minute model. He was hoping that by the following year, the structures by the track would be finished.
I approached his teammate for more information, and Gasly astonished me by saying, “Did he say that? That wasn’t supposed to be said by him! He didn’t think it was great that Ocon disclosed any details regarding the team’s secret simulator. Gasly went on, “He talks too much.” I must speak with him now. On the other hand, Ocon was not prepared for what occurred to him on the first outing in the simulator.
Thursday night’s first practice tossed Alpine’s plans for success with a severe twist. Carlos Sainz hit a water valve cover eight minutes into practice, causing the concrete frame to collapse. Sainz’s Ferrari was destroyed when the cover was fired directly into the floor. Ocon ran over the rubble and seriously wrecked his own vehicle. The remainder of the night was spent by Alpine mechanics using a spare chassis to reconstruct Ocon’s vehicle. When many members of the crew returned to the hotel, the sun was just beginning to rise.
Even though he qualified seventeenth the following evening, Ocon honored his team’s efforts throughout the race with an incredible charge up the field. He finished in fourth position, his second-best finish of the season, after passing a dozen other drivers, including Gasly.
The team’s attention quickly turned from the checkered flag to the upcoming season and the season finale in Abu Dhabi the following week. Speaking about the persons with the most demanding tasks on this cross-continental trip, Ocon acknowledged the expected toll of the 24-race 2024 season right away. “That’s tough, for sure,” he remarked. I have nothing to complain about. The days of the mechanics and engineers in the garage are tougher and much longer. They will endure a great deal more misery.
Drivers of Formula 1 represent an odd cross between an athlete and an astronaut. They need an army of highly skilled workers to follow them in this deadly technological weapons race in which they are the drivers. Despite the stress placed on the drivers and teams, Formula One Racing (F1) is a competitive and commercial challenge that has reached a new frontier in Las Vegas and shows no signs of slowing down soon.
