The biggest criticism around the Las Vegas GP has been the incredibly low temperatures of the city, subsequently leading to low track and ambient temperatures. As such, there is potential for the late-night race in Las Vegas to become one of the coldest races in the history of the sport. Speaking about the same, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc recently featured in an interview and gave their two cents on it.
Max Verstappen has now converted 10 Charles Leclerc pole positions into wins 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZYIjMlvy6o
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 30, 2023
Both Verstappen and Leclerc are of the perspective that it is much colder than other races and that it will be tough to get any heat into the tires. As seen in the interview clip uploaded on X by user Clara, Verstappen and Leclerc were joking around with each other about massaging the tires right after the Dutchman called Leclerc to the mic when asked about how drivers would approach their overtaking strategies.
“So like, we massage the tires.” – MV
“You do massage the tires, but it’s cold here, so I don’t know if you’ll have to massage the tires.” – CL
“More aggressive.” – MV
“More aggressive.” – CL
“I’ll do a hot stone massage this time. “- MV
Speaking about their chances at the weekend, Leclerc was confident of putting in a good performance throughout but was more optimistic about his team having a good qualifying session. Meanwhile, Verstappen chose to keep his cards close to the chest and did not reveal much about their expectations. The Dutchman said, “I don’t think too much” when the Ferrari driver asked him about his thoughts on Red Bull’s performance during the weekend.
With Max Verstappen growing annoyed, Charles Leclerc calls for more balanced race weekends
Following a dreary opening ceremony that barely put any limelight on the drivers or the race, Verstappen was furious with the event. The Dutchman claimed he felt like a “clown” when he stood beside the singers during the inauguration. Furthermore, he called the event “99% show and 1% racing.” Keeping in line with the same, Leclerc called for a more balanced approach towards race weekends, emphasizing the need for racing to live up to the expectations of the fans.
🗣️ | Max Verstappen on the Las Vegas GP
“99% Show, 1% Sporting event…. Not very interesting”#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/2ZFSmCSRfC
— Desi Racing Co. (@DesiRacingco) November 16, 2023
Speaking to the media right after Verstappen, Leclerc called F1 “a beautiful sport” and the need for adding new people to it. He added that there has already been a lot of ‘show’ ahead of the race and that the focus should now shift to racing. According to Leclerc, it was justified to have a little show since they were in Las Vegas but he believes that F1 should try to lure the people who came to the event expecting something else and make them a fan of the sport instead of only focusing on the finances.
