Max Verstappen would like to see a different date for the Grand Prix of Las Vegas. After his eighteenth victory, Red Bull’s world champion complained about the killer travel schedule that awaited him. Formula 1 travels directly to Abu Dhabi for the final weekend. The drivers must gather there on Wednesday. It is a flight that takes sixteen hours, but the time difference is twelve hours.
“It’s such a big time shift, especially at the end of a season when everyone is already quite tired,” Verstappen said afterwards in the FIA press conference. “I think it’s a bit too much. So maybe something can be done about that.”
His teammate Sergio Pérez supported him. “Las Vegas was beautiful, but the prospect of now having to cover the longest distance of the entire year is less. Maybe it is better to make Las Vegas the last race,” said the Mexican.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished the race in the American gambling city in second place, found the start times of the training and races much too late. “I don’t even know why we were driving so late, but as far as I’m concerned they were on the limit,” said the Monegasque. The race in Las Vegas did not start until 10 p.m. local time, the second training session on Friday did not end until 4 a.m. due to repair work on the circuit.
The schedule for next year doesn’t look any better yet. Las Vegas is on the calendar for November 23 in 2024, the Qatar Grand Prix is a week later on November 29. Another week later, on December 6, the final race is in Abu Dhabi. “Las Vegas has to move forward, otherwise we will be broken, especially at the end of the season,” said Australian Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri).
Tags: victory Las Vegas Verstappen dreading killer travel schedule
