F1's punishing Las Vegas weekend: 'It's a show. Drivers have to get used to that'

Sainz, the focal point on that first day, made a particularly good point on the impact of the schedule.

“The timetable of the weekend was very aggressive on everyone,” said the Ferrari driver. “And I don’t think that’s changed much. I think we had a great Sunday where it was an exciting race, which is what everyone wanted.

“So I’m not here to criticise the event at all. I think it was decent for how complicated the event must have been to put together there the first year. I think the event was run well.

“I don’t know how many people we are in the paddock – 2000 people more or less, travelling around the world? I think F1 doesn’t do itself many favours, because in the end, you want the people working in that environment to transmit happiness, and to transmit wellbeing, to transmit the fact that they are enjoying the race.

“And I think F1 should also look at the side of, ‘let’s keep our 2000 people in this working space in a happy mood, help them to create a good working environment, so that they can also transmit in interviews and with their body language to the spectator and to the public in the paddock’.

“And I think last year I saw a lot of people in a very low mood, and a bit like, ‘This is too much,’ which was a shame for the race, because I think the race was very well run, and very well-executed. So if that’s the only advice I can give, and the only way I would go about Vegas in the future.”

Others also highlighted how the timetable had an impact not just on their wellbeing, but that of their teams.

“It was a very tough sort of schedule for the weekend,” said Kevin Magnussen. “Just being awake, and going to bed at stupid times. I was in the garage at four o’clock in the morning for FP2, so I felt like I was doing a 24-hour race or something!

“It’s kind of, you wake up and you see the sunset, and then an hour after that it’s dark, so you spend your whole weekend in the dark…”

“Everyone’s tired, you contract viruses, and then you travel with the longest flight in the world”

“To be fair I think it was an awesome event,” said Esteban Ocon. “I really enjoyed it. The problem was how everyone was tired, and that we didn’t see the sun for the whole week!

“And I got sick the following week after, I was two days in bed just before the Abu Dhabi GP, because of all that, because everyone’s tired, so you contract viruses, and then you travel with the longest flight in the world to go from Vegas to Abu Dhabi.

“And that resulted in me missing Wednesday and Thursday at the track, which was okay, because I didn’t miss Friday. But it was not ideal. I heard we’re changing a bit the schedule, it’s going to be a little bit earlier. I don’t think it’s going to change drastically.”

“The unusual things were the manholes coming up and then the delays and the schedule,” said Valtteri Bottas.

“It was pretty demanding for the whole team, or all the teams, with the schedule. Everything was just honestly too late, and not everyone can maybe readjust their sleeping schedule completely for the weekend.

“I saw bit of sunshine on the way back from the track on Friday, and that was about it!  So that was the main thing.

“But I think the promoter has learned, I think they fixed a bit of the timings, and hopefully they fixed the manholes. So I’m definitely expecting a better experience this this time…”

How much of an impact this year’s slightly earlier sessions will have remains to be seen. A two-week gap since the last race in Brazil has at least given everyone a bit of breathing space.

However, this is still the 22nd race of the sport’s longest season, and it’s followed immediately by Qatar and Abu Dhabi and a huge change of time zones. It’s punishing for all involved.

Schedule aside, the other aspect that makes Vegas a little different is the inevitable showbiz focus, although the glitzy special launch event held on the grid on the Wednesday evening last year won’t be repeated.

At the time Max Verstappen went off-message and made his feelings clear – he hated the razzamatazz, and would have preferred just to get on with the race.

However some of his rivals have accepted that in the Liberty Media era going with the showbiz flow is part of the job when we race in the USA, and especially in Vegas.

“It’s a show. And I think as drivers, we’ve just got to get used to that”

“It’s different than Spa!,” said Lance Stroll. “But it’s good for the business, exposure for the teams, for the brand, and ultimately, that’s what helps us grow as a sport.”

“I didn’t mind all that stuff,” said Oscar Piastri. “I think we will probably all prefer to not do the big reveal on the grid that we had. But the sport has to try something new. If you don’t try something new eventually, then you’re going to get left behind.

“I think, as a sport in general, we do a very, very good job in terms of marketing ourselves, and presenting ourselves to the world and to different audiences.

“Not everything we do is going to be the favourite, especially for the drivers, because if we could all just turn up on the weekends and jump in the car and drive, I think we’d all be pretty happy! But it was something they tried.”

“It’s a show,” Alex Albon admitted. “And I think as drivers, we’ve just got to get used to that. I think it’s just the way that the sport is going. Sometimes we don’t like it. We understand the way that sports work. Entertainment comes first in many ways. I think America does that better than anyone else.

“I think the more we do it, the more we get used to it. I understand it, and at the same time, I see our sponsors, and I see how many are American, and coming into the sport, and financing the teams and whatnot.