Max Verstappen makes one thing clear on apparent Las Vegas opinion U-turn

Henry Valantine
Max Verstappen celebrates victory in Las Vegas.

Max Verstappen had been a vocal critic of events in Las Vegas for most of the weekend.

Having been been openly critical of the Las Vegas circuit layout and putting the event down as mostly for show, Max Verstappen explained his praise of the Grand Prix itself.

The three-time World Champion explained he “always expected it to be a good race”, given the lengthy straights followed by slow corners allowing for overtaking opportunities.

As a result, the racing itself has “never been my issue”, having been outspoken on several of the topics surrounding the race in Las Vegas for much of the weekend.

Max Verstappen ‘always expected it to be a good race’ in Las Vegas

Verstappen overhauled Charles Leclerc to take victory around Las Vegas on Saturday night, passing the Ferrari driver twice at different times in the race as well as team-mate Sergio Perez to earn his 18th win of the season.

He levelled the career tally of Sebastian Vettel in the process, but he believes the “passion and emotion” of what he calls “proper racetracks” had been missing from Las Vegas – with plenty of focus having been placed in off-track surroundings over the weekend.

Verstappen had made something of a stinging football comparison after qualifying, comparing Monaco to the “Champions League” and Las Vegas to the “National League”.

When asked what had made him go from that kind of critique to singing ‘Viva Las Vegas’ over team radio after the chequered flag, the three-time World Champion made his feelings clear.

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“Well, I always expected it to be a good race today,” he said after the chequered flag.

“It’s just like I said before, long straights, low speed corners, you don’t lose a lot of downforce, so that’s never been my issue.

“Today was fun, that’s the only thing I would say about it – I think today was fun, I hope everyone enjoyed it.

“I think the DRS effect was strong but good, it made fun racing out there.”

On his ventures into F1 car karaoke, he added: “I mean, Christian put me on the spot so I cannot leave him hanging to be honest, I have to sing!

“I definitely need some lessons, so I need to go to Geri [Horner, Spice Girls member and Christian’s wife] and book an appointment, I guess.”

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