After the performance in Brazil at the beginning of the month, the team was grateful to get back to the AMRTC to fully analyse & understand the data obtained from the previous 3 races. Then it was back across the Atlantic, for the Las Vegas show, in the Nevada Desert. The venue is very much being promoted by Formula 1’s owners, Liberty Media, as the Blue Riband F1 race in the United States, as no doubt they wish to recoup the significant investment that they’ve made in hosting it. It is very much a showbiz event and unlike any other on the calendar. The team were hopeful that the Las Vegas Strip Circuit (the 2nd longest) would suit the AMR24 a little more than those recently visited.
Whilst it was a normal Grand Prix weekend format, the schedule agreed with the municipality didn’t permit any practice or racing to commence until the evenings. Therefore, FP1 took place under the blaze and dazzle of floodlights & neon illuminations on Thursday evening. The air & track temperatures were the lowest than at any other circuit, meaning it was challenging to get heat into the medium & soft compound tyres that the two drivers tested, resulting in limited grip. There were plenty of slips & slides in the cool, slippery conditions. The AMR24s stayed out of trouble though and notably Alonso was 7th fastest, ahead of the McLaren of Piastri and the Red Bull of Perez. Stroll was 12th. FP2 got underway even later the same evening & again the AM drivers commenced their practice routine on medium tyres. Halfway through the session Alonso was 8th & Stroll 9th. Alonso was then heard on the team radio saying he thought they needed to change the set-up of the car, as it was suffering from "bouncing". The abrasive streets of Sin City may not have been the best remedy for the 43-year-old's back, which was still recovering from its painful experience a few weeks previously in Brazil, due to the impact of the rough circuit there. With 20 minutes to go the session was red flagged when Albon stopped on track in his Williams due to a problem with the fuel system. It was cleared quickly & the Astons went back out on track on soft tyres & the pair finished with Stroll in P13 & Alonso P14. The team had some work to do overnight to find more performance. The following evening also had low temperatures & a slippery track surface which made for tricky conditions. The AMR24s ran on the medium tyres for just one lap before the cars came in for more setup adjustments & they came back out halfway through the session on soft tyres. The action came to a halt with 7 minutes left, when Stroll’s AMR24 lost power due to an energy recovery system failure & he came to a standstill at the side of the track, necessitating red flags. There was not enough time for more flying laps after Stroll’s car had been cleared and Alonso had to settle for P15, while Stroll was P19.
By the time Qualifying commenced the Aston Martin mechanics were still busily working on Stroll’s car, replacing the engine recovery system. With 10 minutes to go in the first Qualifying period (Q1) Alonso was a respectable P7 & 2 minutes later he was up to 5th. However, with the track evolving lap after lap he was pushed down to 9th a few minutes later. Stroll was still in the garage however & it was touch & go as to whether he would make it out on track, but with barely 2 minutes left out he went for his one & only chance to set a decent qualifying lap. Astonishingly, by this time, Alonso found himself on the cusp of being eliminated. And eliminated they both were. Alonso just couldn’t improve his time & finished 17th, whereas Stroll had missed not setting any qualifying laps and couldn't get heat into the tyres on his fast lap & ended up 20th. That was Qualifying over for the Aston Martin drivers. At the end of the second period Colapinto smashed his Williams into a wall, which brought out the red flags and meant Q3 had to be delayed. When it resumed Russell in a Mercedes secured pole position, Sainz was 2nd in a Ferrari and Gasly in an Alpine was, astonishingly, 3rd. From the driver’s world championship perspective Verstappen would start 5th, just ahead of Norris in 6th. If he were to finish the race ahead of Norris, Verstappen would be the World Champion.
Aston Martin were dealt a slightly better hand when the grid formed for the race, as Colapinto opted to start from the pit lane and Bottas had to take a 5 place grid penalty for using an additional power unit element, meaning Alonso would start 16th & Stroll 18th. Given the low starting position, the team rolled the dice & put soft tyres on Alonso’s car, gambling on it giving him an advantage off the start & betting for an early safety car as well. All the cars got away cleanly & the strategy appeared to work for Alonso to some degree, as he swept past Perez, then passed Magnussen at the start of lap 2 and got himself within a second of Lawson. By the 4th
lap Lawson had pulled out of Alonso’s range & it was clear that the life in Alonso’s soft tyres had come to the end of their usefulness and he came into the pits for new, hard rubber. He came out last, which allowed Stroll to move up a place, to 17th. Stroll’s medium compound tyres didn’t last much longer and he, along with the majority of the cars on similar tyres, had to start coming into the pits for tyre changes, from lap 10 onwards. It was during Stroll’s pitstop that the team confirmed what they had suspected - that his radio wasn’t working! When it became evident it wasn’t functioning, they had to resort to communicating with Lance the old-fashioned way - with a pit board. During the longish pitstop the team exchanged his helmet and put on new hard tyres (which they weren’t fully prepared for) & sent him out, only last though. For the rest of the race the team communicated with him via the pit board, advising when to change various button settings & when to come into the pits again. By lap 15 most of the cars had pitted, having elected 2-stop strategies, & Alonso was up to 13th place. On that lap smoke started to come out of the rear of Gasly’s Alpine & he limped back to the pits, complaining that there was no power. That eventually was the end of his race. As a result, Stroll moved up to 19th & then both AMR24s moved up a further place when Colapinto came into the pits on lap 17. On the same lap Alonso was battling with Albon, momentarily passing him, then he benefitted from Perez coming into the pits & put himself up to 9th, only to drop back to 10th when Albon retook the position. Stroll meanwhile, was up to 16th. From lap 20 it was clear that Alonso’s tyres were already starting to fade, as first of all Hulkenberg passed him and then Zhou 4 laps later. At the halfway distance point (lap 25) with Alonso in P12 & Stroll P16, Alonso came into the pits again for tyres that would have to last him until the chequered flag - he came out 17th. Stroll was 2 places ahead of him in 15th. Lady Luck then dealt a cruel blow for Albon, who was called in to retire his Williams, which elevated Alonso to 16th & when the other Williams driver, Colapinto, came in for new tyres it put Alonso up to 15th. Stroll likewise moved up to 13th when Piastri came into the pits, but it was all change on lap 29 when Stroll was called into the pits for his 2nd & final stop for fresh tyres – he came out 18th (last of the cars still running). With that and then Perez coming in for his tyre stop on lap 33, Alonso was up to P13. Stroll also benefited a place on lap 36, when Bottas pitted. Alonso continued his charge and moved up the order, so that by lap 37 he was 11th & within DRS range of Ocon & swiftly passed him. Alonso was now back in a points paying position – in P10 with 10 laps to go. Stroll was P16. However, Perez, on the fresher tyres, had also passed Ocon and was bearing down on Alonso, 5.4 seconds behind Alonso. Lap by lap Perez was creeping up on Alonso. Would he be able to hold the Mexican off, like he had in Brazil and Holland last year? It wasn’t to be. With just under 5 laps to go, Alonso was passed by Perez and he couldn’t keep up with him. Before the finish Stroll moved up to 15th when Ocon came in for new tyres. At the chequered flag though, Alonso just missed out on a point and finished 11th, Stroll 15th.
Russell calmly won the race from pole, Hamilton was 2nd, having started 10th and putting in the drive of the day and Sainz was 3rd. As Max Verstappen finished ahead of Norris it meant he retained the Driver’s World Championship. Many congratulations to him – his 4th one on the trot. Without a doubt, he’s been the most consistent driver of the season, making very few mistakes.
After the race, Alonso remarked, “The pace of the car was much better in the race and it was a nice surprise to be fighting in the points until the last few laps. The strategy was good, the pitstops were fast and I felt a little happier with the car in general. But there is no reward for 11th. I'm looking forward to getting back into the car for Qatar as we try to find more performance”. Likewise, Stroll’s views were, “It was a difficult race as I had no radio from the first lap so couldn't communicate with the team. We'd planned to stay on the medium tyre for slightly longer at the start of the race, but I could feel it dropping off quickly and wanted to get on the hard tyre. I just couldn't get that message through to the pit wall. It meant that, when I did come in, the team wasn't prepared for the stop and so it cost us about 20 seconds”.
The team now has to pack up and get themselves to Qatar, 8,000+ miles away, for the penultimate race of the season this coming weekend.