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Max Verstappen might not have loved his entire Las Vegas experience, but that did not stop him from walking away with another victory.
Verstappen once again dominated to capture Saturday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, capturing his record-setting 18th victory of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He’s now three wins clear of the previous single-season record, which was set by Verstappen just one year ago.
The most dominant figure in all of sports at the moment, Verstappen has won 33 of the last 43 F1 races.
elyess_25 @elyess_25
can we all agree that we won’t ever see a driver like Max Verstappen.
he’s just in another league 🐐 pic.twitter.com/LyRQeD99Ns
ESPN F1 @ESPNF1
Max Verstappen has now won all three races in the United States this year.
Captain America 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/KJ1aBw6LNo
emma @emveone
they threw everything at him!!! media duties!! a track he despises!!! terrible tarmac conditions!! an ugly racesuit!!! a 5s penalty!!! george russell!!! and he still won!! max verstappen everyone
Formula 1 @F1
The stunning race-winning move for Max Verstappen on Charles Leclerc 😮💨#LasVegasGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/vuPtUXRt2Y
“A great crowd. I hope everyone enjoyed it. We definitely did,” Verstappen said after the race. “I’m already excited to come back here next year and hopefully try to do something similar.”
Of course, Verstappen was singing a bit of a different tune leading up to Saturday night. He spoke openly about his distaste for the Las Vegas-style spectacle attached to the race, saying it distracted from educating fans about F1 as a sport.
“I understand that fans, they need maybe something to do as well around the track,” Verstappen told reporters. “But I think it’s more important that you actually make them understand what we do as a sport because most of them just come to have a party, drink, see a DJ play or a performance act.
“I can do that all over the world. I can go to Ibiza and get completely s–t-faced and have a good time. But that’s what happens, and actually people … they come and they become fan of what? They want to see maybe their favorite artists and have a few drinks with their mates and then go out and have a crazy night out. But they don’t actually understand what we’re doing or what we’re putting on the line to perform.”
Regardless of his opinion on the event itself, Verstappen once again proved he’s the best in the world.
Charles Leclerc finished in second, while Sergio Pérez rounded out the podium.
Meanwhile, it was a miserable day for Lando Norris, who crashed out in Lap 4 and Lewis Hamilton, who somehow wound up finishing seventh despite dropping to 14th in the first lap after colliding with Carlos Sainz Jr. and then suffering a punctured tire later in the race.
Sainz finished sixth after his own whirlwind week that was lowlighted by needing a battery change after the first practice session.
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