The event’s timing was later than ever before in the sport’s history, both to postpone local road closures and to accommodate television viewers in Europe.
FP2 and qualifying were scheduled to last from midnight to 1am on Friday and Saturday morning respectively, although the latter actually ended at 4am due to repair work on the water valve covers. The race on Saturday evening started at 10 p.m.
The FP2 delay made life even more difficult for team members who had to adjust to the time change compared to Europe at the end of an already busy season, with Vegas facing a 12-hour time difference ahead of next weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Next year the challenge will be even greater as a triple-header tournament begins in Las Vegas, heading to Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Team bosses acknowledged that while the event was a success overall, the schedule placed too much strain on staff.
“If we need to improve, maybe it’s the timing,” said Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur when asked by Motorsport.com what could improve the event. “It’s not easy to find if you want good timing for Asia, Europe, the East Coast and the West Coast.
“We didn’t have any problems before because Formula 1 was only for the Europeans and we had to stick to the European timing and that was fine.”
“Now it’s a global project and it’s much harder to find something that meets the expectations of the 24-hour zone. But we will adjust it.”
Christian Horner from Red Bull made it clear how tough the schedule was for the team members.
“First of all, there will of course be many lessons to be learned,” he said. “One of the things to consider is the running schedule because it has been brutal on the team and all the men and women behind the scenes.”
“Everyone leaves Vegas feeling a little shitty! In one way or another it was a brutal weekend for everyone behind the scenes and I think we need to look at how we can improve this going forward.”
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14
Horner said even a relatively small adjustment would make a difference.
“I think you should run it a little earlier in the evening because you’re never going to make all the TV viewers completely happy,” he said.
“This is an American race. If you run it at 8 o’clock in the evening or something like that, it would just be a little more pleasant for the men and women who work behind the scenes.”
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack suggested the sport should take time to assess what would work.
“We shouldn’t shoot too quickly now, out of emotion, out of tiredness,” he said. “I think it’s important that we take a step back.
“The sporting regulations are quite rigid in terms of timing, they calculate everything from the race, from different sessions. So that needs to be changed.”
“But I think it is possible to integrate what the racing promotion needs and what the workforce needs. It just needs a little work.”
AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer, who has particular knowledge of road racing logistics through his previous work for the FIA, said his team would support any changes.
“We would definitely support that,” he told Motorsport.com. “I don’t know all the background and why it was done.
“But I have a bit of experience, I come from the FIA and I know how difficult it was for Formula E in many cities. Closing the roads has a massive impact on the people who live here.”
“We have to review everything and see how we can improve. I spoke to a few of our guys and some of them actually found the rhythm quickly. The second day I had a bad day, I thought it wouldn’t be the case. “I’ll do it!” But then suddenly you’re there.
“Of course we are now flying to the other side of the world. And that will turn us upside down. But at the same time it was worth it.”
Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren
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