Ricciardo reveals F1 track that Las Vegas could learn big lesson from

Sam Cook
Sunday 19 November 2023 22:12

Daniel Ricciardo is among a number of drivers who have complained about the levels of grip that were available at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The new track surface mixed with cold conditions at the inaugural Las Vegas GP led to cars slipping around all weekend, in a race that was described by Sky Sports F1 commentators as being 'like a wet race.'

Whilst most drivers came through unscathed, Fernando Alonso's spin on lap one of the race appeared to be caused by a lack of grip which surprised the veteran heading into turn one, whilst Lando Norris suffered a huge shunt after losing control of his car in turn 12.

There was much to be said over the weekend about the running of the event in general, but one main point seemed to be the fact that Formula 1 was the first motorsport series to try out the new track.

Throughout the weekend, a number of drivers made comments about how this had not helped the track surface, Ricciardo being one of them.

“I think the surface is one thing us drivers haven’t loved,” he told reporters after qualifying.

“It’s hard when obviously it’s a street track, it’s public roads.

“Obviously, they’ve got machines that they could use to kind of like blast the circuit, get the stone out a little more I guess, and make it a little more abrasive.

“On our wish list, maybe we wish it was like a little bit more of a Saudi level of grip, because that’s really good for kind of a street circuit. So that’s probably the only thing that I haven’t loved is that kind of slippery feeling. Otherwise, it’s been alright."

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Saudi Arabain GP the 'gold' standard

Mercedes driver George Russell reiterated Ricciardo's point about the Saudi Arabian GP, with that also being a relatively new track.

The first race to be held in Jeddah happened in 2021, and there has been nothing but praise for that particular surface since its inception.

“Jeddah is the gold standard of track surface,” Russell told reporters.

“And we’ve been saying this for many years now. We’ve been to a number of tracks where they’ve resurfaced it or new tracks, and the grip has been really poor. And there’s only been one race in line.

"Whereas in Jeddah the whole width of a circuit has very good grip. They’ve done an exceptional job there."

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