Between skepticism and enthusiasm, the Las Vegas Grand Prix made its Formula 1 debut this weekend, leaving generally positive impressions in the paddock. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin driver, however, believes that there are edges to be smoothed out for 2024.
Quoted in the AS newspaper, the Spaniard highlighted lack of grip as the main aspect to be resolved: ‘I think it’s fine. But in terms of asphalt grip, it’s very low. I know it’s the same for everyone, but on a street circuit it’s a very dangerous factor. Lando [Norris] had a quite strong accident, it seemed like we were in mixed conditions, half dry and half wet, and that’s a bit strange on a street circuit’.
Although considering the race to be fun, Alonso emphasized the need to learn from the environmental and asphalt conditions: ‘Inside the car, the race was fun, there were entertaining battles. But in terms of grip and asphalt temperature, it put the tires under a lot of stress and caused a lot of graining. Maybe we can learn for next year’.
In terms of organization, the two-time champion believes that there are aspects to improve, but overall gives a positive rating to the Grand Prix: ‘The race was well organized, maybe the schedules were too late for the mechanics, for the press, for the drivers. I believe the second year will be much better, it also happened in Miami. There are things to improve here, but I think overall it was a good event’.
