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Max Verstappen's rivals Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso have dismissed the idea that Red Bull could have a 'Singapore-like' weekend at the Las Vegas GP. The race is expected to be held in somewhat chilly conditions that could make it hard to bring tires up to temperature.
Not only that, a new race and a street circuit do tend to bring a level of variability that could catch a few teams off-guard.
This was something that happened with Red Bull and Max Verstappen in Singapore. The team was unable to find a proper solution for the bumps on the track and as a result, the team had an off-weekend.
Ferrari and Carlos Sainz were able to grab the initiative and did end up securing pole position and winning the race. Lando Norris was questioned during the press conference if Max Verstappen and Red Bull could be vulnerable in Las Vegas to which the McLaren driver did not sound confident. He said:
“Maybe.“[But] If you look back to Monza he was way quicker than anyone pretty much. Could be another Singapore-type thing, but unlikely. It’s just a lot of guessing and there’s no point guessing. Could be. There's always chances and possibilities, and a small chance of rain could play into your hands at a certain point. But it could go any way.”
Fernando Alonso was also asked the same to which the Spaniard had a similar answer. The Aston Martin driver said that it would be nice to win the first race in Las Vegas (in the new location) but felt that Verstappen would still have the edge:
“I don’t think so. It would be nice to win a race, especially the first race in a place like this one. I think it’s unlikely it happens as I don’t think this track is a favorite for our package.”
Max Verstappen not an emphatic supporter of the race in Las Vegas
The Dutchman has not appeared to be the greatest supporter of the race in Las Vegas, with his major opposition being the pre-race events. The driver has been quite vocal about the show and did not mince words in the media either.
Talking about the pre-race events, the driver said:
“I don’t like all the things around it. I’m looking forward to trying to do the best I can but I’m not looking forward to this. For me, you can all skip these kinds of things. It’s just standing up there, [you] look like a clown.”
Max Verstappen is currently on 17 wins this season. The driver will be looking to secure what would be his 18th win of the year by clinching the win in the very first race at Las Vegas.
