In the round-up: Christian Horner has revealed senior technical staff at Red Bull backed him when he was investigated earlier this year.
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In brief
Red Bull’s tech leaders backed Horner
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says senior members of their technical team signed a letter of support for him after he was investigated by the company following complaints against him that were later dismissed.
“There were two things that stood out,” Horner told the Financial Times. “There was the senior technical management coming into my office with a letter that they’d written and signed to the shareholders, committing their support and backing. That was very touching.
“Then, when I addressed the staff at the beginning of the year, the warmth and the reception that I received was outstanding. I think sometimes perceptions of external, versus what’s going on internally, are two very different things.”
Russell ‘had a nap before qualifying’
Las Vegas Grand Prix pole winner George Russell revealed he went to sleep between the end of third practice at 7:30pm and qualifying at 10pm on Friday night.
“It’s a real challenge for the body,” Russell said. “Such a big shift from Europe. And of course, we have to shift back when we go to Qatar next week. So it’s difficult to get your eight hours sleep in when it’s so offset.
“For me, it’s also just trying to sleep when you can, so I took a nap before qualifying. I woke up a little bit drowsy and then made sure I was in peak condition come the end of qualifying. I’m just trying to sleep when I can and just listen to my body, and if I need to sleep, sleep. And there wasn’t much to do.”
Starting 13th best points chance since Jeddah – Zhou
Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu believes starting 13th on the grid is his best opportunity to score his and his team’s first points of the season since the opening two rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
“Certainly, this is the best chance we’ve had since Bahrain and Jeddah,” Zhou said. “We definitely need to think about strategy and try to stay calm.
“A track like this, you could be starting from the last row and make it to the points. Anything could still happen. So I want to make sure we take the opportunity and give it all.
Shields joins AIX for final F2 races
Cian Shields will make his Formula 2 debut as he replaces Niels Koolen at AIX for the final four races of the year. Koolen was in the seat originally occupied by Taylor Barnard.
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Links
Norris: Verstappen would not have won title in a McLaren – history proves it (Telegraph)
”I literally couldn’t sleep for the first two days. So I did like, what, 36-40 hours straight. So that probably made everything worse. When you’re tired, you’re more moody, and that kind of thing. And I’m a big overthinker, so like the whole flight home, the whole week, it just played over and over in my head. What could I have done differently? Why did I do that? Why did I not do this? You start thinking of all the scenarios that you kind of blame yourself for, why it’s now not possible, that kind of thing.”
F1’s high-stakes gamble on Las Vegas GP is already paying out (Guardian)
‘What F1 will be buoyed up by is immediately noticeable in Vegas for this second outing, particularly the volume of fans who create an exuberant atmosphere in a city that all but exists to party, with the sporting element part and parcel of an entertainment spectacle envisioned for the race. This is not to everyone’s taste, but if F1 is to embrace the hoopla, it makes sense to do so in Vegas. In F1 there must be a place for classic race circuits but also for the future of the sport, that engages new fans. If Max Verstappen has claimed his fourth consecutive title just before midnight on Saturday, local time, the celebratory atmosphere will not be more perfect than in a city where every win matters.’
Verstappen makes ‘high in the car’ claim as he discusses weed at Las Vegas GP (Mirror)
”Today you smelled it quite well. I was quite high in the car. It’s not ideal, because you can also smell it while driving and it’s quite extreme.”
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Notable posts from Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
THIS is what it means 🤩 pic.twitter.com/nS7HD593of
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 23, 2024
Hard work paying off 🫡
Mega day for @PierreGASLY 🙌 pic.twitter.com/VHdeMqN8fr
— BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) November 23, 2024
Q1 eliminations in 2024:
Perez: 6
Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton and Russell combined: 6#F1 #LasVegasGP #RaceFans
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— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet.bsky.social) 23 November 2024 at 07:10
Attendance for this year’s Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix appears to be significantly lower than last year’s 315,000 for 3 nights. Total attendance for 2 of 3 nights so far this year is 77,000, per source.
— David Charns (@davidcharns.bsky.social) 23 November 2024 at 07:13
🎬 Escena del accidente de la película de F1 que protagoniza Brad Pitt en el GP de Las Vegas 🇺🇸.#F1 #Formula1 #bradpitt #f1movie #apxgp pic.twitter.com/WAro1uZu9M
— sebassifuentes 🇵🇪 | #LasVegasGP 🇺🇸 (@sebastiansp2802) November 23, 2024
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