Las Vegas: Low temperatures, no grip hold Daniel back

Daniel and AlphaTauri struggle to generate tyre temperature at a cold inaugural Las Vegas GP to finish well outside the top 10.

Race data
Las Vegas (Round 21 of 22), 16-18 November 2023

Las Vegas Street Circuit, 6.201km, 50 laps

Qualified: 15th (started 14th for Stroll/Aston Martin penalty)

Finished: 14th

Laps per position: 12th (1 lap), 13th (4 laps), 14th (9 laps), 15th (7 laps), 16th (5 laps), 17th (17 laps), 18th (4 laps), 19th (3 laps)

Pit stops/tyres: Lap 17 (medium/hard)

Fastest lap: 1min 37.108secs (12th), lap 50

Points this event: 0

Points this season: 6 (17th in world championship)

Daniel's download
“That was a really difficult one, there’s no denying that.

“We knew where we’d been suffering this weekend, it’s really just tyre warm-up and getting them working, so I knew the start of the race would be difficult but I thought we’d be able to get into a rhythm and show a little bit more pace, but that wasn’t the case. With all the restarts, we suffered so much more than the others with warm-up. I was getting overtaken on the outside of Turn 3 and the outside is really slippery, so for them to have more grip on the outside, I was like ‘oh man …’ – it was pretty humiliating.

“We honestly couldn’t do anything with what we had (today), but on the other hand we need to find out the reasons for that because that’s what held us back all weekend. A bit of a painful weekend and I think it’s surface-specific, but we can’t neglect it. There were a few cars fading at the end and we gained some places, but we still weren’t a top-10 car.

“We need to move on for Abu Dhabi, but we need to do some post-race research and analysis. Abu Dhabi should reset itself, so I’m more optimistic about next weekend. It’s a medium-downforce circuit and fair bit warmer than here so I’m more optimistic … for now though, it’s time for a couple of days of rest and recovery before the last one for the year.

“Even if we’d had a good result here in Vegas, I don’t think you’d see me out clubbing – we’re all pretty knackered!”

DR’s race recap
* Qualified 15th, and started 14th after Stroll/Aston Martin was penalised five grid positions for a yellow flag infringement in qualifying.

* Had to take avoiding action after first-corner incidents involving Alonso/Aston Martin, Sainz/Ferrari and Bottas/Alfa Romeo, and ended lap one in 16th place.

* Moved up to 13th place under safety car for Norris/McLaren crash.

* Pitted from 12th on lap 17, dropped to 19th.

* Advanced to 17th by lap 30, and passed Sargeant/Williams for 16th on lap 45.

* Passed Zhou for 14th on lap 49.

* Finished in 14th place after 50 laps, 48.525secs behind race-winner Verstappen/Red Bull, and 1.7secs behind Magnussen/Haas in 13th place.

DR’s next destination
Round 22: Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina Circuit), 26 November

Abu Dhabi in 2022: qualified 13th, finished 9th

In F1: 12 races, 2 fastest laps (2014, 2020), 52 points, 7 points finishes, 2 DNFs

Best finish: 4th (2014, 2018)