Formula 1: Ocon at the foot of the podium, Mercedes suffering... The tops and flops of the Las Vegas GP

TOPS

What a race from the Frenchman! Sixteenth on the grid, Esteban Ocon survived the first corner and the various collisions. The Normand after only one lap was already in the top 10 and very quickly in eighth place. On a one-stop strategy and with a crazy top speed, Ocon managed his tires perfectly and overtook Pierre Gasly on lap 33 after causing Alpine fans to break out in a cold sweat to take fourth place. Then overtaken by George Russell, the Habs recovered their property following the five-second penalty inflicted on the Briton. An excellent Sunday for Alpine and Ocon.

The first corner between Leclerc and Verstappen set the tone with a muscular maneuver from the Dutchman to take the lead and then a five-second penalty for the Batavian. The race did not disappoint. Two safety cars restarted the proceedings, there were numerous battles and overtaking and the final fight for victory between Leclerc, Perez and Verstappen kept all its promises for once. Successful baptism for Las Vegas.

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Oscar Piastri has long believed he was making the big move. Starting nineteenth, the Australian, using a completely shifted strategy following the incidents at the start, held fourth place for a long time but was forced to change tires a few laps from the finish. Finally tenth, Piastri will have regrets but livened up this Grand Prix. Good fifth place on the other hand for Lance Stroll, who started 14th. The Canadian delivered a serious race and confirmed his fifth place in Brazil.

FLOPS

Fifth and sixth on the grid, Williams had ambitions in Las Vegas but the blue cars suffered throughout the race and kept falling back. At the finish, Williams scored no points and it was a disappointment. Alex Albon, long in the points zone, made small errors in the final laps and only finished 12th. At home, Logan Sargeant only took 16th place.

Brazil had already not been brilliant for the German brand, Las Vegas was not better. Seventh but never really in the race, Lewis Hamilton was ahead of George Russell, penalized by five seconds at the finish. Mercedes only scores ten points in Nevada and its second place in the constructors is in danger. Before Abu Dhabi, Mercedes has 392 points while Ferrari has 388.

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