The man in the bright red jacket announced the driver’s name to the crowd as they headed to the track for the pre-race parade, where Lewis Hamilton received a special welcome.
When the seven-time world champion climbed into the vintage car he was planning to take around the street circuit, he went into full Michael Buffa mode.
“You love America, and America loves you.”
It seemed to me that he was right on both counts. When Martin Brundle approached former basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal in the starting lineup and asked him how his night went, Shaq kept his answers short and to the point. “Lewis Hamilton, baby,” he said.
Hamilton hasn’t won a Grand Prix since his victory in Saudi Arabia in December 2021, but everyone was hoping he could end his losing streak here in the United States. Because he spends much of his rare downtime driving his car, from his race schedule.
He is also a proponent of holding the race in Sin City, despite widespread cynicism and opposition to the event from some rivals, particularly Max Verstappen, who dethroned him as world champion.
Add to this the fact that his friend, pop star Justin Bieber, was given the honor of waving the checkered flag, and the Mercedes star is coming off the tail end of an absolutely successful season victory. Sentiment was the obvious choice to mark the second race.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way. Hamilton started in 10th place, but slowed down at the first corner to avoid a collision and was rear-ended by Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, which caused him to fall further back.
While Verstappen, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez battled for the lead, Hamilton collided with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on lap 16 and fought back until his rear tire failed.
Right away I thought I wasn't going to get a puncture,'' Hamilton said,so just as I accelerated and got to the pit lane entrance, I felt the rear end move and it was too late to get in. I had to do slow laps overall. I must have lost about 40 seconds.”
Hamilton was never in contention for the win. For the second year in a row he was hampered by an inferior car and although he outperformed teammate George Russell, yesterday’s result made it mathematically impossible for Perez to take second place in the drivers’ championship.
Hamilton had to be content with a different kind of victory. The past two seasons have been a fallow period for him, but he has become even more of an ambassador for the sport, making a strong case for being the greatest racing driver in history.
On Thursday, he spoke well about the appeal and appeal of racing in Las Vegas, and placed the Grand Prix here in its cultural context. While Verstappen complained that he felt the spectacle based on Hollywood glitz was pointless, Hamilton said he thought the sport’s return to Las Vegas was an important step forward.
And by the end of the race, he had been proven right. After a miserable start to the race weekend on Thursday when the first practice session was cancelled after nine minutes and the second one not finishing until 4am in front of empty grandstands, the race itself was a thrilling advert for the sport.
Vegas provided a visually stunning backdrop, as everyone knew it would, but it was the drivers who stole the show. There was a galaxy of stars from the world of film and music and sport on the grid before the race but none of them could compete with the men who raced around this street circuit.
Even if the race for the drivers’ title ended long ago, this grand prix was a reminder of the daring of Formula One, of the bravery and skill of its drivers and of its capacity to take the breath away with the speed and the precision of the action.
It was a race full of overtaking, of sparks that flew into the air as the cars hurtled down The Strip, of daring passing manoeuvres, particularly at the left hand corner where Sands Avenue meets Las Vegas Boulevard and the cars accelerate away again past Treasure Island and Bellagio and Caesars Palace.
It felt like the start of a beautiful relationship and gave Hamilton some satisfaction as he comes to the end of another frustrating season, hoping that next season he will get a better shot at winning the eighth drivers’ title that would take him beyond the record he shares with Michael Schumacher.
‘All those that were so negative about the weekend and were saying “it’s all about the show, blah, blah, blah,”’ Hamilton said, ‘I think Vegas proved them wrong.’