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There had been plenty of nay-sayers heading into this weekend, not least world champion Max Verstappen who doubted that the new Las Vegas Strip Circuit could deliver a proper sporting spectacle. In the end it more than pulled it off, errant water valve cover notwithstanding, and several drivers rose to the occasion and gave some season-best performances under the floodlights of the Neon City. But others failed to hit the jackpot.
Lando Norris (Accident, Lap 3): 4.5/10
After such a strong run of success over the summer, Lando Norris literally hit a bump in the road this weekend with one of his worst performances of the season. The McLaren just didn't seem to be enjoying the Vegas track layout of the cool night time conditions, but Norris himself still managed a decent P11 in both of the completed practice sessions. But then both McLarens collapsed with the worst qualifying team showing of the season, meaning both Norris and Oscar Piastri missed the first cut. We're not going to take points away for him for the accident early in the race, but it does mean there's nothing we can take into account from it to boost his overall rating.
Nico Hulkenberg (Power unit, Lap 46): 6/10
As so often this season, Nico Hulkenberg had flashes of form with seventh in FP2 and an impressive fifth in the first round of qualifying. Unfortunately he couldn't keep that going and he missed the cut at the end of Q2, leaving him lining up in 13th on the grid. He survived the initial cluster of collisions around him on the start and moved up to tenth, and then got the better of Lance Stroll as well. But then he ran wide at turn 1 at the restart and plummeted down the order where he was soon passed by Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri. His pit stop left him stuck in a DRS train behind his Haas team mate Kevin Magnussen. The good news is that it meant he suffered little graining for once; but it was a moot point when the power suddenly cut-out on the VF-23 while in P15.
