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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen said that today's Formula 1 race in Las Vegas, in which he won, was "difficult but fun." "It was a tough race," Verstappen said. "I tried from the start. Both of us (Leclerc) braked late, I lost grip and we ended up wide.
The stewards punished me for that and it had an effect. I had to overtake several cars, there was a safety car and a lot was happening in those moments." Verstappen achieved a record 18th victory in the season today, and 53rd in his career.
He tied with Sebastian Vettel in third place on the all-time list in terms of wins. "I had to fight with a few cars," Verstappen said. "DRS is very powerful here, even when you take the lead, the guy behind stays in the DRS zone and has the ability to attack and that brought a lot of good racing today.
It was definitely fun." The Dutch driver said he hopes the crowd enjoyed it as much as the drivers and everyone is excited to return to Las Vegas next year.
Charles Leclerc: "I enjoyed it honestly"
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc started from pole position and eventually took second place.
He overtook Sergio Perez from Red Bull in the last lap. "What a race, I enjoyed it," Leclerc said. "Of course I'm disappointed that I only took second place, but it's the best we could do. At the start, Max tried to pass on the inside and pushed me to the outside of the track.
But we had a good pace, we passed him and we were really strong. This was a good race." Leclerc also referred to the atmosphere in luxurious Las Vegas, where numerous film, sports and music stars followed the race. "I really enjoyed it, we needed that," Leclerc said.
"This weekend didn't start the way it should have, but I'm happy it ended the way it did. This is an amazing sport and it couldn't have been better for the first race in Las Vegas. The energy in the city is incredible and I really enjoyed it."
Sergio Perez: "I couldn't break away"
Peres started from the 11th position and already at the beginning of the race he damaged his front wing.
"I had a difficult start, I broke the front wing and practically started from the back," Perez said. "I made progress, overtaking one vehicle at a time and things were going well. We were in a good position before the first pit stop and I got back into the game.
The safety vehicle put us back in the race." "I overtook Charles, but I couldn't break away, I was slower on the straight," Perez added. "Then Max came and overtook both of us. It was difficult with the gusts of wind, but luckily I stayed on the track.
At the end of the race, I did not expect Charles. He was 0.7 seconds behind me, but he was right there in the braking zone. He did a good job, as did Max." The Formula 1 season ends next weekend with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.