F1 Insider Slams 'Outrageous' Race Marshal Incident at Las Vegas GP, But Calls 'Mickey Mouse' Track a Perfect Addition to the Calendar

FORMULA ONE fans were treated to a weekend of drama at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as the “Monaco of the States” showed why it belongs on the calendar.

There was the which opened the door for in the driver’s championship.

Las Vegas is a perfect race for modern F1, says F1 Insider Richard HopkinsCredit: Shutterstock Editorial Former Red Bull chief Hopkins gave SunSport his verdict on the key talking points from Las VegasCredit: Daniel Kalisz

But there was also a stunning on track incident which saw marshals enter the track to clear debris at Turn 1 at the start of the race which left viewers appalled.

Speaking exclusively to SunSport via casino review site Casino.ca , Insider Richard Hopkins blasted the scenes as “outrageous”.

But he believes as recently as ten years ago such an incident would have been viewed as “normal”.

The former head of operations at Red Bull and team member at Brabham and and how the “Mickey Mouse-ness” of perfectly aligns with modern F1.

Do you have any sympathy for McLaren after their very narrow rule break and disqualification in Las Vegas?

“Rules are rules. The FIA agreed that what happened wasn’t out of attempting competitive advantage. I think it was a set of circumstances that came along during the weekend.

“As the course of that weekend goes on, you change the setup of your car to optimise the performance of the car, and you’re always aware of not just this one, but any other breaches in regulation, whether it be the width of the track, of the car or anything else.

McLaren driver Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri were disqualified from the Las Vegas GPCredit: AP

“Sympathy? No. Lewis was excluded from a Grand Prix earlier for the same problem.

“There is no margin in F1, and nor should there be. You’re allowed a millimetre of wear; anything over a millimetre – whether at point-zero-something else – you’re out. That’s it. So the FIA just acted by the rule.

“[Andrea] Stella apologised to the drivers, which I don’t agree with, and I’ll qualify the reason why.

“I think he should have apologised to everybody. He apologised to the fans, he apologised to the sponsors, but I didn’t hear him apologising to the whole team.

“I’d love to see teams be more appreciative of the entire team, and thanking the entire team.

“And when things don’t go right, believing that it’s the whole team that’s in this situation, not just the drivers.

“McLaren at the moment is internally an extraordinarily strong team. They’ve got great leadership.

“Stella’s doing an amazing job, Zak Brown’s doing an amazing job. I think the vibe and the culture in the team is very good.

“But in this sport, you’ve got to always have your eyes forward. So there’s no real time to breathe.

“The team just have to look forward to the next race. They’re too busy not to.”

After the weekend’s crazy incident with marshals on track, what do you think about F1 safety standards?

Marshals at the Las Vegas Grand Prix were on track during the race in terrifying scenesCredit: Getty

“They’re better than ever, but . A big failure. It wasn’t talked up much in commentary.

“I wasn’t sure if the marshals took their own decision or were instructed, but they had been instructed.

“With all the technology today, maybe we focus on the big things and forget the simple things. This was a very simple failure and could have been catastrophic.

“There was no instruction for marshals to sweep debris, and there wasn’t instruction for double-waved yellows. Only the local marshalling post saw the marshals and started waving frantically.

“Ten years ago this would have seemed normal. We wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. Now, virtual safety cars, safety cars, and red flags are used for the slightest thing. That is probably correct.

“Safety cars were very rare before, stopping a race required something really serious. This incident should have been a safety car, or at least a virtual safety car. That was an absolute breach in the basics.

“Hopefully they learn from it. It has happened a couple of times. Even before the Lawson incident, there was a race recently with recovery vehicles on the track. Come on, people. They’ve got to do better.”

Has Las Vegas earned the right to be a flagship race on the F1 calendar?

“I think it has. Monaco is always the place where contracts were signed – sponsors, drivers, whatever.

“The glitz and glamour, it’s at night, it’s sparkly, cars turn up with different liveries, drivers turn up with sparkly crash helmets, and now there’s Vegas. It’s quirky and funky.

“It has its challenges, but it has limitations, because they built a track around Vegas and had to get the Vegas Strip within the circuit. I think they’ve done pretty good.

“There was some overtaking. Qualifying, albeit in the wet, was edgy. Anybody could have got pole position there. Take those circumstances out and put it anywhere else, you’d probably have the same excitement.

“It struggled this year. I hear it was a sellout in the end, but they were still selling tickets on Saturday for the Sunday. Has it totally landed in America? Maybe not.

“Has it earned its right? Yes. It’s just different.

The spectacle of Las Vegas perfectly aligns with modern F1Credit: Getty

“F1 thinks it’s putting on a show, and there’s a good connection between the two.

“F1 is connected in sophistication through Monaco. It’s connected with Vegas through the cheesy parts and a bit of tack, yeah, maybe. I don’t see any reason to question Vegas going forward.

“If new events come along in 2027 and 2028 and we still cap at 24 races, would Vegas feel vulnerable? Yes. But not as a standout week event. Absolutely not.”

“It seems natural we should be in Vegas now. If we went back to 2000, 2005, or another year and threw Vegas in there, it would have been a standout.

“There’s a place for Monaco, Silverstone, Monza, and Vegas with all its Mickey Mouse-ness.”