Watching the midfield

I had my alarm set for 5.30am this morning. On a Sunday, a day I am not working. It was because the City of Las Vegas was hosting the 22nd Formula 1 race of the 2024 season. This was only the second F1 race at this track in Vegas, well I say track, it’s a street circuit. It was a dream for a long time, the flashiest cars racing down past the flashiest hotels in the world. It felt like ultimate optulence.

Spoiler alert: the race was pretty interesting. I felt there was action everywhere. I am a Lando Norris and McLaren fan, and it was an okay race. Like, both Lando and Oscar Piastri got in the points, it was a solid performance at a track where the car struggled. George Russell won his second race of the season, third in his career. His team-mate Lewis Hamilton was second, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz third. And Max Verstappen won his 4th world title. There was a lot of quality overtaking during the race, with Sergio Perez doing a wonderful overtake of Liam Lawson and Kevin Magnussen. All three were wheel to wheel, and Checo came out in front. It was so so good.

Lando and McLaren, had a relatively uninteresting race, so I do what I have always done. I look towards the lower half of the grid to find someone to watch. Kick Sauber driver, Zhou Guanyu is out of contract at the end of the season, with nothing decided on his future. He has struggled all season, and when he reached q2 during yesterday’s qualifying, I decided to follow him for this race. I was manifesting points for him, for the first time this season. He started 13th. A fantastic start. He battled really hard, and did some great overtaking. He got himself into the top 10, and was maintaining his place, and matching the pace of the cars around him. I was so happy. He was one of the last drivers to pit for a second time, and that pulled him right down the ranks. And he ended up 13th, overtaking Franco Colapinto on the last lap. Not quite a points finish, but a rather magnificent effort. He obviously has a point to prove, and did brilliant. Showed what he is capable of.

Watching Zhou really made the race super exciting for me, even though my favourite didn’t have the greatest day. I think a lot of fans only follow what is shown on the cameras, the top teams, the winners. But, over half the grid don’t feature in any coverage, they simply drive away in the background. To see how these drivers are doing, you have to watch the timing screen, watch the seconds of gaps between other drivers. It can be so exciting. Because, big things happen, and if it is to a lower placed driver, it is ignored. For example, Sky Sports reported (Ted Kravtiz notebook) that Lance Stroll had driven the race without his radio. Which is the first time I’ve heard of the radio failing all race this season. It wasn’t reported on any of the main reporting, in fact, Ted is the only media person I’ve heard mention it.

In summary, the mid-to-lower field is great. If you are bored watching the front runner, there is always something going on further back. I grew up doing this, and think more fans should, it gives you more appreciation on the work all the drivers do. Also, well done Zhou Guanyu.