Race week in Las Vegas kicked off with 4 Formula 1 drivers piloting out-of-this-world automobiles in three challenges within the Nevada desert. The fourth episode of the (Un)severe Race Series noticed the quartet of F1 World Champion Max Verstappen and Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio “Checo” Pérez and Scuderia AlphaTauri aces Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo face off in two-seater hovercrafts. The remoted web site is well-known for a unique kind of hovering automobiles – alien spacecraft – so F1 drivers racing hovercrafts, extremely uncommon anyplace else, was par for the course.
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While it was a pleasant competitors, the aggressive nature of the drivers shone by, resulting in technique discussions between teammates and on-track sport faces showing between the near-constant laughter. The 13-foot lengthy, 26.5 horsepower hovercraft examined the drivers’ expertise as they supplied little traction and relied on counter-steering to glide by the course at 30 mph/48 kph. Dry desert wind and ample mud solely added to the talent wanted to sort out the distinctive problem.
Daniel and Yuki, who have been pitted towards one another within the mini jet boats in Miami, proved a formidable hovercraft crew. While Max and Checo gained the primary problem and put up a stable combat to the tip, the Scuderia AlphaTauri drivers may eke out the general win by a 2-1 problem tally. But there was nothing however smiles from all 4 drivers because the trophy was awarded towards a crashed flying saucer not far-off.
“It’s fun to be out in the Nevada desert ahead of the Las Vegas GP. I think the hovercrafts look cool, and they were entertaining to drive. They were slower than I thought, but you’re floating over the ground. The challenges are fun, especially when you do it together as a team with Checo and Scuderia AlphaTauri. This series has been fun this year. We’ve driven lots of different vehicles all over the world. I think that makes it beautiful,” mentioned Max.
Regarding the hovercrafts, Checo commented, “I’ve seen them, but I’ve never driven a hovercraft before, so it’s my first time…and I ended up eating a lot of sand, so I don’t need lunch for today. They collapse and go into the floor when you unbalance them, so it was quite challenging – you have to think a lot while driving them.” He mentioned of the upcoming Las Vegas race, “I think Las Vegas is a unique venue – with the fans, the racing at night for the first time here – I think people are really going to enjoy it.”
“I enjoy doing these things,” mentioned Ricciardo. “On a race week, we race, and that’s our primary focus, and on track, everything’s so competitive, so to spend some time with not only Yuki but Max and Checo and to be out here in the desert in an environment where we’re all just laughing – these are probably the best workdays we can get.”
“I didn’t know how the vehicles behave,” mentioned Tsunoda. “It’s a lot of fun and drifting, but simultaneously, you have to control the throttle precisely to make it turn quickly. You stop if you release too much throttle and touch too much ground. So there’s fine-tuning, which makes it difficult, but overall, it’s enjoyable.”
Here’s the way it all unfolded:
Challenge 1: “Rescue Mission” – Max and Checo are victorious.
The groups took turns embarking on a tandem dash by a course laden with obstacles in pursuit of a lockbox on the finish of the course. Their mission: get better the lockbox, execute a driver swap and race again to the place to begin. Victory belonged to the crew that achieved this rescue and return mission with utmost pace and finesse.
Challenge 2: “Crop Circles” – Daniel and Yuki make a comeback and earn the win.
Each driver was given 30 seconds to finish as many “crop circles” as attainable across the pillars, creating crop circles. Victory would go to the crew that completed probably the most doughnuts/circles. In an sudden and humorous transfer, Max tried to get a “leg up” on the competitors by hanging out of the hovercraft and utilizing his left foot to help in finishing tighter and sooner doughnuts. Unfortunately, the out-of-the-box technique was not sufficient to take the win.
Challenge 3: “The Final Race” – Daniel and Yuki are the winners within the Nevada desert!
With every crew successful, they put all of the chips on the desk for the relay tiebreaker. In a head-to-head race, the groups made their approach by a slalom course one driver at a time, switching drivers for the second lap. Daniel banked flip after flip earlier than reserving it down the straight, with Max simply milliseconds behind him earlier than Yuki and Checo jumped into the automobiles. In the tip, Yuki was capable of pull forward and float throughout the end line to safe the general victory.
The fourth (Un)collection, Race Series, unfolded in a typical lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek model. Through the 12 months, the pleasant – however finally considerably aggressive – collection saved the drivers on their toes and challenged them in unfamiliar automobiles and terrain: from the waterways of Miami in mini jet boats to the Erzberg iron mine of Austria in 500 horsepower mega vehicles, from Kei vehicles in a Japanese-style sport present to Renegade Hovercrafts within the Nevada desert.
