“They nailed it” - Rosberg praises F1 for “must-see” Las Vegas Grand Prix

The Las Vegas GP was met with a mixed reception, with reigning world champion Max Verstappen heavily critical of the event.

Things didn’t get better as FP1 was reduced to just eight minutes after a loose manhole caused havoc, resulting in a significant delay to the second session where fans were forced out of the grandstands due to late start time.

The controversy did stop there though as Sunday’s race was one of the best of F1 2023.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Rosberg - who raced in F1 from 2006 to 2016 - labelled the Las Vegas GP “a great success”.

“It's amazing how the country of the USA is embracing our sport now, which is not how it used to be in my time.

“It's really amazing to watch and what a great success it has been this first inaugural Vegas Grand Prix weekend. Of course, when you go somewhere for the first time, there's always going to be some challenges, but all in all, it was one of the most exciting races of the year. 

“That's the key to every [successful race], is that it's really entertaining, unpredictable, because you had no idea who was going to win the race. 

'It was a three way fight, and between Ferrari and Red Bull and then at the back also, so much was going on. The track was great for overtaking, high speed. It had everything so that even the drivers, even the most outspoken critic like [Max] Verstappen, became a super fan of the Las Vegas Grand Prix by the end of it.”

Rosberg believes it’s now a “must-see” race for F1 fans.

“So I think it was another great success for the sport. Interesting business case, also for the sport, because it's the first time that they actually are the promoter themselves and it's not a local promoter,” he added. “So they've taken a lot of money in the hands to build up the venue, to be the promoter for the next ten years.'

“Because it's all about battles and overtaking - and we saw that. Even the fight for second place, changing positions there with an incredible daring overtake on the last lap, like two corners from the end.

“That's what we want to see. And that's quite unique because you don't have that often. So I think they nailed it with the track layout... I think it's going to be one of the great races for the next ten years. A must see on the calendar.”