The event timetable was later than any in the history of the sport, both to shift local road closures to later in the day, and to accommodate TV viewers in Europe.
The FP2 and qualifying sessions were due to run from midnight to 1am on Friday and Saturday mornings respectively, although the latter actually finished 4am due to the remedial work on water valve covers. Saturday evening’s race started at 10pm.
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The FP2 delay made life even tougher for team members who had to adjust to the time change from Europe at the end of an already gruelling season, with Vegas followed by a 12-hour time shift before next weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Next year the challenge will be even greater with Las Vegas the start of a triple header that leads into Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Team bosses acknowledged that while overall the event was a success, the schedule had been too hard on personnel.
“If we have to improve, it’s perhaps the timing,” said Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur when asked by Autosport about what might enhance the event. “It's not an easy one to find, if you want to have a decent timing for Asia, Europe, East Coast, West Coast.
“Before in the past, we had no issue because F1 was just for the European people, and we had to stick to the European timing, and it was okay.
“Now it's a worldwide project, and it's much more difficult to find something fitting with the expectations of the 24 hours zone. But we will adjust it."
Source: Autosport