Max Verstappen showed off his singing voice as he channeled his inner Elvis Presley at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
As the Dutchman crossed the finish line, with pop star Justin Bieber waving the checkered flag, his Red Bull engineers played Elvis’ hit ‘Viva Las Vegas’ over the team radio.
Verstappen, who spent much of this weekend complaining about the off-track focus in Vegas and claiming he felt like “a clown” during Wednesday’s opening ceremony, got caught up in the moment when he decided to sing along.
‘Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas!’ Verstappen sang, before chuckling to himself as he waved to the crowd.
He is then told to go to the pits, while a Red Bull employee jokes that they should call him ‘Elvis’, which Verstappen quickly dismisses: ‘Don’t do that!’
Vegas provided a spectacle in the first return of F1 racing there since the 1980s, but Verstappen struggled to warm up.
Nevertheless, he quickly found his feet over the course of the weekend and organizers will have been delighted to see the Dutchman singing his way to glory at the end, wearing a special Elvis racing suit.
Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez, who finished third, raced under the lights in specially designed racing suits that mimicked the style of the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ Elvis Presley.
Perez was dressed in red while Verstappen donned a striking white suit (capes not included).
“As we prepare for the first-ever Grand Prix in Las Vegas, it is only fitting that we pay tribute to Las Vegas’ most prolific icon, Elvis Presley,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
“Elvis has left his mark on Vegas and the world and has become synonymous with the glitz, flash and energy of the strip, something we hope to replicate when we hit the track Saturday night.”
With Verstappen’s victory secured, the suits will now be transported to Elvis Presley’s country home – Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee – where they will be put on display.
More to follow.