The sun is rapidly setting on the 2024 Formula One season. After another brief break, it’s an all-out sprint to finish with three race weekends coming back to back to back to close out the campaign. That begins at the second annual Las Vegas Grand Prix, where a champion could be crowned.
This year has been one to remember—especially after the lopsided nature of 2022 and ’23. Seven different drivers have won races, with six of those competitors winning multiple times. Max Verstappen, not surprisingly, leads the way with eight victories but there’s no denying that he’s faced his biggest challenge in at least three years, primarily from McLaren and Lando Norris.
Verstappen heads to Las Vegas with a chance to further solidify his dominance in the current era of F1 by clinching his fourth straight world championship. However, his Red Bull team finds itself in a far more precarious situation, trailing McLaren in the constructors’ standings by nearly 50 points with only three races to go. Ferrari, which splits the two teams, finds itself in a position to play spoiler and the results this weekend will go a long way in determining one of the closest team battles of the last decade.
Between two contentious title fights and the spectacle sure to be found in and around the Vegas strip, here’s what to watch at this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen’s Pursuit of the Next Tier of Greatness
Not that there was any question of the three-time defending champion’s capability as a driver, but his performance in Brazil will undoubtedly be mentioned when it comes time to discuss his legacy. Verstappen hasn’t had his back against the wall much during his F1 career, and being able to prove that he can not only manage the pressure but rise above it would go down as one of his best traits as a competitor.
The reward for a drive like that is an opportunity to enter a new stratosphere of F1 stardom. Only five other drivers have won four or more titles across the sport’s 74-year history. Greats like Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have seven championships apiece, while Argentine sensation Juan Manuel Fangio stands alone next in the all-time rankings with five. But should Verstappen win this year, he would form a trio with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, putting him on the precipice of joining F1’s Mount Rushmore.
Of course, Verstappen still needs to convert, even with his current cushion. A maximum of 86 points remain on the board for drivers to amass in the final three race weekends and the Red Bull driver holds a 62-point advantage. That means if Verstappen beats Norris head-to-head in Vegas, or Norris fails to pick up three points on the 27-year-old, Verstappen will emerge from the final race on American soil this season as a four-time reigning champ.
Much of this season for Verstappen has been wrapped up in controversy over his aggressive driving style or the turmoil swirling inside the Red Bull garage. All of that will fade to the background if he adds another trophy to his collection on Sunday.
A fourth world title is within Max's grasp in Vegas#F1 #LasVegasGP pic.twitter.com/Hkv9awfTqc
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 21, 2024
Constructors’ Battles at the Front and in the Midfield
While the permutations for Verstappen’s championship are straightforward, the scrap among the top three constructors is far more muddled. McLaren enters the weekend in Las Vegas with a 36-point lead over Ferrari and 49-point advantage over Red Bull—neither margin of which is wide enough to help clinch the team title on Sunday.
A single team can acquire a maximum of 44 points in Las Vegas, making McLaren’s largest possible lead 80, with a total of 103 points still remaining across the competitions in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. That hypothetical would also mean Ferrari and Red Bull scored a combined zero points in Vegas, which is highly unlikely given the reliability of both outfits this season. So while no team can win the constructors' championship this weekend, Sunday’s race provides Ferrari and Red Bull an opportunity to cut into McLaren’s lead—or risk letting the situation get out of hand with two weekends to go.
Apart from the trio dueling for first place, an unlikely competition has unfolded for sixth in the standings as well. Alpine’s stunning double podium finish in Brazil vaulted it from ninth to sixth place in a single outing. The French outfit now leads Haas by three points and RB by five points, though both of those teams have scored more consistently this season.
The difference between sixth and eighth when it comes to end-of-year earnings is monumental, so each point will matter for all three teams down the stretch. Plenty of the strategy that will play out in Las Vegas for all of those jostling for places in the standings will be focused on beating their closest rivals, making for an even more tense environment in the paddock.
Las Vegas Doubles Down
It’s fair to say that last year’s inaugural race in Sin City was somewhat of an experiment. Spending over half a billion dollars for the race on the Las Vegas strip that aired in the middle of the night for viewers on the East Coast and heavily disrupted the local community brought with it a fair amount of pre-race criticism. However, the spectacle on the track—apart from a loose manhole cover that cut the opening night of the weekend short—was as advertised, with Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc delivering an epic three-car race in the final laps of the race on the high-speed track. That’s not to mention the flair that was brought all weekend long with custom Vegas-themed helmets and liveries, WWE-style introductions for the drivers and a high-profile guest list.
Though the drivers may be more eager to keep the focus on the racing, there’s no denying that all of the extra fanfare is entertaining. According to a statement from race organizers, 300,000 fans are expected to attend the event from Thursday to Saturday “based on calculated data from ticket sales and bookings for race-related programming.”Now that the kinks are worked out, the Las Vegas Grand Prix stands to deliver an even smoother event in Year 2, whether you’re watching in person or at home.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Las Vegas Grand Prix Preview: Max Verstappen Goes for Glory As Team Battle Heats Up.
