Formula 1 heads to Las Vegas for the second edition of its street race on the Strip. Here's what's at stake in Sin City.
A fourth world title for Verstappen?
In the drivers' championship, Max Verstappen could claim his fourth straight world title. With 86 points up for grabs across the remaining three race weekends, the Red Bull man is guaranteed another crown by winning the race outright, or indeed by just finishing ahead of nearest challenger Lando Norris in the race. Verstappen can even afford to finish directly behind Norris in most scenarios to claim the trophy on Saturday night.
Verstappen is poised to join the likes of Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Juan Manuel Fangio, who all managed to win four consecutive titles before him, with Alain Prost the only other driver to conquer four drivers' championships over his career.
Verstappen will be champion in Vegas if:
- Verstappen finishes ahead of Norris
- Norris is second or third and Verstappen finishes right behind him with the fastest lap
- Norris is fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth and Verstappen finishes right behind him
- Norris is ninth, 10th or fails to score
Ferrari's best chance to strike
In the constructors' championship the battle rages on, courtesy of Ferrari enjoying a strong resurgence after its late-season upgrades cured some of the SF-24's flaws. McLaren leads Ferrari by 36 points, but the Scuderia comfortably outscored its rival over the most recent American triple-header, with a win apiece for both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc could have easily won last year's Vegas event, and the slow corners and long straights are expected to benefit Ferrari more than McLaren and Red Bull this weekend. Leclerc did caution that Ferrari's tyre management improvements this year may have inadvertently taken away a strength in the cold conditions likely faced in Nevada, so it remains to be seen if the Scuderia is as fast as it was last year.
But with McLaren still expected to have the most consistently fast car over the remaining three races, Ferrari will need a big weekend in Las Vegas to have a realistic chance of defeating the papaya team. The team is not expecting to be a match for McLaren through the high-speed corners of Qatar's Losail circuit, while Abu Dhabi could go either way. So, Ferrari needs to outscore McLaren by a handy margin this weekend to stay in the fight.
As is well documented, Sergio Perez's struggles have seen Red Bull demoted to third, 13 points adrift of Ferrari. The team could still beat Ferrari if the Mexican hits a late vain of form, but it looks resigned to stay where it is unless its rivals slip up like in Brazil.
Fallout of FIA's Wittich sacking to emerge
Las Vegas is also the first race weekend since the surprise ousting of Niels Wittich as F1's race director, with three races left to run in the season. Wittich is the latest in a series of high-profile departures at the FIA under current president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Wittich's removal, which Motorsport.com understands was due to a falling out with the president, caught many people in the paddock off-guard and is set to lead to further calls from F1 teams for the governing body to restore some stability in its leadership.
The FIA has yet to respond to the drivers' calls for Ben Sulayem to rethink his actions, with the drivers' union GPDA having written an open letter bemoaning the FIA's heavy-handed approach on matters like swearing and wearing jewelry. As the paddock reconvenes in Vegas, discussions on the various flashpoints that have dragged on throughout the season are likely to be held both in public and in private.
Las Vegas looking to confirm the hype on tough second album
Last year's inaugural race down the Strip was hailed as a commercial success for Formula 1, and the low-grip, high-speed layout ended up delivering an intriguing, action-packed race, ultimately won by one of its fiercest critics in Verstappen.
The event got off to a rocky start when Sainz wrecked his Ferrari over a loose water valve cover, leading to delays that saw spectators kicked out for FP2, which started at 2:30am local time.
The organisers are hoping for smoother operational running this time, having promised much less disruption for local residents after some businesses sued F1 and the city over missed income during the nine-month build-up to last year's event, which closed down key arteries.
Following widespread criticism that it was only catering to high-end customers and the corporate world, the event has made 10,000 additional general admission tickets available for this year at lower prices, and the hotel price bubble of 2023 also appears to have been a one-off miscalculation. The city and the series are now keen to prove that the Las Vegas Grand Prix isn't a one-hit wonder and can show its full potential on what is often a tough second album.
