Written by Marcus Woodhouse
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
After a three week hiatus, Formula 1 is back and running in the most spectacular of its 2024 venues. The stars will be out for the illumination of the streets of Las Vegas, where 20 ferocious machines will tear down over the weekend, culminating in the unique Saturday night race.
Last Race Recap
Last time out in Interlagos chaos reigned, but one man rose supremely through the field to take a sensational victory and deal a crushing blow to the championship ambitions of his rivals. It was of course Max Verstappen. The Dutchman set the soaking track alight in Brazil, driving at the peak of his powers to all but confirm his fourth consecutive title.
The Brazilian Grand Prix began with a front-row lockout for McLaren in Sprint Qualifying, with Oscar Piastri starting ahead of Lando Norris, leaving Verstappen down in fourth. The points for the Sprint could almost have been handed out on Friday, as the order remained much the same save for McLaren making a late call to swap their drivers round and Sergio Perez sneaking into eighth place for a solitary point.
Qualifying was scheduled for a few hours later, but the heavens had opened and there was no more running on Saturday, so we got ready to try again on Sunday morning. Rain was still falling but the conditions were manageable and we got under way. Q1 was dramatic as Franco Colapinto crashed into the barriers and brought out the red flag, before Norris only narrowly squeezed through at the end to the dismay of Lewis Hamilton who could only qualify 16th.
Q2 was where things ramped up though, as the Mexican Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz put his Ferrari in the barriers as well, leaving him 14th in a broken car and causing the second red flag to be flown. The rest of the big names seemed to be leaving it late to put a competitive time on the board amidst changing conditions, and the alarm bells started ringing when Lance Stroll lost control of his car in the final moments of the session.
Credit: Ferrari
Norris managed to do enough, as did Charles Leclerc, but Verstappen and Perez fell foul of the inevitable third red flag that put an end to proceedings. The Dutchman qualified 12th but with a five place grid penalty for a power unit change dropping him to P17 on the grid, while Perez was 13th. Q3 soon commenced and Norris was putting the pressure on early and setting the pace, until Fernando Alonso crashed his Aston Martin to bring out a fourth red flag.
Gains on lap time proved difficult after the restart, before Alex Albon was the next to put his car in the barriers and get the red flags waving. Three minutes then remained, and Norris improved once again with a blistering lap that could not be matched. George Russell came closest in P2, followed by Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, and Liam Lawson, all of whom managed to out-qualify Leclerc and Piastri, the latter only managing 8th on the grid after a mistake on his final lap.
Before the race, it was confirmed that Albon’s car was not salvageable in the few hours between sessions and he would take no further part in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Sainz was forced into a pit lane start after changing power units and gearboxes following his Q2 shunt. Then, on the formation lap, Stroll was caught out by the conditions yet again, sliding off the track before making a catastrophic mess of recovering back on, and beaching his car in the gravel.
Confusion ensued among the drivers as the start was aborted, but despite there being no order from race control to embark on a second formation lap, Norris jumped the gun and set off, eventually followed by all the remaining cars on the grid. This break of procedure triggered an investigation into the McLaren driver, the outcome of which was only determined post-race.
Finally the lights went out and Russell steamed past Norris heading into Turn 1, while there were even gloomier scenes for Perez who was dead last by the end of Lap 1 following a spin. Verstappen had wasted not a single second in his charge through the field, passing Colapinto, Oliver Bearman, Valtteri Bottas, and his teammate Perez within the first lap, before diving down the inside of Hamilton’s Mercedes into Turn 1 to claim P10.
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen was driving out of his skin, making light work of Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso, before breezing past Piastri’s disappointing defence. Lawson toed the line and didn’t put up a fight this time, putting the Dutchman in P6 by Lap 11. Meanwhile, Bearman was given a 10-second time penalty for ploughing into the back of Colapinto, despite the Haas driver managing to come off worse from the collision.
In the next few laps, both Hamilton and Sainz were having torrid times and losing positions due to off-track excursions. The stewards also began investigating Mercedes for tyre pressure infringements on the grid. Leclerc was the first into the pits on Lap 25 for more intermediate tyres, but with the rain falling down heavily now, would it be better to stay out or switch to full wets? Meanwhile, Piastri had hit Lawson off the track and was soon given a 10-second time penalty.
Decisions were influenced by Nico Hulkenberg beaching his car and bringing out the VSC (Virtual Safety Car), before seeming to get going again and continue racing. Many of the drivers further back in the pack were granted an opportune moment to change their tyres and enjoy the benefit of pitting under a VSC, but Russell and Norris could only dive into the pits right at the end of the VSC period on Lap 28, and it barely benefited them at all.
They emerged in P4 and P5, but Norris quickly overtook the Mercedes driver who was lacking grip. All now had made their first pit stop except for Ocon, Verstappen, and Gasly who made up the new top three, as well as Bottas further down the order. Alpine suddenly had a double podium on their hands, and Ocon was pulling away at the front by some margin, before the safety car was called out amidst worsening conditions.
Despite this, the red flag had to be shown on Lap 32 after Colapinto crashed heavily into the barriers on the entry to the start-finish straight. Everyone could now change their tyres freely, cementing the top three into their positions, while Hulkenberg was shown a highly uncommon black flag after it transpired that he had received assistance from the marshals to recover his car and put him back on the track.
Credit: Williams F1
The rain was still unrelenting when the race restarted via a rolling start, in which Ocon held off Verstappen for the moment, but it was more misery for Norris who slid off the track at Turn 4 and allowed Russell back past him. Bearman was the next off the track and into the barriers but managed to keep the engine running and continue without assistance, however Sainz was less fortunate, spinning off the road on Lap 40 and ending his dreary Brazilian Grand Prix prematurely.
The Safety Car made yet another appearance as a result, and when the action resumed on Lap 43 Verstappen wasted no time in storming past Ocon to take an unfathomable lead of the race. In direct contrast, Norris was off the track again at Turn 1 and dropped from fourth to seventh, behind his teammate Piastri. Alonso followed suit not long after, slipping to the bottom of the field after straying from the track.
Lap 46 saw an orchestrated driver swap by McLaren in a desperate attempt to keep Norris’ championship dreams alive, but despite a late moment for Leclerc that allowed Russell to overtake him for P4, the McLaren driver couldn’t get close enough in the final stages to march any higher than P6. Behind them, Perez and Lawson were scrapping again, and the Mexican driver lost out again as Hamilton seized his chance to pass him for P10, knocking him out of the points.
No one could get close to Verstappen out front, who set fastest lap after fastest lap to eventually take a stunning victory by just under 20 seconds to Ocon, with Gasly able to hold off Russell to make it a double podium for Alpine and move them into sixth in the Constructors. Leclerc and Norris were next, ahead of Tsunoda who was promoted ahead of Piastri due to the Australian’s time penalty. Lawson made it double points for RB, while Hamilton pipped Perez for tenth.
The stewards took their time in deliberating the outcomes of the investigations into the delayed start, but eventually decided on nothing more than fines and reprimands for Norris and the Mercedes team for their respective infringements. This provided little comfort though for the British championship hopeful, who had seen most of his title ambitions washed away in the Brazilian rain.
Circuit Guide
Credit: Formula 1
The Las Vegas Strip Circuit is an enticing setting for any event, and none more so than a Formula 1 race with average speeds similar to those of Monza. Hosting its first grand prix last year, it is a stunning street circuit that takes the drivers on a tour of the City of Lights, past iconic sites such as Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, and the Venetian.
The start-finish straight is very short, with drivers plunging straight into the lazy left-right of Turns 1 to 4, before heading out onto the first DRS (Drag Reduction System) straight of the circuit. It’s a long but narrow stretch of road that leads into the tight right-hander of Turn 5, before they blast round Turn 6.
Turns 7 and 8 require much slower speeds, then the drivers can put their foot down again on the exit of Turn 9. Turns 10 and 11 are taken flat out, but with little to no room for error between the unforgiving Vegas walls, before a heavy braking zone will allow them to squeeze through Turn 12. From there, it’s flat out again for around 20 seconds down the Strip, with DRS assistance after the extremely high-speed Turn 13.
Adrenaline pumping, the drivers have to slam on the brakes again for Turn 14, building up their speed again through this small sequence of turns until they emerge flat out again from Turn 16. Their foot shouldn’t be raised from the accelerator pedal for the remainder of the lap, as Turn 17 is taken flat out and leads straight into the start-finish line to signal the completion of another tour.
Major Talking Points
Will Verstappen wrap up the title in Vegas? - Following a magnificent drive on race day at Interlagos, the Dutchman can claim his fourth consecutive title if he simply doesn’t lose more than two points to Norris this Saturday night, giving him a real possibility of wrapping things up with two races remaining.
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Can the new Race Director smoothen rising tensions? - Plenty of fans are becoming increasingly up-in-arms about stewarding decisions, with conspiracy theories flying around seemingly every week, so it remains to be seen whether new Race Director Rui Marques can calm things down at all and bring the focus back to the racing itself, following departure of Niels Wittich from the role.
Who can bring the fight to McLaren in the Constructors? - In Brazil, Red Bull managed to make up some ground on their competitors in the Constructor Standings, but McLaren still hold a sizeable lead of 593 points, ahead of Ferrari on 557 and Red Bull on 544, so the two chasing teams need a strong performance from both cars to put the pressure on the Woking-based manufacturer.
Where will Colapinto be driving in 2025? - With only an RB seat left up for grabs on the 2025 F1 driver line-up, that should probably go to the high-flying Liam Lawson, we have almost arrived at the conclusion that Franco Colapinto will not be in F1 this year despite his highly impressive showings this year, so he may have to take stock and focus his efforts on a return in 2026 with a team more of his choosing.
What will Las Vegas have in store for us this year? - A dazzling array of celebrities, a picturesque night setting on the streets of Vegas, and hopefully a spectacular race all await us.
Weather Forecast
The changing weather conditions of Interlagos are well and truly behind us now, as the forecast for Las Vegas is mild and stable over the weekend. Sunny skies mixed with cloudier portions are expected, and rain will not play a part in the action.
Weekend Schedule (in GMT)
Practice 1 - Friday, 02:30
Practice 2 - Friday, 06:00
Practice 3 - Saturday, 02:30
Qualifying - Saturday, 06:00
Race - Sunday, 06:00
Broadcast Information
Region | Channel |
Africa | SuperSport |
Albania | Euronews Albania |
Armenia | FastSports |
Australia | Fox SportsFoxtelKayo |
Austria | Servus TVORF |
Azerbaijan | AzTVIdman Azerbaijan |
Belgium | RTBF Play Sports |
Bosnia | Sport Klub |
Brazil | TV BandeirantesBandsports |
Bulgaria | Nova Diema Sport |
Cambodia | beIN SPORTS |
Canada | RDS RDS 2 TSN Noovo |
Caribbean | Rush Sports |
China | CCTV Shanghai TV Guangdong Television Channel Tencent |
Chinese Taipei | Videoland ELTA |
Croatia | Sport Klub |
Cyprus | Cytavision |
Czech Republic & Slovakia | Nova |
Denmark | TV3 Viaplay |
Estonia | Viaplay Go3 Estonia |
Eurasia | Setanta Sports |
Finland | Viaplay V Sport 1 |
France | Canal+ |
Germany | Sky Deutschland |
Greece | ANT1 ANT1+ |
Hong Kong | beIN SPORTS Now Sports 1 & 2 |
Hungary | M4 (MTVA Sports Channel) |
Iceland | Viaplay |
India | FanCode/F1 TV |
Indonesia | beIN SPORTS |
In-ship & In-flight | Sport 24 Sport 24 Extra |
Israel | Sport 5 |
Italy | Sky Italia |
Japan | Fuji TV DAZN |
Kosovo | Sport Klub Artmotion Kosovo |
Laos | beIN SPORTS |
Latin America | ESPN |
Latvia | Viaplay GO3 Latvia |
Lithuania | Viaplay GO3 Lithuania |
Luxembourg | RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg |
Macedonia | Sport Klub |
Malaysia & Brunei | beIN SPORTS |
Malta | Go Sports |
Mexico | Fox Sports Mexico |
Montenegro | SportKlub |
Myanmar | Canal+ Sports Canal+ ACTION |
Netherlands | Viaplay |
New Zealand | Sky NZ |
Norway | V sport 1 Viaplay |
Papua New Guinea & Pacific Islands | TVWAN Sports |
Philippines | beIN SPORTS |
Poland | Viaplay |
Portugal | Sport TV |
Romania | Antena |
Serbia | SportKlub |
Singapore | beIN SPORTS |
Slovenia | SportKlub |
South Korea | Coupang Play |
Spain & Andorra | DAZN |
Sweden | Viaplay V sport motor TV10 |
Switzerland | SRF RSI RTS |
Thailand | beIN Sports |
Turkey | beIN Sports |
Ukraine | Setanta Ukraine |
United Kingdom | Sky Sports Channel 4 |
USA | ESPN ESPN Deportes |
Vietnam | K+ |
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