The race down the strip in Sin City has become a marmite weekend for fans, but what did we learn from the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix?
Some believe the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas weekend showcase is too much for Formula 1. Many drivers agree that the weekend prioritises entertainment and gimmicks first, putting the sport and racing second.
However, despite this marmite quality, the Las Vegas Grand Prix returned for a second year in 2024 and gave fans much to discuss. Before 2023 and 2024, there had been no F1 racing in Vegas since the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix. Let’s recap some key moments from Sunday’s race.
A champion is crowned
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Not this time. What happened at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix made history. Max Verstappen finished the race in P5, crucially ahead of his championship rival – McLaren’s Lando Norris – who finished in P6.
Due to finishing ahead of Norris, Verstappen was crowned the 2024 Drivers’ Champion. The 2024 season has been much trickier than the dominant all-but-one race win that Red Bull achieved in 2023. Many doubted whether Verstappen would secure the championship this year after a period of no race wins between the Spanish and Brazilian Grands Prix (a gap of 10 races).
However, Verstappen claimed victory before the season’s end. Two races are remaining in 2024. Therefore, the Dutchman has proved to his doubters that he can win the Drivers’ Title even when he is not in the fastest car on the grid.
The champion made sure to remind McLaren CEO Zak Brown of this fact. McLaren’s boss had previously claimed that Verstappen could only win a championship by having the fastest car. Undeniably, this year Verstappen has had to work for every point he has scored.
Max Verstappen to Zak Brown:
"And like you said, you know, before I could only win it in the fastest car! This year its been a little bit different!"
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) November 24, 2024
Indeed, the RB20 has lacked speed and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez has struggled with poor performance. While Verstappen maintained P1 in the Drivers’ Standings, Perez sits in P8 – the least points of all eight drivers in the top four teams (Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes).
Because of this lack of results for Perez and Verstappen’s period without wins, Red Bull has suffered in the Constructors’ Championship. The reigning Constructors’ Champions dropped from P1 in the standings to P3 behind McLaren and Ferrari.
Despite this, the team have enjoyed celebrating with Verstappen. The Dutchman takes home his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship victory and became the sixth driver in F1’s history to win four (or more) titles. He joins Juan-Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and Lewis Hamilton in the history books.
Fury at Ferrari
Charles lets out his frustrations on the cooldown lap ? pic.twitter.com/hKhGWxUvPA
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 24, 2024
While Carlos Sainz stood on the Las Vegas podium after achieving P3 in the race, the weekend ended on a sour note for Ferrari. Charles Leclerc, who finished in P4, aired his frustrations post-race on the team radio, saying: “Whatever you want, as always”. He used colourful language to which his Ferrari Race Engineer responded that he: “Did the right thing for the team”.
Leclerc had a fantastic start to the race, overtaking Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and his Ferrari teammate Sainz to move up from P4 to P2. He even caught up to the tail of race leader George Russell. However, Leclerc’s pace then seemed to drop off a cliff as he struggled with his tyres. The life had disappeared from his medium compound tyres and the Monegasque was forced to pit on lap 10 after being overtaken by Sainz and Verstappen.
His pace improved post-pit stop on the hard compound tyres. The Ferrari driver managed to make his way back up to P4 after overtaking Verstappen. However, it was too little too late for Leclerc.
Leclerc was not the only frustrated Ferrari driver. Sainz was heard pleading with his Ferrari Race Engineer to let him pit.Â?On lap 27, Hamilton was close to Leclerc chasing for P4 and Ferrari told their drivers to swap positions.
Then, when it seemed like he was finally entering the pit lane, Ferrari frantically told Sainz to stay out. The Spaniard had crossed the line for the pit lane already but then rejoined the circuit. Many believed that Sainz or Ferrari would pick up a penalty for crossing the pit entry line, but it was not noted by Race Control during the race.
Sainz came into the pits on lap 29 asking the team what happened. Ferrari responded that they were not ready for him. He rejoined the race in P6 behind Hamilton. However, this then led to the biggest frustration for Leclerc. Ferrari told Sainz not to overtake Leclerc. However, Sainz used his fresher tyres to pass his teammate for the final podium position.
While tensions were high between the two Ferrari drivers in Vegas, the teammates only have two more races left together at Ferrari. Hamilton joins Leclerc at Ferrari for 2025 and Sainz is moving to Williams.
Gutted for Gasly
Heartbroken ? pic.twitter.com/kkfsWQlmj4
— BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) November 24, 2024
Pierre Gasly had a weekend of two halves. After an excellent Qualifying session, the Frenchman lined up in P3 for Alpine. He also performed well in the practice sessions, achieving P9 in FP1, P6 in FP2, and P10 in FP3. It seemed as though Alpine were on a roll from their successful weekend at the previous round of the championship.
The Brazilian Grand Prix weekend saw a double podium finish for Alpine, with Esteban Ocon in P2 and Gasly in P3. Ocon had qualified in P4 and made up two places in the rain-soaked race. However, Gasly achieved a huge jump from qualifying in P15 to finishing in P3. Gasly also maintained P7 throughout Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint Race in Brazil.
However, unfortunately, the unreliability of Alpine struck again in Las Vegas. After the team had enjoyed a recent uplift in performance following a disappointing year, they returned to their woes during the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Gasly was forced to retire the car on lap 16 after smoke was seen billowing from the A524.
Alpine also made a miscommunication error for Ocon’s race. They brought the Frenchman in early for his pit stop. This meant that Ocon entered the pits, did not stop, went around the circuit again for another lap, and then re-entered the pits for his actual stop. Therefore, he lost a lot of time from this fumble.
Miscommunication in the team meant Esteban made an extra stop today.
We’ll review and push ahead to Qatar. pic.twitter.com/NAy9flWHS6
— BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) November 24, 2024
Sauber was so close
Halfway into the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Alexander Albon became the second car to retire from the race. Williams’ woes were good news for Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu. His retirement promoted Zhou into a points scoring position.
It seemed like there was a real chance for the Sauber driver to claim his first points finish in F1. Both Zhou and his Sauber teammate Valtteri Bottas are without a seat next year, but some scoring points for the team, who currently sit on zero, would be a positive end to their time in F1.
However, the Chinese driver ended the race in P13. A good result but still three positions away from scoring a point. His teammate Bottas had a less positive race, finishing in P18. Due to the two race retirements of Gasly and Albon, P18 was last place in Vegas.
The drivers have two more chances to score points for Sauber before they all part ways after the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Will they succeed?
Mystified in Mercedes
Mercedes led the charge throughout the entire Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend. Hamilton topped the timesheets in bothÂ?Free Practice 1Â?andÂ?Free Practice 2, while Russell was fastest inÂ?Free Practice 3 and qualified in pole position for the race.
Hamilton suffered a mistake during the last part of Qualifying and started the race in P10. However, the seven-time world champion made a phenomenal recovery and caught up to his race-leading teammate in the closing stages of the race to finish in P2.Â? He was awarded Driver of the Day for his incredible race.
Russell maintained his lead and crossed the chequered flag for victory in Vegas. The weekend was utterly dominated by Mercedes, from the start to a 1-2 finish. When interviewed, the Mercedes team all shared that none of them knew why the car was working so well.
Russell had said earlier in the season that when the W15 works it is a race-winning car. But, unfortunately, the car was not reliably fast every weekend and the team did not understand the reasons why it worked when it did perform.
Following the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Russell became the seventh multiple-race winner of the season. Every driver in the top four teams, other than Red Bull’s Perez who has not claimed a victory this year, has now won two or more races.
Russell’s Vegas win marks a historic milestone in F1, becoming the first season with seven different multiple-race winners. It surpassed the 1981 season where there were six multiple-race winners. This record-breaking achievement highlights just how competitive the 2024 F1 season has been.
Featured Image Credit:Â?@amgmotorsport on X