Formula One is gearing up for one of its biggest weekends of the year – the neon-lit Las Vegas Grand Prix – where it is likely Max Verstappen will be crowned champion.
All the Dutchman needs to do to secure the title with two grands prix to spare is finish ahead of rival Lando Norris on Sunday morning.
A fourth world title will elevate the 27-year-old Red Bull driver to the status of Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, who amassed four crowns during their careers. Only Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have achieved more.
Verstappen won the inaugural Las Vegas GP last year but Ferrari had the faster car. Despite the champion’s mesmerising victory in Sao Paulo three weeks ago, we can expect the red cars to fly this weekend.
The SF-24 is particularly strong in slow corners, traction zones and on long straights. A potential weakness will be tyre temperatures, as the desert nights are very chilly and the Ferrari is not great at switching on its tyres during qualifying and out-laps.
Just 49 points separate McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, so while the drivers’ title may be settled in Vegas the constructors’ championship is set to go down to the wire. A strong result for Ferrari this weekend could pave the way to the Scuderia’s first world title in 16 years.
Norris was off the boil in Brazil – starting from pole but finishing sixth – but if he can score three more points than Verstappen this time, he can keep his championship hopes alive a little while longer. Nevertheless, his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri has revealed ‘papaya rules’ no longer apply; he is not automatically playing a supporting role because the chances of winning the drivers’ championship are so vanishingly slim.
Norris, who has won three grands prix this year to Verstappen’s eight, admitted: ‘I probably wasn’t outright ready to go up against Red Bull and Max. I think I am now, but it is probably too late. I was pretty down for a week after Brazil because there was the realisation that things are out of my control and not within reach and that was a tough moment.
‘So it was a pretty s****y week, with probably zero recovery done. I literally couldn’t sleep for the first two days. I did 36-40 hours straight.
‘I can survive, I can put up a fight, and that is what I will do. But at some point you know it is not going to go your way. I definitely wasn’t at the level I needed to be at the beginning of the year and even at the Miami point of the season.
‘Since the summer break, I feel like I’ve done a good job. By far some of my best performances. I still need to make tweaks and improve on things, that is clear. For the first time, I am confident to say that I have what I need to fight for a championship.’
The McLaren’s trump card is downforce in high-speed corners, which are lacking in Las Vegas, so the team will have to go some to beat Ferrari and Red Bull on the strip.
Norris compared his battle with Verstappen to a chess match, and one he looks set to lose. He added: ‘It’s very out of reach at the minute. We’ve been performing well, but I need a lot of luck. It’s check [mate] and I’m all alone, and Max has all his pawns ready to attack me.’
A hole lot going on in La Vegas as drivers are left ‘feeling fed up’
Las Vegas served up a thrilling spectacle last year but the event got off to a chaotic start when a manhole cover came loose and destroyed Carlos Sainz Jr’s Ferrari. This time, the manhole covers have been reinforced, or in some cases paved over, so it should not be an issue.
However, given the race takes place on public roads, it is a particularly demanding job for the race director and it will be a baptism of fire for new man Rui Marques, who is stepping up from F2 and F3 to replace Niels Wittich.
Wittich, who held the FIA role for just three seasons, has left to pursue ‘new opportunities’. It is claimed he was axed after a falling-out with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
George Russell says he would have preferred the governing body to have consulted with the drivers first. ‘It was a bit of a surprise for everybody,’ said the Mercedes man.
‘Often as drivers, we feel we’re the last to find out this sort of information. When it involves us directly, it would be nice to be kept in the loop and just have an understanding of what decisions are being made.’
There are already tensions between the drivers and the FIA president. Following the Brazilian GP, the Grand Prix Drivers Association wrote an open letter to Sulayem criticising recent fines for swearing, and asking for more transparency about where the money goes. It asked the FIA to treat its members ‘like adults’.
Russell, director of the GPDA, added: ‘I’m not too sure if we’re being listened to. There are a number of drivers who feel fed up. Getting things to change or promises upheld seems challenging.’
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