Welcome to the Las Vegas Grand Prix – 2024
Norris ‘wasn’t ready’ for Verstappen title fight
Lando Norris has admitted he “wasn’t ready” for a title fight with Max Verstappen this season. The McLaren driver must outscore his championship rival by three points this weekend to keep his championship alive with a sprint and two Grands Prix remaining.
Ahead of this weekend, the gap between the two is forty-seven points with eight-six on the table over the next three weeks, however, The Dutchman will clinch a fourth world title if he leads by at least sixty points after Saturday’s race. Despite saying he “wasn’t ready” for the championship, he is confident that he “had what it takes” to win a championship in the future.
Norris said, “I probably wasn’t outright ready to go up against Red Bull and Max. I think I am now now. But it’s probably too late. Max is one of the best drivers ever in F1. And to go up against that person who is so good takes a bit more than what I have done this season. But since the summer break, it is close to what it should be.”
“It is the first time we’ve had a chance to fight at the front. We’ve not been able to do that for the past six years, this has been our and my first opportunity. I was definitely not at the level I need to be at the beginning of the year. Since the summer break, I feel I’ve done a very good job and performed very well, by far some of my best performances.”
While he is not completely happy with how the season has played out, he says that he has faith that he can fight for the championship in the future. Norris accepted he and the team have made mistakes this year, once again saying he hasn’t performed at a championship-winning level.
Reflecting on the last race in Sao Paulo, once again being open about his mental health, he admitted it has had a “tough time” after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as a result of realising his title hopes had faded away.
He added: “It was a defining moment for the championship. The doors are almost shut. For a week, I was pretty down because I had that realisation that things are pretty much out of my control, and not within reach, and that’s a tough thing.
McLaren rolls back ‘Papaya Rules’ – Piastri
Oscar Piastri says that McLaren has rolled back its ‘Papaya Rules’ team orders which means he is no longer automatically playing a support role to Lando Norris. McLaren had decided to use team orders to try and help Norris in the championship, but his bid appears over with Verstappen looking likely to take the title.
While not impossible that he may be called upon in certain circumstances to help Norris, for now, he is once again unleashed to chase victories himself. Asked by Motorsport.com if what became known as ‘Papaya Rules’ had changed, Piastri said: “Pretty much, yes. There’s still some, let’s say, very specific scenarios where I might be needed to help out. But for the very large majority of situations, it’s back to how it was.”
“The drivers’ championship picture is very slim, and the constructors’ championship is certainly not over for us. It’s certainly not a done deal, so that’s definitely the biggest thing. So it’s a very specific few scenarios that maybe I’ll still help out if that’s what I’m asked to do, but I’m going into the weekend trying to win.”
McLaren has been clear following Sao Paulo that their focus had always been on a first constructors in a quarter of a century. But while admitting it was difficult giving Norris’s championship hopes, it did give him clarity of a better scenario personally.
Adding “To be honest, I wasn’t that disappointed with giving that up. Of course, I would have loved to have won the sprint, but it’s a very different scenario to a grand prix. I think I proved what I wanted to prove in terms of qualifying on pole. And that was just to myself. Even if I had won the sprint, qualifying on pole was probably the more satisfying thing for me.”
“I knew I did the right thing in the sprint, and that’s good for me. So yeah, I’m happy that we don’t have to go into those kinds of things as much anymore. Obviously next year, I want to make sure that I’m not in a position, championship-wise, to be subject to that.”
Verstappen hopes of Brazil repeat
Max Verstappen will be hoping that his brilliant drive from seventeenth to victory in Sao Paulo gives him momentum to wrap up the championship at the first opportunity this weekend. Below are the various scenarios which would allow him to do that but the easiest way to do it would be victory.
However, the Dutchman has failed to win consecutive races since Montreal – Barcelona, but will be hoping that his win two weeks ago allows him to repeat that. Red Bull looked to have ironed out the car issues that compromised their performance after the summer break, which could be key in him
Asked whether the team had prepared anything special for the eventuality that he secured the championship in Las Vegas, Verstappen said: “If they did, I don’t want to know! I just want to focus on the weekend and try to have a good performance. Brazil was a very welcome victory for us after a while, but this is again very different.”
“Going off the last races we were definitely not the quickest car so we’ll see what we can do here. Last year we had a fun race here but Ferrari was very fast already. This track seems to suit their car but I hope that we can be in that fight this weekend to try and win again””
Despite the resurgence and the fact Norris threat has appeared to disappeared, he was still reluctant to speak too soon about his potential fourth title. Saying “It looks a bit better now in the championship but we’ll see this weekend. We have good hopes to be competitive but I don’t know how competitive. I do feel that even in Brazil in the dry, we were quite decent finally again in race pace.”
But while the driver’s championship could be in his hands, the constructors is far from secure though Red Bull leads by forty-nine points, but it could be big statement of intent if he does take a fourth title.
Championship deciding factors
Max Verstappen has his first opportunity to win the driver championship in Las Vegas the first driver to do so in forty years. With three races and a sprint race over the next three races, there are eighty-six points across Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. That breaks down as a maximum of twenty-six points in each of the three grands prix plus eight from the final Sprint of the year in Qatar. This means that Verstappen will be champion in Vegas if he finishes sixty points ahead of Norris.
Verstappen must be |
With Norris |
| If he finishes ahead of Norris in any position | |
| Third with the fastest lap (16 points) | Second (18 points) |
| he finishes fourth with the fastest lap (13 points) | Third (15 points) |
| he finishes fifth (10 points) | fourth without the fastest lap (12 points) |
| fifth without the fastest lap (10 points) | finishes sixth (8 points) |
| sixth without the fastest lap (8 points) | finishes eighth (4 points) |
| finishes ninth (2 points) | eighth without the fastest lap (4 points) |
| irrespective of whether he finishes | ninth without the fastest lap or lower (2 points or fewer) |
| Tie break | should Norris tie him on points in Abu Dhabi |
Perez condemns his fathers homophobia
Sergio Perez has condemned homophobic remarks made by his father, Antonio, towards the former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher. In a podcast interview, Perez Garibay made a homophobic slur towards Schumacher during an answer in which he said the former Williams driver, who now works as an F1 pundit for Sky in Germany, had claimed his son was poised to lose his seat at Red Bull.
The brother of seven-time champion Michael, announced in July that he has been in a same-sex relationship with Étienne Bousquet-Cassagne. Schumacher, who is the younger brother of seven-time F1 champion Michael, won six grands prix in a 180-race career in which he raced for Jordan, Williams and Toyota between 1997 and 2007. He was previously married to Cora, with whom he has a son David, who is also a racing driver.
Perez said, “First of all, I don’t agree with any of his comments,” Sergio Perez told Sky Sports News when asked about his father’s remarks. I think he did a mistake in that regard. I don’t share any of his views but at the same time I don’t control what my father has to say, I can only control what I say.”
“It’s important as a sport to always show that whatever happens on track it always remains on track. That’s the way I see it and we should always be an example for the rest of the world.”
In response, Schumacher wrote on Instagram, “I would also stand behind my son hundred per cent and try to help. That’s what you do as a father. As far as style is concerned, I would be different but we know Mr Perez with all his emotions. That’s why I’m not angry with him. However, I think that results on the track would be the better arguments.”
Hamilton admitted he wanted to leave Mercedes early
Lewis Hamilton has admitted he wanted to leave Mercedes early after a torrid weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The seven-time champion who is joining Ferrari next season suggested it could be his “last time” driving for the Silver Arrows, before telling Sky Sports he “could happily go and take a holiday”.
Mercedes played down Hamilton’s comments in the days after the race and suggested his radio remarks were directed at team members who would not be working at the final three races of the season in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Asked about his comments in Sao Paulo, Hamilton said, “I mean, in the moment that’s how I felt like I didn’t really want to come back after that weekend. But I think that’s only natural. It’s frustrating when you have a season like this, which I’m pretty sure I won’t have again, or at least I’ll work towards not having again. It wasn’t a great feeling in that moment, but I’m here, I’m standing strong and I’m going to give it absolutely everything for these last few races.”
Asked about comments mad by CEO and team principal Toto Wolff in the book Life in the Fast Lane, which followed the team through their turbulent 2023 campaign and the start of 2024. Wolff spoke about the seven-time champion having a ‘shelf life’ and “liked” that the Briton chose to leave the team to join Ferrari as it prevented him from possibly having to get rid of the seven-time champion, though Wolff says they were ‘out of content.’
Asked if he felt like he had a point to prove to Wolff following the remarks, Hamilton said: “No. I think just me being here standing tall, I feel strong, I’ve been training well, I feel great. Honestly, I feel in the best place I’ve been all year mentally, and considering how bad the last race was, I think that says enough.
“I’ve been around this game for a long time. There’s been so many things that are said about me, there’s been so many micro-aggressions – obviously not from my boss because he’s been supportive over all these years and we’ve achieved a lot together – but I mean in general, within the media and through it all, and nothing can take me down.
Talking Points Las Vegas
Round twenty-two brings F1 back to Las Vegas kicking off the final triple-header of 2024 and Max Verstappen’s first opportunity to take a fourth title. The sport returned to the 3.803-mile street circuit for the first time in three decades last year racing along the famous strip for the first time in what was the first night race in the Americas.
A year on, the sport returns with both world championship titles yet to be settled this time round amid what has proved an increasingly competitive and unpredictable season.
While the championship battles are again set to dominate the narrative on track this weekend – with the sport’s most coveted prize potentially being settled in the race – F1 also heads Stateside for the final time this year with fresh off-track controversy centred around its governing body, the FIA, and lingering questions around a 2025 driver market that still isn’t absolutely settled just five weeks before Christmas.
The championship calculations are set out above, Verstappen taking four in a row like Michael Schumacher Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton carries some irony, though, given he was heavily outspoken about F1’s newest and most highly-anticipated venue a year ago. He described the race as “ninety-nine per cent show, one per cent sporting event”.
There is also an interesting fight in the constructors for sixth, following a turbulent season and controversially ending its engine programme, Alpine scored a double podium in Sao Paulo allowing them to jump from ninth to sixth. But keeping that position is certainly not guaranteed given Haas, more regular top-10 finishers this year, are just three points back and RB only five adrift.
What Alpine’s big leap forward has done is leave Williams marooned in no-man’s land in ninth place, 27 points behind RB and 17 ahead of point-less Sauber, who now have just three races left to avoid the second nul points of their 32-year history with little over a year to go until they morph into the Audi works team.
While last year’s race was largely a success there was controversy over the running of practice, in a fraught opening day of track running when Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari sustained major damage by running over a loose drain cover within the eight minutes of first practice starting. That inaugural session was suspended, and then not restarted, with Practice Two delayed by what turned out to be two-and-a-half hours while officials carried out a full inspection and attended to the many other manholes located around the rest of the track.
The running of that session at two in the morning was behind closed doors after the circuit was forced to throw out fans before any meaningful running because the delays had gone beyond the contractual obligation of circuit staff.
In track terms, the 3.85-mile street layout which winds past some of Vegas’ most famous hotels and landmarks – including the 1.24-mile flat-out blast down the main section of The Strip – remains unchanged after last year’s successful debut.
Off track, there has been more drama at the FIA, Niels Wittich was a key player in resolving last year’s drain-cover dramas, has been removed from his role amidst tensions within the governing body. It means the sport is looking for its fifth race director in five years following sustained scrutiny over decision-making from both Race Control and the steward’s office for a while now, but his exit was still surprising – particularly given there are three races of the season to go.
Even before that story broke, the governing body and its president had already been central in the other major story to emerge during the sport’s three-week break in races – the hard-hitting public statement issued by the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association in which it criticised Ben Sulayem’s handling of the recent swearing controversy and the FIA’s issuing of fines for rules transgressions.
Drivers ‘bit fed up’ with FIA leadership
George Russell says that drivers are “a bit fed up” with the leadership of the FIA. The GPDA director says the drivers “weren’t aware” of the decision to remove the race director Niels Wittich three races before the end of the season.
Russell made it clear he was referring specifically to the leadership of the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. He said it was “not difficult” to have a meeting with Ben Sulayem, but “having promises fulfilled is another matter”.
The Briton said: “There are several drivers who feel a bit fed up with the whole situation and it only seems to be going to a degree in the wrong direction.”
Tensions between the governing body and the trade union have been tense since comments made by Ben Sulayem about swearing last month, as well as lack of transparency over how money for fines for driving transgressions was being used. In the break between Sao Paulo and Vegas, the race director Niels Wittich left his role in unclear circumstances, and the sacking of FIA compliance officer Paolo Basarri had also been sacked.
Russell said: “Talking as a fellow driver as opposed to my role with the GPDA, everybody felt with certain things that have happened that we wanted to stand united. At the end of the day we just want to be transparent with the FIA and have this dialogue.”
Adding, “The departure of Niels is a prime example of not being part of these conversations. (The letter) is kind of us putting the pressure back on them.” While accepting that the drivers were not always happy with the decisions they were able to work together to find solutions and ‘hiring and firing’ wasn’t always the solution.
McLaren driver Lando Norris said: “I don’t know what’s going on there. Obviously things are not running as smoothly as we would want.”
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen echoed Russell’s comments, saying that the drivers felt ignored compared with the days of the former FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting, who died on the eve of the 2019 season.
Alpine boss opens up about switch to Mercedes power
Alpine team principal Ollie Oakes has opened up on the team’s decision to switch to Mercedes powertrains for 2026, stating the team simply wanted “the best engine in the back of the car”. Parent company Renault controversially decided to end its power unit programme in September and switch to Mercedes power.
Speaking on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Oakes noted that there was a lot of emotion involved in the decision-making to close down Renault’s 2026 powertrain project, but that it was in the team’s best interests to enact a move up the order.
Oakes told Beyond the Grid, “Some of those decisions that have been taken this year aren’t easy. The Viry topic is very personal to the team and a lot of people, because that is a really great history of being a works team. But also times change; you see that in all sorts of sports teams, that you can’t rest on your laurels.”
“I know it was a difficult decision. I know there’s a lot of emotion there, because we are proud to be a works team and we still have a year all together next year, but I do feel that was also a big statement of intent of where we want to go.” Oakes made it clear that Alpine doesn’t want to be in the sport making up the numbers.
He aims to be back up the front of the grid, while accepting the decision was cruel to end its engine programme it’s the right one to help move the team up the grid. But while he says that it’s the best engine there was not guarantees that they would be the best after the regulation change.
He added that this was an opportunity for Alpine to benchmark its current car design capabilities, having spent the past few seasons with less powerful engines versus its contemporaries in F1.
Adding “Nothing in life is a dead cert, but I think you have to be pragmatic there. I don’t know the full ins and outs of the decision, because it was slightly before I started. But if I was to pick at it I’d probably turn around and say, well, history does show that every time there’s been a regulation change, they’ve been strong.”
Following the last two engine regulation changes in 2009 (as Brawn) and 2014, Mercedes won both drivers and constructors the year of the change. The latter started a run of eight constructors championships and seven drivers.
The Weekend Ahead
This weekend is the start of the final triple-header and races of the season with much as we explained above focus on whether Max Verstappen can wrap up the championship this weekend on a Saturday for a second year in a row. I think the big question for Verstappen is whether that win in Sao Paulo was the swing for a strong end to this year and for his rival Lando Norris its not over mathematically.
Imagine doing it in Vegas we know organisers have big plans to celebrate if Verstappen becomes the third driver to seal a championship under the lights in Vegas. However, the forecast is for very cold conditions through the night, though it is only the second race at this circuit I feel from last season despite all the gilts and glamour we had a very good race. I don’t think we should count out Norris or Ferrari given this is a high-speed street circuit.
I feel come Sunday morning, either Verstappen is a four-time champion or we will have learnt something very important for the final two races. I think given the race we had last year this is a really good street circuit as we saw plenty of overtaking which in directly gives other drivers a big role to play in the way the fight goes.
We have seen how tight it has been, we say that every weekend, add in that this is a street circuit and in Q1 last year a second covered nearly all the cars this could be an interesting weekend given we know Red Bull are under pressure and last weekend was Verstappen’s first win in months. Ferrari have emerged as a headache and I think they have broke free of their nearest rivals Mercedes.
Last year they were in my view very competitive all weekend which stopped Verstappen driving off into the night, Charles Leclerc took pole and finished just over two seconds behind they look good at street circuits having won three races this season all at street circuits, they are no longer really under pressure from behind given the way Mercedes has fallen away.
But Leclerc isn’t confident of a repeat because of the progress made in normal conditions with tyre warm up this season. Anything can happen at a street circuit so teams and drivers need to be on their feet and its set I believe to be a brilliant weekend!