F1 heads to Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Grand Prix at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Nevada after an all-time Max Verstappen win at a wet Brazilian Grand Prix.
2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Sunday 24 November 2024 – 08:00
Las Vegas Strip Circuit
After a short break, the F1 season returns this weekend with the next stop for the field being yet another North American track – the third for the year – in the form of the Las Vegas Street Circuit.
This is the third to last race of the season and after Max Verstappen produced the drive of the year in Brazil to claim race honours at the Autodromo Carlos Pace, he’s left his title rival Lando Norris with a mountain to climb in the race for the Drivers’ Championship title.
To Win Race Outright
Max Verstappen 9/4 | Lando Norris 9/4
Previous Race – Brazil
It seems rumours of Max Verstappen’s fall from grace were rather exaggerated with the Dutch Ace producing the drive of the season in Brazil to take his Red Bull from 17th on the grid and win the race by over ten seconds.
With heavy rain falling, Verstappen sycheted his way through a field that was cut to 15 due to five drivers failing to finish including Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. The star of the day was joined on the podium by the twin Alpines with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly claiming second and third respectively.
The twin Alpines were followed across the line by Mercedes man George Russell who was hampered by a pit stop and a virtual safety car along with his fellow Brit Lando Norris, who finished sixth and lost a ton of ground on Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship race. Sandwiched between the duo was the Ferrari of Charles LeClerc.
Yusi Tsunoda produced another eye-catching drive with the RB man taking seventh place after Oscar Piastri was handed a time penalty for crashing into Liam Lawson. Piastri was forced to settle for eighth while Lawson took ninth. Rounding out the ‘top 10’ was veteran Lewis Hamilton, who endured a poor qualifying stint.
Three rounds to go - three constructors in the fight 👊
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 19, 2024
This is what it's all about 🏆#F1 pic.twitter.com/clDxzjfJup
Track – Las Vegas Strip Circuit
The Las Vegas Street Circuit gets its second taste of F1 action this coming weekend and here’s hoping there are fewer issues than there were during its debut last year which saw a manhole cover wreck Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari in FP1 last year.
The track measures 6.120 kilometres – which puts it only behind Spa for length – and consists of 17 corners which aren’t the most challenging on circuit but do leave room for overtaking.
The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was won by Max Verstappen who won by just over two seconds, while Charles LeClerc brought his car home in second only 0.17 seconds ahead of Sergio Perez.
For a change, we’ve got a decent weather forecast for an Armericas circuit with overcast skies but zero chance of rain being predicted for the race weekend.
Last season’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was claimed by Max Verstappen with Charles LeClerc finishing second while Sergio Perez rounded out the podium.
Value Bet
Podium Finish – Esteban Ocon – Yes 66/1
He came fourth in Vegas last year and he enjoyed a solid showing in Brazil claiming second place. There’s a decent price on him here and while it’s a longshot, a bit of cash on Ocon for the win could provide a nice little return.
To Win Race Outright
Lando Norris 9/4
While I feel Verstappen’s wonder drive in Brazil has bagged him the title, I expect some fightback from Norris who will be disappointed with his showing in Rio.
He crashed out early in Vegas last year but I do fancy his chances of having a far improved showing this time around.
