Las Vegas GP schedule, strategy and secrets

Twenty days before the Las Vegas GP, which is more of a show than a Formula 1 race, Max Verstappen made sure to put on his own driving show – at the rain-soaked Brazilian GP – that brought him one breath away from winning his fourth consecutive world championship .

With his driving recital at Interlagos, the 26-year-old Red Bull Racing driver was 62 points clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Since after the Las Vegas race the maximum points a driver can earn is 60 (34 in Qatar along with the Sprint and 26 in the Abu Dhabi finale) what the Dutchman needs is not to lose more than 2 points to the Norris in Sunday’s game (read all the scenarios here).

In the constructors’ championship, however, at the same time, things are more complicated and interesting – and it looks like the three-way battle for this year’s title will go all the way to Abu Dhabi.

McLaren lead by 36 points from Ferrari and 49 points from RBR. In Las Vegas the maximum points a team can get is 44, in Qatar 59 and in Abu Dhabi also 44 – so everything remains open for this year’s world champion.

In terms of performance, this Autumn Ferrari managed to take the reins of the sport, as the SF-24 proved to be the most competitive car, winning 3 out of 6 races – and losing the other three through driving or team failures, rather than a lack of speed.

The Las Vegas circuit will suit the Scuderia more than Interlago, but McLaren and RBR have made significant improvements in recent races – with upgrades to the MCL38 and RB20 respectively – and undoubtedly look capable of threatening the Reds.

In addition, the rather low temperatures of this race – at 13 to 16 degrees Celsius – cannot be ruled out to benefit Mercedes, as has happened in similar cases this year, and thus have a four-way battle this three days.

Tires & strategy

No other F1 night race sees such a sharp drop in temperature once the sun goes down. This is due to the fact that Las Vegas is located in the middle of the Monave Desert, whereas Jeddah, Singapore, Doha and Abu Dhabi are very close to the coast.

Based on this the teams are asked to manage the Pirelli tires this three days in unusually cold conditions, in almost winter temperatures. It will be a challenge for several teams to warm up their tires for the one round of qualifying tests, or at the restart of the race after e.g. by a security vehicle.

For the front axle tires in particular, drivers will need to take care to bring them into the ideal thermal operating ‘window’ without overheating by the time the qualifying round is over – avoiding any possible brake lockup after the long straights.

In addition, cold temperatures reduce traction, which consequently increases graining – wear and tear from the tire’s surface shifting. So that’s another factor that teams have to figure out.

The above parameters therefore tend to indicate that a two-stop strategy in Sunday’s race is preferable – as was the case last year.

Of course, many times this year we have seen teams make one pit stop in races where we expected two, and it is very likely that something similar will happen in this race – if the driver can manage his tires well and thus increase the lead of the stint.

Also, due to the difficulty and time involved in warming up the tires after the pit stop, the undercut (the earlier tire change than direct competitors) is not as efficient in Las Vegas. The overcut and extension of each stint looks better – on paper, at least.

Pirelli is providing the teams with the three softest of the five tires in its range this three-day period: the hard is C3 (with a white perimeter), the medium is C4 (yellow) and the soft is C5 (red).

Program GP Llet’s vegas 2024
Friday 22 November

• 04:30-05:30: Free Practice 1 (FP1)
• 08:00-09:00: Free Practice 2 (FP2)

Saturday November 23

• 04:30-05:30: Free Trials 3 (FP3)
• 08:00-09:00: Qualifying Tests (Q)

Sunday, November 24

GP Las Vegas 2024 / 22–24 Novin 2024

• First GP: 2023
• Track length: 6,201 km
• Rounds: 50
• Total route: 309,958 km
• Lap record: Oscar Piastri, 1:35.490 (2023)
• Winner 2023: Max Verstappen
• More wins: 1 (Max Verstappen)
• Air temperature forecast: 13-16° Celsius
• Chance of rain: 0% (Sunday), 0% (Saturday), 0% (Friday)
• Probability of entry of the security vehicle: 100%
• Waste of time at the pit stop: 20.5” (of which 2.5” in stop)

See everything worth knowing about the F1 2024 championship in SPORT24’s Great Feature.

5 Hot Info for tthe Las Vegas circuit

• Should Max Verstappen secure this year’s championship on Sunday, it will be the third time in four Las Vegas GPs that a champion has been crowned in the Nevada city. In 1981 Nelson Piquet secured the title there and in 1982 Keke Rosberg.

• This three-day GP will be the 79th race in F1’s history on American soil, since the sport was founded in 1950. Britain and Germany also have the same number of races, while Italy tops the list with 107.

• In vast America, however, a total of 11 circuits have hosted F1: Austin (12 GP), Dallas (1), Detroit (7), Indianapolis (19), Las Vegas (3), Long Beach ( 8), Miami (3), Phoenix (3), Riverside (1), Sebring (1) and Watkins Glen (20). The record for wins in the USA is shared by Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, with 6 wins each.

• Unlike the parking lot of the 1981-’82 Caesar’s Paralace Grand Prix, the modern circuit built last year runs through the most iconic streets of Las Vegas, in front of the infamous hotel-casinos, as well as the main avenue (Las Vegas Strip). On its 6.2 kilometers, with 17 turns, the car speeds are comparable to Monza.