In Pictures: Las Vegas 2024
The 2024 season marked Formula 1’s fourth visit to Las Vegas. After two events held on a temporary track around Caesars Palace in 1981 and 1982, Grand Prix racing returned to the entertainment capital of the world last year, with a circuit incorporating part of the iconic Strip that inspired its name.
This year, the Las Vegas Grand Prix is the third U.S. race on the calendar, following Miami and Austin. At 6.201 kilometers, the Nevadan track is the second longest of the season, trailing only the 7.004-kilometer Spa-Francorchamps circuit. It features 17 corners and is tackled 50 times during the race. A high-speed venue, it boasts three lengthy straights, with top speeds reaching 350 km/h last year and offering several overtaking opportunities, particularly at Turn 14.
As in 2023, the event kicks off with two free practice sessions on Thursday, culminating in a Saturday night race held entirely under floodlights. While other venues such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi also host nighttime races, none experience the dramatic temperature drop between day and night seen in Las Vegas. This is a result of its location in the Mojave Desert, in contrast to the coastal settings of the other circuits. Additionally, the November date means cooler conditions compared to the spring or summer weather typical of most Grands Prix.
The 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix was the 79th round of the Drivers’ World Championship held in the United States since the series began in 1950. This achievement places the USA alongside Germany and Great Britain in second place on the list of nations hosting the most Grands Prix, trailing only Italy, which has held 107.
To date, the United States has hosted Formula 1 races at 11 venues: Austin (12 Grands Prix), Dallas (1), Detroit (7), Indianapolis (19), Las Vegas (3), Long Beach (8), Miami (3), Phoenix (3), Riverside (1), Sebring (1), and Watkins Glen (20). An intriguing statistic is that the two drivers leading the list of race wins in the USA—Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, with six victories each—were both on track this weekend in Las Vegas. With Charles Leclerc’s triumph in Austin last month, Ferrari solidified its position as the most successful team in the United States, boasting 14 wins.
THURSDAY
The first free practice session saw 18 of the 20 drivers testing both the Soft and Medium compounds. The only exceptions were the Red Bull duo, who focused exclusively on the C5 tire, utilizing two sets. In the second session, the Hard compound once again remained absent on track, underscoring teams' intentions to reserve both available sets for the race. There was only one red flag, a marked contrast to this time last year, triggered by Alex Albon parking his Williams at the side of the track due to a technical issue. Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen—returning after missing Brazil because of illness—were the only drivers to complete a long run on the Softs.
Lewis Hamilton was fastest of the day in Las Vegas. The Mercedes driver clocked a time of 1:33.825 to edge out second-place Lando Norris by just 11 thousandths of a second in FP2. The two British drivers were the only ones to break the 1:34barrier. George Russell was third fastest, 0.190 seconds behind his Mercedes teammate. The same trio topped the timesheets in the first session, although on that occasion, Russell was second, ahead of Norris.
FRIDAY
In the third free practice session, the Medium and Soft compounds once again handled the bulk of the workload, even though Mercedes, Aston Martin, Racing Bulls, and Zhou (representing Sauber) began the session by scrubbing in the two sets of Hards allocated for this event. The Chinese driver also scrubbed in a set of Mediums, as did the Aston Martin duo and Russell, with the latter waiting until his first Q3 run to scrub in a set of C4s.
With temperatures barely exceeding 10°C, preparing for the flying lap was predictably one of the most critical factors in determining the outcome of qualifying—and this proved to be the case. Teams employed a variety of strategies for this task, particularly in Q3: for example, the Mercedes drivers and Verstappen opted to immediately attempt a flying lap, while the Ferrari and McLaren duos chose to complete an additional preparation lap.
George Russell secured pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver topped the timesheets at the end of a thrilling session, especially during the closing moments of Q3: in a span of just 42 seconds, the top spot, which Russell initially claimed on his first run, changed hands three times before ultimately returning to him. This marks Russell’s fourth career pole position, his third this season, and the 140th for Mercedes. Russell’s blistering lap time was 1:32.312. He was followed by Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari (1:32.410) and Pierre Gasly in the Alpine (1:32.664).
SATURDAY
Temperatures were slightly higher for the race, both ambient and track, compared to the previous days, with readings of 18°C and 17°C, respectively. On the grid, the vast majority of drivers opted to start on Medium tires. Four drivers chose otherwise: Alonso on Softs, and Perez, Bottas, and Colapinto on Hards, with the latter starting from the pit lane.
This was the fourth Formula 1 race held in Las Vegas, ending in a triumphant one-two finish for Mercedes, courtesy of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The race also saw Max Verstappen crowned Drivers’ World Champion for the fourth consecutive time after finishing fifth.
For Russell, it was his third career win from 126 Grand Prix starts and his second of the season, following his victory in Spielberg. Mercedes topped every session of the weekend on their way to their 60th one-two finish, the last of which occurred two years ago in Brazil, again with Russell winning ahead of Hamilton.
With four titles, Verstappen now joins Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost in fourth place on the all-time championship winners list, which is led by Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher with seven titles apiece, followed by Juan Manuel Fangio with five. Interestingly, this marks the second time Verstappen has clinched the title on a Saturday, having secured it last year after the Sprint race in Lusail. This is Red Bull’s eighth Drivers’ title, all under the leadership of Christian Horner, who has been at the helm since the team’s inaugural season in 2005. Red Bull now ranks fourth in this category, trailing Ferrari (15), McLaren (12), and Mercedes (9).
NEXT STOP: QATAR 🇶🇦
Excerpts of this article provided by Pirelli S.p.A.
