World Drivers' Championship leader Max Verstappen had an opportunity to secure his fourth consecutive title at this event. At the conclusion of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, there would have been two races left in the 2024 Formula One World Championship. With the following Qatar Grand Prix featuring the sprint format, 60 points would have been available in the final two rounds of the Drivers' Championship. Lando Norris would therefore have had to outscore Verstappen by at least three points to retain a mathematical chance of winning the title.[7][a]
Verstappen would have been World Champion if:
He won the race or finished ahead of Norris.
He finished 3rd with the fastest lap with Norris finishing 2nd or lower.
He finished 4th with the fastest lap with Norris finishing 3rd or lower.
He finished 5th with Norris finishing 4th (without the fastest lap) or lower.
He finished 6th with Norris finishing 5th (without the fastest lap) or lower.
He finished 7th with Norris finishing 6th (without the fastest lap) or lower.
He finished 8th with Norris finishing 7th (without the fastest lap) or lower.
He finished 9th with Norris finishing 8th (without the fastest lap) or lower.
He finished 10th with the fastest lap with Norris finishing 8th or lower.
Norris finished 9th (without the fastest lap) or lower.
If none of these criteria had met, Norris would have retained a mathematical chance of winning the title.[8]
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds (the softest three in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.[13]
Practice
Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on November 21, 2024, at 18:30 local time (UTC–8),[1] and was topped by Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes ahead of his teammate George Russell and Lando Norris of McLaren.[14] The second free practice session was held on the same day, at 22:00 local time, and was topped by Hamilton ahead of Norris and Russell.[15] The third practice session was held on November 22, 2024, at 18:30 local time, and was topped by Russell ahead of Oscar Piastri of McLaren and Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari.[16]
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on November 22, 2024, at 22:00 local time (UTC−8).[1]
^1 – Franco Colapinto qualified 14th, but was required to start the race from the pit lane as his car was modified under parc fermé conditions and additional gearbox components were used.[18]
The race was held on November 23, 2024, at 22:00 local time (UTC−8), and was run for 50 laps.[1]
Race report
At the start George Russell made a clean getaway to hold the lead into turn 1. Further back, Charles Leclerc passed Carlos Sainz Jr. and Pierre Gasly for second place while Kevin Magnussen and Liam Lawson fought hard for 13th place. On lap 8, Max Verstappen passed Leclerc, whose tires were graining. The next lap, Leclerc made a pit stop for hard tyres, and rejoined in 16th. On lap 10, Sainz made a pit stop and rejoined in 12th. By lap 14, both Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz had recovered,[clarification needed] and Sainz and Leclerc were fourth and fifth, respectively.[20]Pierre Gasly had initially lost ground and dropped off from his third place start, but still had the ability to recover,[opinion] before the engine failed with smoke emitting from his car, forcing him to retire on lap 15.[21][22]Alexander Albon, who at one point had gone up to 10th, later suffered a cooling issue, forcing him to retire.[23] On lap 17, Sergio Pérez was overtaken by both Ferraris, dropping to fifth. On lap 26, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton made pit stops, and Leclerc passed them to go into second.[20]
On lap 27, the race was led by George Russell, followed by Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc, and Lewis Hamilton. Sainz let Leclerc by, before Ferrari instructed Sainz to pit for hard tyres. Sainz was told to stay out right before the pit stop, so he skipped over the pit entry apron and went back onto the track. He lost time in pit entry that he claimed could have been used to keep ahead of Hamilton, who eventually passed both Sainz and Leclerc. He was not penalised for crossing the pit entry line and he rejoined in sixth.[20][24] On lap 30, Lando Norris made a pit stop, and Sainz moved up to fifth. The next lap Leclerc made a pit stop for another set of hard tyres, and rejoined in fifth, now behind Sainz. On lap 41, Verstappen passed Sainz for third. On lap 46, Sainz passed Verstappen for fourth. The race ended with Russell winning, followed by Hamilton, Sainz, and Leclerc. Verstappen, in fifth, clinched his fourth consecutive title, finishing ahead of Norris.[20] Coincidentally, this is the third time that the driver's title was decided in Las Vegas, having been previously settled there in 1981 and 1982 in favour of Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg, respectively.
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
Notes
^If Lando Norris had outscored Max Verstappen by two points, the best he could have done is equal Verstappen's points total. In this case, Verstappen would have won the championship, having won eight races, whereas Norris would have won at most six.
