The Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship could be decided in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A season-long battle could be decided in Las Vegas.

The 2024 Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship went back and forth between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Verstappen is currently 62 points ahead of Norris in the drivers’ standings. There are only 60 points to be earned after the race in Las Vegas, which means that Verstappen must finish the weekend in Las Vegas ahead of Norris to secure the championship.

If Norris finishes first and Verstappen second in Las Vegas, the title will be decided in Abu Dhabi.

If Norris continues to add points and Verstappen is right at the end of the season, Verstappen would still win as he has won eight races this year compared to Norris’s three.

To ensure that Norris can keep his hopes of the Drivers’ Championship alive, he must beat Verstappen by at least three points in Las Vegas.

Verstappen’s most recent victory came on Sunday during a rainy Brazilian Grand Prix. He started the race in 17th place and moved up to eventually win.

“It was definitely an emotional victory,” said Verstappen told the Associated Press after the race. “I was very motivated and put everything into this race and I surprised myself today because I didn’t expect to finish P1.”

However, Norris called it luck.

“He rode well. He was a bit lucky,” said Norris. “You take a chance and it paid off. It’s not talent. It’s just luck.”

If we look at the Constructors’ Championship or the Teams’ Championship, there are 147 points to be had in the last three races and here is where things stand among the top three teams.

McLaren-Mercedes-593
Ferrari-557
Red Bull Racing HondaRBPT-544

McLaren has not won a constructors’ championship since 1998, while Ferrari has not done so since 2008. Red Bull last won in 2023.
Although drivers can add points during the Las Vegas race, the constructors would not be decided in the Valley.

On Thursday, Formula 1 CEO and president Stefano Domenicali said during Liberty Media Corporation’s earnings call that having a more competitive season is one factor in growing fan bases around the world.

“It was great to see the variety of winners this year, something that treats fans and increases excitement and participation for a special season in 2025,” Domenicali said. “Looking at our involvement throughout this season, 5.8 million fans attended the Brazilian Grand Prix. Attendance is up with sell-out crowds at many races and seven races setting new attendance records, including the British Grand Prix, which welcomed 480,000 fans over the weekend, the largest crowd of the season.”

When it comes to the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Domenicali said Formula 1 uses race week as a place to innovate and test new ideas.

“The Las Vegas race continues to be a testing ground for innovation that we can leverage across the wider F1 lineup, including hospitality, sponsorship and licensing opportunities,” said Domenicali. “Last week we announced a first-of-its-kind special merchandise collection for Las Vegas, ranging from a streetwear collaboration with the Peanuts brand, the unique Vegas Golden Knights and the Las Vegas Raiders. LVGP, we collected over 1.2 million impressions across the posts, with over 93,000 engagements and 86,000 likes.”

Domenicali and Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm both added that they continue to learn from the Las Vegas market.

“We have made a number of improvements this year, allowing us to remain dynamic and adjust products and prices based on real-time feedback we receive from the market,” said Wilm. “We will find that the all-in costs of a race weekend in Vegas have become in line with those of other American races.”

An investor asked about ticket sales for this year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. Although Wilm said ticket sales are down, she said her team has been working to reduce operating costs so the event can still be as profitable as possible.

“We generally don’t provide race-specific numbers, but in terms of ticket revenue, total ticket revenue will be lower than what we originally budgeted in the first quarter. However, over the course of ’24 we have also continued to reduce costs versus of what we had budgeted in the first quarter. Question 1,” said Wilm. “We are seeing an increase in traffic and conversion rates around ticket sales and we expect that as we get closer to race weekend. … We still have room to grow on the ticket sales front, but we are very excited to to see year two coming together over the next few weeks.”

Helm added that the Vegas race will benefit Formula 1 overall and will be crucial as Liberty Media looks for a new media rights partner after their contract with ESPN expires in 2025.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is scheduled for Thursday, November 21 to Saturday, November 23. You can view all our coverage at ktnv.com/vegasgrandprix.