There are plenty of storylines swirling around this iteration of the race, too. Here are the ones worth following as F1 returns to Nevada:
Record-setting chill: The coldest race in F1 history took place in 1978, when the series made the perplexing decision to race in Montréal in the middle of October. The temperature fell to 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and the F1 cars skidded around the track like they were driving on ice.
“These [F1 tire] compounds are designed to generate the grip at high temperature, let’s say above 80 degrees,” explained Mario Isola, the f1 tire chief at Pirelli Tires. “At a cold temperature, you have very low grip.”
Last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, held deep in the night for the spectacle of it all, averaged a temperature of 54 degrees Fahrenheit — not quite Montréal levels of chill, but cold enough to cause some chaos. This year’s race may be colder still. With lows set to rival Montréal’s temperature, the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix may go down in history as one of the coldest races F1 has ever seen.
Driver drama: Nearly all of the 20 F1 driver seats have been confirmed for 2025, but that doesn’t mean the musical chairs have stopped.
Argentinian driver Franco Colapinto is without a seat next season but has impressed everyone in his six races with Williams this year. He’s been so strong that some F1 teams — the Red Bull family and Alpine in particular — are rumored to be willing to drop their second drivers to sign him. That means Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and reserve driver Jack Doohan enter the Las Vegas Grand Prix competing for the F1 futures. If Colapinto outperforms them, he may snatch their seats for 2025.
Williams won’t make a change easy, though. They don’t have a seat to offer Colapinto in 2025, but they will have one in 2026, and they’ve set an eye-popping 40M Euro buyout clause in his contract to ensure he’ll be around to take it.
Max Verstappen’s fourth F1 championship: McLaren’s Lando Norris put up a strong fight for the World Drivers Championship this season, but his disastrous performance in the Brazilian Grand Prix all but handed the title back to Verstappen. The Dutch driver can clinch his fourth consecutive championship in Las Vegas, but it won’t be easy; he’ll have to either outscore Norris or hope Norris outscores him by fewer than three points.
With the McLaren expected to excel in Las Vegas’s cool, slippery conditions, Verstappen will have his work cut out for him there.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix will take place on Saturday at 11 p.m. PT/Sunday at 2 a.m. ET.
