The Formula One World Championship took to the Strip in Las Vegas over November 21st-23rd. Although only in its second year back on the calendar, the Las Vegas Grand Prix is always one to remember, with its circuit weaving through the Las Vegas streets. The weekend was structured with two practice sessions on Thursday, one practice session and qualifying on Friday, and the race on Saturday night. 

In the practice sessions, Mercedes seemed to be dominating with their two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. In qualifying, Mercedes took the top step, with Russell on pole (starting in first). Qualifying behind him was Carlos Sainz of Ferrari in P2 and Pierre Gasly of Alpine in P3, a welcome surprise for the Frenchman, who usually sits further down on the grid. Franco Colapinto of Williams suffered a heavy crash during Q2, the second qualifying session. The Argentine was brought into Williams midway into the 2024 season to replace American Logan Sargeant and currently does not have a seat for 2025. This makes this crash frustrating, as he needs to prove himself worthy of a seat in only the short time remaining in the season. Max Verstappen of Red Bull qualified just one position ahead of his closest championship rival, Lando Norris of Mclaren, with the pair starting in 5th and 6th respectively. Saturday’s race proved to be a masterclass in race management from George Russell. He led the race by a considerable margin throughout its entire 50 laps and kept Charles Leclerc at bay after he charged to P2 in the first few laps. However, behind Russell, there was a lot more action. The usually-dominant Mclaren seemed to be having some struggle with pace, as their lead driver, Lando Norris, stayed in sixth for almost the entire race and Oscar Piatsri stayed in seventh, as well as receiving a 5-second time penalty for a false start. The Red Bull of Max Verstappen and the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were locked in a position battle for multiple laps, with pit stops and overtakes in between. Pierre Gasly, after qualifying so well, exclaimed on the radio that he had “no power” and subsequently retired his car. However, possibly the most interesting part of the race was the disaster that struck Ferrari. Sainz was told to come into the pits after swapping places with teammate Leclerc, but then at the last minute was told to stay out, which cost him time as he was forced to come back around in the next lap. Leclerc was then given orders by the team via radio to swap places with Sainz, which in the end secured Sainz P3 and a spot on the podium, while Leclerc sat in P4. Leclerc was fuming on his radio post-race, saying to his engineer, “Yeah, I did my job, but being nice ***** me over all the ******* time, all the ******* time. It’s not even being nice, it’s just being respectful”. Leclerc exclaimed further angry messages towards Sainz on the radio throughout the race, such as sarcastically telling the engineers to give Sainz, from Spain, messages in Spanish in hopes of his understanding them better. Outside of Ferrari, though, the race ended in glory for Mercedes, who won in a 1-2 finish, and Red Bull, whose lead driver Max Verstappen was able to clinch his fourth World Drivers’ Championship. Even though the season is not over yet, the Vegas Grand Prix gave Verstappen enough points that his closest rival, Norris, would not be able to score enough points in the remaining time of the season to catch up. Thankfully, Norris seemed relieved to have the pressure of the drivers’ championship off his shoulders and was seen happily congratulating Verstappen after the race. Mercedes and Red Bull both celebrated joyously in the neons of the Vegas lights. 

Outside of the racing, Vegas boasted much to offer in terms of activities and celebrity sightings. A fan hub was set up in the Venetian Hotel, where merchandise of the race and individual teams was sold. Other teams had exhibitions in various hotels, like Mercedes at the Aria Hotel. The fan zones by grandstand seats had stages that saw driver interviews and musical performances, as well as complimentary food and race simulators. Stars such as Adele, Paris Hilton, Steve Aoki, Paul Mescal, and many more were spotted in the Paddock Club, the VIP area where the team garages and suites are located. One main criticism of the race was the chaos it caused in terms of transportation around Vegas. Since the race was a street circuit, meaning the entire race took place on pedestrian streets, those streets needed to be closed after a certain time to clear the track pre-race. This blocked many rideshares from accessing pickup spots, closed off walking paths, and made traffic much worse. Beyond that, the race was a huge success and attracted people from all over the world. The Las Vegas Grand Prix of 2024 is sure to be one for the history books.