Las Vegas Grand Prix features high stakes, rising phenom

Redbull driver Max Verstappen, ahead, with Lando Norris, center, trying to close the space during the 2024 Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. Photo by: Brian Ramos

For all of the complaints from Formula 1 drivers and fans about the Las Vegas Grand Prix being a glorified exhibition when it was introduced two years ago, the race has quickly turned into one of the sport’s most consequential stops.

Max Verstappen became only the fifth person in the history of the sport to win a fourth straight Drivers’ Championship when he clinched the title with a fifth-place finish on the Strip Street Circuit last year. This time around, the 28-year-old Verstappen’s historic run of dominance could officially end on November 22 at the Grand Prix Plaza’s finish line after 50 laps.

The 26-year-old Lando Norris sits in position to dethrone Verstappen with a prohibitive lead in the drivers’ standings after prevailing in two straight races, the Mexico City Grand Prix and Sao Paulo Grand Prix, before Las Vegas.

It could mathematically happen here but it’s far more likely to occur in one of the final two events, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, on back-to-back weekends following the local race.

The main reason why is what might make the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix the most compelling edition of the event yet.

Team McLaren, which locked up the 2025 Constructors’ Championship four races ago by rostering both Norris and current second-place driver Oscar Piastri, hasn’t figured out the Las Vegas course.

It’s struggled with tire and aerodynamic issues in back-to-back years, with Norris’ sixth-place finish in 2024 its best showing. Both the drivers and team executives have been open that they don’t see it changing this year.

“We’ve never been good there, so I’m not the most confident going into that race,” Norris said in his post-race news conference in Sao Paulo. “Maybe I’ll win, then we’ll see. But I’m not going to lie and say, ‘Yeah, I’m very confident and I think it’s going to be an easy weekend,’ because I don’t think that’s how it’s going to be.”

Verstappen catching both Norris and Piastri in season-long points is a long shot, but if there’s any place best-served for him to cut into the deficit, it might be Las Vegas.

The Dutch driver comes in as the pre-practice favorite to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix for the third straight year at odds of +175 (i.e. risking $100 to win $175) at almost every sportsbook.

He soared his way to victory in the 2023 race with a late surge—and then famously backtracked on his previous harsh criticism of F1 adding the Las Vegas Grand Prix to the schedule—before running steadily up front last year to capture the season championship. 

Verstappen arrives on strong form this year after emerging as the talk of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix by flying to a third-place finish despite qualifying in 16th.

“Seeing how quick Max was today, I’m pretty disappointed we weren’t quicker,” Norris said after his win in Sao Paulo. “So that’s where my mind is at the minute—probably going to see the team, congratulate them and see where we weren’t quick enough. But that’s me and we’ll see what we can do. Obviously, there’s not a long way to go, but it can change so quickly.”

Norris, an England native, has more drivers than just Verstappen to contend with in Las Vegas. Mercedes was the dominant team here a year ago, with fellow Brit George Russell notching his third of now five career victories.

Then teammate Lewis Hamilton, who’s since moved to Ferrari, finished second. Rookie phenom Kimi Antonelli, a 19-year-old from Italy, has taken Hamilton’s seat and fended off Verstappen for a career-best second-place finish in Sao Paulo.

He’s the fifth favorite to win in Las Vegas at odds of 14-to-1 behind Verstappen, Norris (+215), Russell (+600) and Piastri (+650).

Antonelli potentially earning his first-ever F1 win in the Las Vegas Grand Prix would add another milestone moment in the event’s short history.

“Very hopeful,” Antonelli said in Sao Paulo of his Las Vegas prospects. “As a team, we said we’re going to try everything we did last year with the car.” 

Contenders abound, and championship implications are plentiful. The action has never disappointed in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and this year’s third version could be its most defining so far.

This story originally appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.