F1. Las Vegas, United States 2024 Review
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Driver of the day
Chelsea – Lewis Hamilton. Both Mercedes were dominant all weekend, but Lewis made some incredible moves through the field – including on Max Verstappen – to move up to second from tenth. A true joy to watch. Sure, George Russell might have had the perfect qualifying and a flawless race and yes, he does have very high cheekbones but nobody said this had to be objective. Lewis Hamilton it is.
Aiden – Ok, so it’s driver of the day, not driver of the weekend, which means Lewis Hamilton gets my nod. He should have qualified much higher than P10, but a poor end to qualifying saw him start out of position. However, come the race it was a different story as he expertly made his way through the field to finish second. Although George Russell certainly had more pace had he needed it, Hamilton getting to within seven seconds of his teammate by the end was a great performance.
Graeme – Both Mercedes drivers. George Russell was strong all weekend. He stormed to Pole Position in Qualifying and then just kept going from the front for all 50 laps (bar pit stops) of the race. We hardly saw him really. And Lewis Hamilton was great through the Practice Sessions but had a rough Q3 to start 10th. He didn’t let that stop him though as he worked his way up to finish 2 nd in the race. A strong weekend for the Mercedes team.
Gavin – Any other race I would be going for the two Mercedes drivers but I really have to give it to Max Verstappen. On a weekend where the Red Bull was not as good as their competitors Max drove a perfect race, he did not get involved with any needless battles, he was consistent, he made overtakes when he had to… in other words he did everything that he was required to do in order to win the Drivers Championship, which is why he is now a four time champion. This shows the mentality of a winner that his rivals still need to step up to.
Moment of the weekend
Chelsea – Can I have three? They’re all pit stop-related.
1: Yuki Tsunoda runs down the polystyrene speed restriction sign while exiting the pits, giving his RB some brief air time. “I sh*t my pants!” he said later.
2: Estebon Ocon pulls into the pits, drives straight past his garage, and exits the pits again.
3: Carlos Sainz begins to enter the pits, before being told there’s a change of plan, and making an extremely risky manoeuvre to return to the track. “Sorry Carlos, we weren’t ready,” said his team. “WTF,” said Carlos, or something similar.
Aiden – Regular readers will know I love an F1 national anthem – usually for comedic value. Here’s Boyz II Men.
Graeme – I didn’t think there was a lot to choose from here. But I did quite like after the race when the Sky crew were wrapping up and Max came past, Heineken in hand, with a throng of cameras in his face. They managed to stop him and he gave a great interview, plus a bonus interlude and top notch one liner with McLaren boss Zac Brown. I’m a fan of behind the scenes footage so to see him with a drink and looking pretty stoked & relaxed was nice.
Gavin – On a weekend that gave us overtakes, a fantastic drive by both Mercedes drivers, some friction at Ferrari, for me the standout moment was Esteban Ocon pitting and finding his pit crew not ready forcing him to exit the pit and try again on the following lap! Running in 11th and on the back of Nico Hulkenberg, the team told Esteban to “box opposite”, meaning to do the opposite of whatever Nico does. Esteban followed these orders only to find the mechanics not ready for him in the pit lane. Esteban thought he had somehow missed the pit markers and was forced to give himself a drive through penalty, but no, it was the team that was not there. Sounds very Ferrari-like doesn’t it?
Hot take of the weekend
Chelsea – Max Verstappen is a four-time champion and it is thoroughly deserved. I’ve gone through a love-hate relationship with Max over the years, from celebrating him finally breaking the Hamilton streak, to rolling my eyes at his snot-nosed tantrums, to getting as bored with his dominance as I was with Hamilton’s, to eventually admiring him for what he is: a truly great driver with questionable taste in fathers-in-law.
Aiden – Is Yuki Tsunoda making a late run into contention for the Red Bull seat next to Max Verstappen next season? It’s long been assumed that he isn’t thought of that highly by Christian Horner, and even less so by Helmut Marko, but a ninth place finish at the weekend, some seven places ahead of Liam Lawson, shows again that the Japanese driver has plenty of fight in him. There’s a big two races ahead for the RB drivers.
Graeme – Vegas is a pretty cool place for a Grand Prix. And for them to shut down the streets each night for the events but have them open during the days, must take a lot of planning and logistics. But, the fact that immediately after the race when the drivers just want to celebrate with their teams and supporters, they get driven in fancy cars to the other side of the track (and the wrong way round) just for an interview, is a big come down. I get it, they want to showcase the city, but surely it doesn’t need to be like that.
Gavin – The Las Vegas Grand Prix is the American, no taste, nouveau riche, version of Monaco. I am sure that if you are there it would be spectacular and the fireworks and parties would be amazing, but with the race in the evening and it being a street track you literally see nothing, no crowds, no tourist sights, nothing. If you told me they were racing in <insert random American city name> I would believe you. As much as everyone is saying it is fantastic it leaves me underwhelmed, the only saving grace as far as I am concerned is that the timezone works well for us in Aotearoa.
Cold take of the weekend
Chelsea – There’s some serious weirdness going on with the FIA at the moment, and I wonder how long it can go on. First, they have all but ignored a letter from the GP Driver’s Association asking to be “treated like adults” in the wake of Sweargate. Secondly, there’s the unceremonious and unexplained firing of Race Director Niels Wittich only days before the Las Vegas Race (the FIA worded it as “stepping down”, but Wittich confirmed it was involuntary). Finally, compliance officer Paolo Bassari has been given his own marching orders. The three incidents are only the latest in a long line of strange moves by the FIA, and exacerbate the wedge forming between the governing body and its drivers, fans and employees.
Aiden – A track like the one in Las Vegas, plus the cool conditions gave Mercedes the sweet spot they have craved for the last few seasons. On a smooth surface where most teams struggle for grip, their car can run nice and low and also they can generate tyre temperatures quickly vs the other teams. When it’s hot and bumpy, they need to raise the car and the other teams can get their tyre temperatures going much better. Unfortunately for Toto Wolff and co, the majority of the 24 races aren’t in their favour, so they need to find a way to compete more often than they have.
Graeme – Congrats to Max Verstappen for winning the Drivers Championship. Although a lot of us dared to dream otherwise, it was always going to happen and what better place to do it than Vegas. I hope the party was massive! To have no teammate pushing him and helping here & there makes this achievement even more astonishing for me. Red Bull have really messed around with this “is he or isn’t he” with Sergio Perez for next year and it must have a wider affect somewhere there, but Max just kept on doing his thing. Kudos.
Gavin – Now that Max Verstappen has been crowned we can move on from the British press hyping up the Lando Norris challenge. This year marked a huge step up for Lando, and McLaren, but both are still quite a way short of being able to deliver a Driver Championship. With the lessons from 2024 they should be able to deliver a better challenge next season, but honestly it was never an option this year even if mathematically there was a chance.
Bonus Pictures of the Week
Max Verstappen is now a four time (in a row) World Champion.
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