Max Verstappen can seal his fourth Formula 1 World Championship, but Lando Norris can end his hopes. The race is not that close in the drivers’ championship, but Max is 62 points ahead of Lando and can take the title in Las Vegas if he wins or loses by less than three points.
Verstappen has not been able to win two races in a row since June, when he crossed the finish line first in Canada and Spain, but his notable advance from 17th position to 1st in the last race in Brazil could add motivation to fight for the podium this weekend
“I just want to focus on the weekend and try to put in a good performance. After a while, Brazil was a very welcome victory, but this is also very different. At the end of the last few races we were definitely not the fastest car, so we’ll see what we can do here. Last year we had a fun race here, but Ferrari was already very fast. This track seems to suit his car, but I hope we can be in the fight this weekend to try to win again.”
Norris commented that it is the first time in the last six years of F1 that he has had the opportunity to fight for the title.
“When You compete against drivers who are close to perfection“Like Max, you have to be close to that too if you want to challenge him and the teams around him.”
He constructors’ championship is also close at the top. McLaren could extend its lead or the streets of Las Vegas could suit Ferrari. With three races left on the calendar, just 49 points separate the top three teams, while McLaren has a 36-point lead over Ferrari, which is ahead of Red Bull by just 13 points. McLaren is fighting for the first constructors’ crown since the 1998 season.
As for Sergio Pérez, he has not been able to help the team improve its dominance in constructors. Checo maintained the sub-leadership in the Drivers’ World Championship until the Chinese Grand Prix and since then, he has been dropping to eighth position.
“At the end of the day, the team knows exactly what they get out of me. They have a lot of data and information, it’s that simple. For some reason they renewed me during the year. I think this season has been quite difficult in many ways. “We started the season very strong, but then we had a pretty difficult period throughout the year.”
Regarding the second race in Las Vegas, there is less attendance than last year. F1 announced an economic impact of $1.5 billion from last year’s race, which is 50% more than what the Super Bowl generated a few months later. Economic advisory firm The Boyd Company estimates the 2024 race will have an economic impact of $1.1 billion. Unlike last year, when the drivers’ and constructors’ championships were decided well before the Las Vegas GP, this year’s race has more intrigue that could make up for its waning novelty.
Verstappen described the Las Vegas 2023 date as “99% spectacle and 1% sport”, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton described it as a “circus”.
F1 owners Liberty Media invested more than €650 million to add a third race in the United States, with much of the time and effort going into building a new street circuit, permanent paddock and pit complex. .
