After a multi-week break, Formula One is finally back for round 22 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The stage is set, the event is primed to showcase all the Vegas vibes, and the constructors have much to drive for as we get ready for the Grand Prix this weekend.
Before we jump into the current standings for both Championships and take a look into what to expect for Las Vegas Grand Prix, a few things to mention:
Authors Note 1: The Formula One Season has two main championship competitions. The first is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition between the individual drivers. The drivers who finish in the top 10 each weekend will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship. The next is the Constructors' Championship, a competition between the teams. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (E.g., Lando Norris has scored 331 points, and Oscar Piastri has scored 262 points, giving the McLaren team 593 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.
Author's Note 2: 23 drivers will be listed on the Drivers' Championship. Oliver Bearman was a replacement driver for Carlos Sainz for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Kevin Magnussen for the Azerbaijan and São Paulo Grand Prix. Also, Franco Calapinto has replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams, and Liam Lawson has replaced Daniel Ricciardo at Racing Bulls for the remainder of the season.
Author's Note 3: Qualifying for the Grand Prix takes place on November 23rd at 1:00am EST. The Grand Prix takes place on November 24th at 1:00am EST.
Here is a look at the current Drivers' and Constructors' standings before the race weekend:
Drivers' Championship Standings:
Max Verstappen 393 points
Lando Norris 331 points
Charles Leclerc 307 points
Oscar Piastri 262 points
Carlos Sainz 244 points
George Russell 192 points
Lewis Hamilton 190 points
Sergio Perez 151 points
Fernando Alonso 62 points
Nico Hulkenberg 31 points
Yuki Tsunoda 24 points
Pierre Gasly 26 points
Lance Stroll 24 points
Esteban Ocon 23 points
Kevin Magnussen 14 points
Alexander Albon 12 points
Daniel Ricciardo 12 points
Oliver Bearman 7 points
Franco Colapinto 5 points
Liam Lawson 2 points
Zhou Guanyu 0 points
Logan Sargeant 0 points
Valtteri Bottas 0 points
Constructor's Championship Standings:
McLaren 593 points
Ferrari 557 points
Red Bull 544 points
Mercedes 382 points
Aston Martin 86 points
Alpine 49 points
Haas 46 points
Racing Bulls 44 points
Williams 17 points
Kick Sauber 0 points
Standings were found at F1.com.
Alpine
Last race, Alpine exceeded everyone's expectations by a long shot. For the sprint, Esteban Ocon qualified 17th and finished 13th, while Pierre Gasly qualified and finished 7th. For the Grand Prix, Ocon started 4th and finished 2nd, while Gasly started 14th and finished 3rd.
Now, is it likely Alpine will repeat what they did in Brazil? No, not at all. The dry Vegas conditions will put Alpine back where we are accustomed to seeing them.
With that being said, Alpine could still contend for points this weekend. The momentum they are bringing from Brazil cannot be ignored, and the car has improved over the past few races.
Having moved up from 9th all the way to 6th last weekend, Alpine is right back in the midfield fight in the standings. If they can pull off a string of good performances, starting this weekend, it would save what was considered all year to be a disappointing season.
Ceiling: 8th-11th place finish for both drivers
Floor: 13th-16th place finish for both drivers
Aston Martin
Aston Martin's regression continued last week in Brazil, with neither driver performing even close to what fans expect. For the Sprint, Fernando Alonso started 16th and finished 18th, while Lance Stroll started and finished 19th. For the Grand Prix, Alonso started 9th and finished 14th, while Stroll started 10th and did not start the race due to beaching his car in a gravel trap on the formation lap.
Coming off an embarrassing performance in Brazil, Aston Martin will be looking to rebound and produce a better result. However, that may be difficult considering the pace of the car is nowhere near where it was at the beginning, or even the middle of the year.
With their eyes on 2025 and beyond, do not expect much from Aston Martin this weekend. Alonso may pull something out of his bag, but Stroll is a lost cause at this point.
Ceiling: 9th-11th place finish for Alonso and 12th-14th place finish for Stroll
Floor: 12th-15th place finish for Alonso and 15th-18th place finish for Stroll
Ferrari
Last time out, the Ferrari team did not provide the results they were hoping for. For the sprint, Carlos Sainz started and finished in 5th, while Charles Leclerc started and finished in 3rd. For the Grand Prix, Sainz started 13th and did not finish the race after spinning out into the wall, while Leclerc started 6th and finished 5th.
Ferrari has a fantastic opportunity to put their pace on display in Vegas. Leclerc was fantastic around the Vegas track last season, as the car works with the track nicely. With the car in the form that it is in, Ferrari may be rapid once again around this track.
The team could use a dominant weekend if they want to make a dent in McLaren's lead in the Constructors' Championship. Though their result in Brazil makes the climb to the top steeper, it is still very much possible. Look for Ferrari to push for a race win this weekend.
Ceiling: 1st-3rd place finish for both drivers
Floor: 5th-7th place finish for both drivers
Haas
Haas was another victim of the wet conditions in Brazil, as they failed to mount any sort of legitimate competition. For the Sprint, Nico Hulkenberg qualified 12th and did not finish the race, while replacement driver Oliver Bearman qualified 10th and finished 14th. For the Grand Prix, Hulkenberg started 19th and was disqualified from the race due to receiving outside assistance before the car continued, while Bearman started 16th and finished 12th.
With K-Mag back in the car alongside Hulkenberg, Haas should return to their point-contending form in Vegas. The track suits both drivers' racing styles well. Haas should look at Brazil as a small blip in their performance.
Haas has lots to fight for in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships, Haas should be going all in on finishing the season strong.
Ceiling: 8th-11th place finish for both drivers
Floor: 12th-15th place finish for both drivers
Kick Sauber
Sauber exceeded expectations last time out in Brazil, as they did not finish as the bottom two drivers on the grid. For the Sprint, Valtteri Bottas started 15th and finished 16th, while Zhou Guanyu started 20th and finished 17th. For the Grand Prix, Bottas started 11th and finished 13th, while Zhou started 20th and finished 15th (last due to the DNFs of other drivers).
The only thing for Sauber to fight for is to not finish in the last two places. Other than that, Sauber is an unexciting team that is so far off having any sort of pace. Bottas has shown flashes of outperforming the car and producing a somewhat decent result, but Zhou is very much the worst driver on the grid. Expect nothing new from Sauber this weekend.
Ceiling: 15th-17th place finish for Bottas and 18th-20th place finish for Zhou
Floor: Bottom two places on the grid
McLaren
McLaren started the weekend in Brazil with a bang, but failed to close the weekend out strong. For the Sprint, Oscar Piastri started 1st and finished 2nd, while Lando Norris started 2nd and finished 1st. For the Grand Prix, Piastri started and finished 8th, while Norris started 1st and finished 6th.
McLaren should only have one goal in mind in Vegas: a race win. Norris needs to finish ahead or within 3 points of Max Verstappen if he wants to keep his Drivers' Championship hopes alive. As for the Constructors' Championship, the race for the title is still far from over, so McLaren will need both Norris and Piastri to dominate in the way they have multiple times this season.
Although the track doesn't suit the car too well, the talent of the drivers should cancel that issue out. Expect both McLaren drivers to fight for a race win in Las Vegas.
Ceiling: 1st and 2nd place finish
Floor: 4th-6th place finish for both drivers
Mercedes
Last time in Brazil, Mercedes had a roller coaster of a weekend, with the car's consistency being extremely off between the two drivers. For the Sprint, George Russell qualified and finished 6th, while Lewis Hamilton qualified and finished 11th. For the Grand Prix, Russell started 2nd and finished 4th, while Hamilton started 15th and finished 10th.
With only three races left, Mercedes have made it clear that they are willing to do whatever it takes to finish the season out strong. Mercedes looked strong in the first two practice sessions on Friday morning, which is a positive sign. The most important thing for Mercedes this weekend is to get Hamilton's car back to the pace Russell's car is currently at.
Mercedes need to show they can provide both drivers with equally fast cars so the drivers can both compete for a podium. Though there have been multiple instances where Mercedes' results in practice have been a false representation of their actual pace, the team has to hope they fixed the problem with Hamilton's car.
Ceiling: 3rd-6th place finish for both drivers
Floor: 7th-10th place finish for both drivers
Racing Bulls
Racing Bulls had one of their better weekends of the season last time out in Brazil. For the Sprint, Yuki Tsunoda started 18th and finished 15th, while Liam Lawson started 8th and finished 9th. For the Grand Prix, Tsunoda started 3rd and finished 7th, while Lawson started 5th and finished 9th.
RB has exceeded many expectations this season and finally has a legitimate, competitive driver lineup. Tsunoda and Lawson are equally talented on the track and are primed for a heated competition, as a potential seat at Red Bull is on the line.
RB is also in a fight with Alpine and Haas in the Constructors' Championship, making it all the more important for the team to provide a good result in Vegas. Look for RB to compete for solid points come race day.
Ceiling: 7th-10th place finish for both drivers
Floor: 11th-14th place finish for both drivers
Red Bull
Red Bull's pace, or at least Max Verstappen's pace, was impressive in the wet Brazil conditions last race. For the Sprint, Verstappen started and finished in 4th, while Sergio Perez started 13th and finished 8th. For the Grand Prix, Verstappen started 17th and won the race (also getting the fastest lap of the race), while Perez started 12th and finished 11th.
Coming off arguably his greatest performance to date, Verstappen has the chance to close out and win the Drivers' Championship in Vegas. All he needs to do is finish ahead of Lando Norris, or finish with at least a 60-point lead in the standings. Verstappen is currently 62 points ahead of Norris, making his chances of closing out the Drivers' Championship extremely likely.
As for the team, Red Bull's chances of making up ground in the Constructors' Championship are low considering Perez's run of form. Perez is just not that good anymore, and has clearly shown he is extremely off Verstappen's pace. All Red Bull need from Perez is a top-5 finish, but it may not be a possibility for Perez.
Ceiling: Race win for Verstappen and 5th-8th place finish for Perez
Floor: 3rd-5th place finish for Verstappen and 10th-13th place finish for Perez
Williams
Last race could not have gone much worse for Williams, at least regarding the Grand Prix. For the Sprint, Alex Albon qualified 9th and finished 10th, while Franco Colapinto qualified 14th and finished 12th. For the Grand Prix, Albon did not participate in the race due to a crash he had in Qualifying, while Colapinto started 18th and did not finish the race after crashing in the pit lane.
Coming off a disaster of a weekend, Williams should be looking to gain their momentum back and compete for points. Though Team Principal James Vowles has clearly stated that the team's focus is on the 2026 car, the car this season still has enough pace to compete within the midfield.
With Colapinto excelling and Albon showing flashes of overcoming his slump, expect the two drivers' pace to be relatively equal, and competitive among the cars of the Haas and RB.
Ceiling: 8th-11th place finish for both drivers
Floor: 12th-16th place finish for both drivers
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Catch you next time!
-Matt Hylen
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