Roger Diez
The second Formula 1 race on the Las Vegas Strip is history. The two big stories that emerged were Max Verstappen clinching his fourth consecutive drivers’ championship and the domination of the Mercedes team from first practice to the race.
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To start with the second story, Mercedes led every practice session with Lewis Hamilton setting the fast time in the first two and George Russell taking top time in the third. Russell took pole in qualifying while Hamilton lost the back end on his fast lap and started 10th.
Russell won the race and Hamilton’s drive from 10th to second earned him the Driver of the Race award.
A week ago, I commented on the scenarios that could see McLaren’s Lando Norris overtaking Verstappen for the drivers’ championship, but totally missed the other side of that coin. All Verstappen had to do was finish in the points and ahead of Norris to clinch the 2024 title. Despite Red Bull’s lack of pace, the McLarens were worse, and Max was fifth at the checker, one position ahead of Lando, clinching the crown.
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Of course, some might consider the final two races of the season anticlimactic since the drivers’ championship is already decided. But it’s the constructors’ championship that is more important to the teams, because it’s the basis of the season payouts. Those payouts can total hundreds of millions of dollars.
Right now, there are three teams in contention. McLaren is in the catbird seat with 608 points to Ferrari’s 584 while Red Bull sits at 555.
The sprint race this weekend in Qatar could net a team an additional 15 points for a 1-2 finish, for a total of 59 points for a sweep of the sprint, the race, and fastest lap. Of course, the other teams would also score points, which would mitigate that gain. The likelihood is that Red Bull can’t catch up, so it’s a two-horse fight between McLaren and Ferrari for the constructors’ title.
The sprint will air at 6 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2 followed by race qualifying at 10 a.m. on ESPNews. ESPN2 will broadcast Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix at 8 a.m.
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In other F1 news, there will be 11 teams on the grid in 2026. Formula 1 has reached an “agreement in principle” accepting General Motors’ Cadillac division’s two-car entry using a customer powerplant before switching to their own power unit in 2028. The Cadillac effort is based on the former Andretti Global attempt to break into Formula 1 and will use the extensive infrastructure and staff that Andretti has built at Silverstone.
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We soon may be seeing some changes to the SKY Sports F1 broadcast team. Former F1 driver and commentator Johnny Herbert, musing on Damon Hill’s recent departure from the team (did he jump or was he pushed?) speculated that Martin Brundle and David Croft may be next. In Hill’s case, his comments about Verstappen’s tactics against Norris in Mexico, calling it “Dick Dastardly stuff,” may have triggered his departure.
Personally, I agree with Hill about Verstappen’s driving not only in Mexico but at other venues.
Croft is a competent play-by-play guy, and Brundle is the most knowledgeable member of the team. He explains things in a clear and colorful way that helps fans understand the sport. I still miss the trio of Bob Varsha, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett with Will Buxton in the pits. SKY’s cast of thousands tends to blather about extraneous subjects while the race goes on unnoticed. And last year’s abandonment of the booth and microphones to a couple of kids was even worse if possible.