LAS VEGAS (AP) — Max Verstappen returned to the Las Vegas Grand Prix as the defending winner of the Sin City spectacle and a fourth consecutive Formula 1 championship well within his reach.
The Dutchman needed only to finish Saturday night's race ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren to make it four straight for the Red Bull driver. Verstappen starts fifth and Norris is sixth.
Norris can additionally lose the title if he fails to outscore Verstappen by three points on the neon-lit street circuit that zips down the famed Las Vegas Strip. The race is back for a second year and again promoted by Liberty Media, the commercial rights holder of F1.
The debut event was a bit of a disaster in that locals were livid for months over ongoing construction, as well as traffic detours and delays, the inability to access many local businesses, outrageous price gouging by the tourism industry as well as LVGP ticketing, and then a loose valve cover that nearly destroyed Carlos Sainz Jr.'s Ferrari minutes into the first practice.
It caused an hours-long delay for repairs, fans were kicked out of the circuit, and F1 ran practice until 4 a.m. — when it legally had to reopen the streets to the public.
This year has been far less hectic, in part because all of the infrastructure headaches were a year ago, but also that last year's race was spectacular. Despite all its speed bumps, the actual running of the race was one of the best of the F1 season and could produce a similar show Saturday night.
George Russell of Mercedes starts from the pole ahead of Sainz, who wants redemption after the valve-cover fiasco last year. He had to serve a penalty because his car was damaged in the incident.
Ferrari is expected to be the class of the field, which could tighten the nail-biting constructer championship battle. Red Bull, the two-time reigning winners, have fallen to third in the standings behind McLaren and Ferrari. But with Las Vegas the first of the final three races of the season, McLaren is clinging to a 36-point lead for a championship worth an estimated $150 million in prize money.
McLaren last won the constructor title in 1998, while Ferrari last won it in 2008.
The race is the final stop in the United States for F1, which has exploded in American popularity the last five years. The trio of races in Miami; Austin, Texas; and Las Vegas are more than any other country.
After the race completion, F1 next week is expected to announce it will expand the grid to 11 teams to make room for an American team backed by General Motors' Cadillac brand. The team was initially started by Michael Andretti, who could not receive approval from F1 on his expansion application.
Andretti has since turned over his ownership stake to Indiana-businessman Dan Towriss and Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They would run the Cadillac F1 team that would likely join the grid in 2026.
The announcement of the American team did not come during the weekend to not derail from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which is the showpiece of the Liberty Media portfolio. With one-time infrastructure costs last year, the debut event was believed to cost Liberty nearly $1 billion.
Expenses are down this year, but Liberty put in as much glitz and glamour as possible, anyway.
There are nightclubs around the course and on top of the paddock, an ice-skating rink, top-level musical acts and a 10 p.m. local start to make it feel like a true Las Vegas big Saturday night event.
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