Late FIA change revealed at Las Vegas Grand Prix

Las Vegas Grand Prix

Late FIA change revealed at Las Vegas Grand Prix

A Mercedes star has revealed a change made ahead of today's Las Vegas Grand Prix

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 24 November 2024 06:27 Updated: 20:39

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A Formula 1 star has revealed an immediate change made to the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of the race around the iconic street circuit.

The show-stopping event this weekend marks the start of the final triple-header before the 2024 season finale, with Red Bull star Max Verstappen looking to take home his fourth consecutive title in the sport.

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Ahead of Sunday's race however, Verstappen will be preparing to storm through the pack, after a disappointing qualifying session sees him start the race from fifth, crucially though, still ahead of title rival Lando Norris in P6.

The Dutchman will be hoping to beat Norris to the line along the Vegas strip if he wishes to be crowned champion this weekend, or else the battle will continue into the Qatar GP next weekend, if not a race to the finale in Abu Dhabi come December.

Despite being out of contention for both the drivers' and the constructors' championships, Mercedes were the team that looked strongest around the track in Vegas' testing conditions this weekend, topping the timesheets of every session so far.

Lewis Hamilton took Mercedes to the top of both FP1 and FP2 sessions despite the cold

George Russell will start the Las Vegas GP from pole position

Russell reveals immediate FIA changes

Following George Russell's spectacular display that landed him pole position for the main event, the British star took to the post-qualifying press conference to face questions from the media.

High on the agenda was Russell's opinion on a new face in the paddock, the Mercedes man thrown a question over how it had gone down when he had met the newly appointed FIA race director for the first time in Vegas this weekend.

Discussing his first impressions, Russell said: "I'd say positive, to be honest. I think we've been through a little bit of an era where our comments are taken on board, but very little change happens."

Niels Wittich left his role as FIA race director with just three races remaining on the 2024 F1 calendar

Earlier this month, the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, which Russell is a director for, hit out at the sport's governing body in a collective statement from the drivers.

However having met just once with the new FIA race director, Rui Marques, Russell appeared pleased at an instant change that has been made ahead of this weekend's race in Vegas. "For example, a number of drivers spoke about the track limits of the exit of Turn 4. We felt it was a little bit unnecessary on a street circuit.

"He made a change to it in the moment, and I think that's what we want to see as drivers we want to be we heard we want to be heard and we want to see action taken straight away.

"So I mean, so far it's been positive. "

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen FIA Lando Norris Las Vegas Grand Prix