2025 F1 Las Vegas GP: Preview and Predictions

The 2025 F1 Las Vegas GP kicks off the last stretch of the championship. We will have a triple header to end the season, and as things ramp up, so does the tension in the championship battle. Lando Norris put together a dominant race weekend in Brazil to put himself in a position where he's the clear favorite.

In the championship standings, we have Lando Norris leading the charts with Oscar Piastri in P2 and Max Verstappen in P3. The F1 Las Vegas GP has been one race that can have adverse conditions in terms of the weather.

It can get very cold, and that's not ideal for quite a few teams when it comes to generating heat in the tires. With that being said, in what would be the third iteration of the F1 Las Vegas GP, what can we expect? Let's take a look.

2025 F1 Las Vegas GP: Preview

Key Storylines

#1 The title permutations

When it comes to the title battle, Lando Norris now leads Oscar Piastri by 24 points and Max Verstappen by 49 points. That's a healthy advantage, but it's also the kind of advantage that means any mishap to Norris would bring the competitors right back into the championship.

At the same time, if Norris outscores Verstappen by 9 points at the F1 Las Vegas GP, the Dutch driver is out of the title battle. The weekend could have serious implications on which way the title battle could tilt.

#2 Who aces these conditions?

The temperatures for the F1 Las Vegas GP are far from ideal. Last time around it was Mercedes that excelled in these conditions and secured a 1-2 finish with George Russell winning the race.

The track demands low downforce efficiency, and that's where Red Bull has stolen the march on a lot of teams. At the same time, whether the RB21 would be able to generate the much-needed temperatures in these conditions is a question we'll have to wait to find an answer to.

#3 McLaren on the back foot?

Low downforce conditions coupled with low temperature is an area where McLaren has essentially struggled the most with its car. The F1 Las Vegas GP offers both, and if last season is anything to go by, the car just doesn't work well around here.

With a shrunk field spread, a bad weekend doesn't mean a top 5 result, but much worse. McLaren's form would be under the scanner at the F1 Las Vegas GP, and it could have serious implications either way in the championship.

Form Guide

In Form

Lando Norris is making sure he peaks at the right time in the title battle, and he's done so by sweeping the last two race weekends in Mexico and Brazil.

Heading into the F1 Las Vegas GP, the Brit has the first opportunity to get Max Verstappen out of the equation while at the same time hoping that McLaren doesn't have too big a disadvantage around the track.

Out of Form

The comments from Ferrari boss John Elkann were pointed, and they were directed at Lewis Hamilton. The team's big signing has been a major flop this season, and while Lewis might be making big changes to the culture, he was signed as a 'driver.'

That's his primary role, and if he's unable to fulfill that front, then everything else takes a back seat. Ferrari boss John Elkann has made it clear that the focus is still to secure P2 in the championship, and Lewis Hamilton would be hoping to show something positive at the F1 Las Vegas GP.

Driver with the biggest spotlight

Since he won the race in Zandvoort, Oscar Piastri has not finished ahead of Lando Norris in any of the designated races, and we've been through six of them. For one reason or another, the increased errors and slight bad luck have led to the Aussie going from a position of being the championship favorite to someone who's floundering a major opportunity.

The F1 Las Vegas GP is the first attempt for Oscar Piastri to arrest the slide, and all eyes will be on his pace relative to his teammate.

2025 F1 Las Vegas GP: Predictions

Who wins the race?

Mercedes has already shown it in Baku, Canada, and a few other races that as soon as the temperatures drop and there is a demand for low downforce setups, the car surges.

The F1 Las Vegas GP offers both of them, and hence we're backing the team to once again display the level of performance it did last year. While that is the case, our pick for the win might be an unexpected one, as we go with Kimi Antonelli to win his first F1 race this weekend.

Biggest surprise of the weekend? (Team)

This could potentially be Red Bull. The low downforce+low temperature setup worked for the team in Baku. The tire temps, however, are still a concern, but we're backing the RB21 to come off better.

Biggest surprise of the weekend? (Driver)

Well, we're picking the young title contender Oscar Piastri as the driver who's going to be a surprise at the F1 Las Vegas GP.

The Aussie has been on a downward spiral, but the race in Brazil seemed to light up a fire for Oscar Piastri as he ended up getting the better of teammate Lando Norris over the weekend.

Biggest disappointment of the weekend? (Team)

McLaren is one team that quite a few teams would be keeping an eye on. Especially since the car was nowhere near the front last season. While the team has made strides in the low temperature-low downforce conditions, we have yet to see the fruits of the labor.

Biggest disappointment of the weekend? (Driver)

Yuki Tsunoda is driving for his career in the last 3 races of this season, but it is safe to say that the call might have already been made by Red Bull. The Japanese driver is in a no-win situation where he's driving a spec of the car that doesn't have all the upgrades as Max Verstappen's car, but he's judged as if he's got the same equipment.

For the F1 Las Vegas GP as well, expect something similar, as Yuki might potentially struggle this time around.

Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli