THE PREVIEW AHEAD OF THE F1 WEEKEND IN LAS VEGAS

Formula 1 is entering the final part of the 2025 season, and the championship returns to the United States. The next stop is Nevada, where the Las Vegas Grand Prix will take place.

This weekend could reduce the number of drivers fighting for the title from three to two. The Constructors’ Championship is already won by McLaren, so all focus is on the Drivers’ fight between Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.

Recent races have helped Norris a lot. After passing his teammate Piastri in the standings, he moved closer to what could be his first World Championship thanks to his win at the São Paulo Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Norris now leads Piastri by 24 points and Verstappen by 49. He has the chance to increase his lead, but Las Vegas has often been a difficult track for McLaren because of cold temperatures and other factors. This keeps a tiny bit of hope alive for Verstappen, even though his attempt to win a fifth straight title is now very unlikely.

Another important fight is for second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are very close and want to be “the best of the rest” behind McLaren.

Mercedes arrives in Nevada with a 22-point lead over Red Bull, helped by a strong weekend from Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Brazil. They are also 26 points ahead of Ferrari. Ferrari had a tough race: Charles Leclerc retired through no fault of his own, and Lewis Hamilton had a very bad race full of problems and mistakes. To pass both Mercedes and Red Bull now, Ferrari would need something close to a miracle.

Fifth place in the Constructors’ standings looks almost decided. Williams has a 29-point lead over Racing Bulls and 39 over Aston Martin. The fight for sixth is much closer, with Racing Bulls, Aston Martin and Haas F1 separated by only 12 points. Sauber is further behind, 20 points away from Racing Bulls.

What does Pirelli bring to Las Vegas

Pirelli is bringing the same tyre selection to Las Vegas as last year, but the 2025 tyres are stronger and the sessions will be held earlier in the evening. These two factors should reduce the risk of graining, which was a major issue in previous editions of the race.

Las Vegas is a difficult track for tyres because temperatures are very low and the asphalt is smooth. In 2024 the track never went above 20°C, making it hard for teams to warm up the tyres properly. If the tyres are pushed too hard while still cold, graining can start: the surface breaks up and grip drops. This usually affects the softer compounds the most.

The layout also makes things tricky. Long straights, low downforce setups and very few fast corners mean the tyres struggle to generate heat, and the temperature constantly changes. Teams need to find a good balance in both qualifying and the race to keep the tyres in their ideal working range.

For the third year in a row, Pirelli will bring the C3, C4 and C5 tyres. They considered bringing the softer C6, which could help in cold conditions, but data showed it would likely suffer too much from graining.