- The Las Vegas Grand Prix will take place on Saturday at 10:00 p.m. local time.
- Max Verstappen can secure the championship if he finishes ahead of Lando Norris in points
- European fans will be able to wake up early on Sunday morning if they want to watch the race.
Formula 1 returns to the United States for the third and final time this season with a potential championship-deciding race.
Max Verstappen, who dominated the first part of the season before a slight wobble, is on course to secure the World Drivers’ Championship.
There is another interesting aspect to Las Vegas and that is the race that takes place on a Saturday.
It will be the third race this season to take place on a Saturday after the season-opening races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were moved due to Ramadan.
But the race in Las Vegas has been moved for a very different reason: they want to take advantage of the environment.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix will be held on Saturday instead of the traditional Sunday
Part of the reason is officials’ desire to see the runway illuminated by the surrounding Las Vegas strip.
Max Verstappen can claim the World Drivers’ Championship in Las Vegas
In a traditional F1 race weekend, drivers will take part in the first and second practice sessions on Friday.
This will be followed by a third practice session followed by qualifying on Saturday and the race will take place on Sunday.
However, that will not be the case this weekend, this is due to a combination of wanting to accommodate as many spectators as possible and their desire to see the track lit up by the Las Vegas Strip.
Due to the latter, the race organizers have decided that the race should take place at 10:00 p.m. local time.
If that happened on Sunday, Europeans would see it on Monday morning at 6 a.m.
Many A-list stars attended last year’s race, including Brad Pitt (right), who will star in the F1 racing film.
The Bellagio hotel is one of the sites that has been touted as a possible host for any world championship celebration.
As a result, Saturday night was chosen in the hope that they can accommodate their American and European audiences as F1 aims to grow its base in the US.
There are several ways Max Verstappen can secure the World Drivers’ Championship in Sin-City.
The easiest method would be to simply finish ahead of his title rival, Lando Norris, and have them both score points.
That would be enough to see the Dutch driver lift his fourth consecutive title in what has been a historically dominant period.
F1 officials in Las Vegas are tentatively drawing up plans in case the 27-year-old driver clinches the title.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to pull some ideas out of our hats and maybe pre-arrange some very interesting opportunities,” said Renee Wilm, executive director of the event.
‘When considering properties on the Strip, Wynn and Encore are unrivaled in terms of the highest class of hospitality.
‘Then, of course, there is the Bellagio further down the Strip, with those iconic fountains and the level of VIP service that the Bellagio offers.
“There are a lot of opportunities to highlight drivers, and particularly if we really have the benefit of being able to get a champion (crowned).”