Max Verstappen hasn’t had the most straightforward campaign with Red Bull losing ground to McLaren and Ferrari.
The Dutchman went on a 10-race streak without a victory, allowing Lando Norris to close the gap.
After winning the Sprint Race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Norris was within 44 points of Verstappen and had just secured pole position for the Grand Prix, with the 27-year-old starting down in 17th place.
However, Verstappen produced one of his greatest drives in Brazil to win the race comfortably, while Norris could only come home in 6th.
It means that Verstappen can win his fourth straight championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix if he wins his ninth Grand Prix of the year.
The inaugural race in Las Vegas last year was a huge show, even if events on the track didn’t quite go to plan.
However, journalists Nate Saunders and Chris Medland were speaking on the Pad-Hoc Podcast and shared that one section of the weekend that made headlines last year won’t be repeated this time around.
One of the lasting images of the 2023 race in Las Vegas was each pair of drivers being lifted into the sky in front of the fans on giant boxes.
None of the drivers looked particularly comfortable and speaking about the show, Saunders said: “I don’t know if they’re doing that boxing thing again, when they were stood on the boxes last year, remember, and they kind of went elevated out. The drivers hated that, didn’t they?”
Medland continued: “They’re not doing that. The launch event, the launch party or opening ceremony that was massive.
“And yeah, they’re not, I’m told they’re not doing that again. We were told that [they will] never be allowed to do something that huge again, given what it took.”
Journalist Alex Kalinauckas was speaking on the Autosport Podcast and admitted that the triple-world champion wasn’t a fan of being lifted up into the sky alongside teammate Sergio Perez last year.
Kalinauckas said: “The drivers were lifted in these ridiculous lifts, they were there for a few seconds each.
“They all hated it by the way, Max Verstappen before he turned up in an Elvis jumpsuit really hated it.”
Verstappen has never been a fan of big shows and would much rather concentrate on racing.
Formula 1, however, is notorious throughout its history for creating a show both on the track and off it.
That’s not going to change in the future, with the 75th anniversary of the sport approaching next year.
Verstappen was less than enthusiastic about the F1 75 launch event, but he’ll be the star of the show if he retains his crown as expected.
However, it’s hard to imagine Red Bull will be bringing anything groundbreaking to that evening, given that their liveries have looked virtually identical ever since their debut in 2005.
