When looking for the thrill of a good time, there's few places in the world people look other than Las Vegas. And the 2024 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix delivered.
Max Verstappen achieved what only four other people in the history of Formula 1 have done: won his fourth straight Drivers Championship. The Red Bull Racing driver captured the title on Saturday when he finished fifth in the race down the famous Strip, one position above his only competitor, Lando Norris.
Mercedes had a double podium with George Russell finishing first from pole position and Lewis Hamilton crossing the checkered flag second after starting in tenth place. With Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren also landing double podiums this season, it's the first time in F1 history that four different teams have finished with two drivers spraying champagne on each other.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz rounded out the top three in a race where Norris snatched fastest lap at the end, giving McLaren a 24-point lead over the Prancing Horses in the Constructors Championship.
Last year at the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, Sainz drove over a loose manhole cover and wrecked his car.
"I'll take a podium this year as a bit of a vendetta," Sainz said after the race with the Bellagio fountains dancing in the background.
F1 is known as one of the fastest, most elite sports in the world and mirrors the glitz and glamor of Sin City.
"For us, Las Vegas has always been really the crème de la crème of where we wanted to race. It is the perfect marriage of glamor and speed," Renee Wilm, chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, told USA TODAY Sports last year.
In the second year of its revival — Formula 1 also raced in Las Vegas in the 1980s — there wasn't as dramatic a controversy as the manhole cover incident, but other striking elements of the city were still prevalent at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Here are Kick The Concrete's highlights of the 2024 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix:
Viva Liveries: Pretty in Alpink, Stake defied gravity, Visa Cash App RB was glitter-tastic
Last year, nearly half the grid brought a special livery or overalls or something to the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. This year, three teams really embraced Viva Las Vegas with their liveries.
Alpine got fans excited by introducing its pink livery, aptly named Alpink. It's a continuation of water treatment company BWT's history sponsoring Formula 1. Force India famously had a pink car and then Alpine teased pink camouflage in January. So the clean pink livery not exactly fulfill the promise of the camouflage, but it was pretty close.
Stake also got in on the fun, pushing their already eye-catching neon green a step further with flame graphics on its livery. Alpine and Stake's social media teams brilliantly collaborated to add to the omniscient "Wicked" promo.
Not to be left in the dust, Visa Cash App RB went glitter for their livery. It featured a bubbly shade of blue that, as F1 podcaster Tom Bellingham pointed out, hearkens back to Red Bull's early 2000s days when it partnered with Sauber and Petronas. Plus lots and lots of sparkle.
Along with its cool denim livery for the Singapore Grand Prix and its vibrant Miami Grand Prix livery, Visa Cash App RB is very likely this year's livery champions.
Charles Leclerc's Leo sneakers were Las Vegas Grand Prix's best accessory
Everyone was anticipating the fashion of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which was maybe a bit underwhelming compared to last year. But Charles Leclerc had the accessory of the weekend.
On Wednesday, he wore custom white Puma sneakers with pictures of his dog, Leo, on the side and the words "Leo is the best." Not only will Leclerc have a new racing teammate in Lewis Hamilton next year, but the seven-time champion will have the Monegasque driver competing with him as the grid's best dog dad.
Lewis Hamilton's +44 collab with Tyler, The Creator's Golf Wang was *chef's kiss
Lewis Hamilton has collaborated with Takashi Murakami and Soldier for +44 collections, so the brand is already established as cool. But working with Tyler, The Creator's Golf Wang was the perfect surprise for this year's Las Vegas Grand Prix collection.
The offering included work jackets, button-up shirts, hoodies and a tire pressure gauge (super clever). The collection combined both the driver and rapper's love for car culture. If you're not familiar, Tyler, The Creator is an avid car collector and frequently sprinkles car imagery in his creative endeavors. The +44 designs effortlessly wove in his quirky aesthetic.
Las Vegas Grand Prix's best-dressed driver goes to Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton has had some competition — *cough cough Yuki Tsunoda — as best-dressed driver on the grid throughout the season. But not at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Nothing Sir Lewis wore this weekend came close to his breathtaking Valentino coat last year that made him look like a vigilante. But for qualifying, he embraced Las Vegas' glitz and glam in a sequined varsity jacket and pants set of his own creation in partnership with Tommy Hilfiger.
"I really love what he's wearing here in Las Vegas because only Lewis can get away with wearing sequins at the track," Hilfiger told Hypebeast, naming the look the best one they've made together so far. "... He's bold. He's daring. If he likes something, he loves it and wears it. He's not one who would maybe be too shy to wear something outrageous."
The Dior ambassador also had the best race day look in this structured gray set that was a collaboration with the French house. The jacket had with buttons up the side instead of the center and overall the look was very classy.
Carlos Sainz' Smooth Operator Dance Lounge was smooth
There were countless pop-ups throughout the weekend, but Carlos Sainz' Smooth Operator Dance Lounge at Aria is one that caught our attention. There's not a ton of content online to see how the vibes were throughout the weekend. From what we could find, the affair seemed more like a glorified celebrity appearance at a club than dance party, but we'll take it.
The Smooth Operator himself stopped by on Thursday to greet what reporter Jeff Gluck estimated was about 200 fans. The event even had a saxophone player in a checkerboard jacket playing what else? "Smooth Operator."
The Sphere stole the show
All eyes were on the Sphere, which always captures fans' attention with visuals to match the theme of whatever event is going on in Sin City.
There was a cute character wearing a helmet watching the cars speed by, a waving checkered flag, an F1 Academy carousel with all the drivers and promotion for the upcoming Lego F1 collection, which features all 10 teams for the first time ever!
But the Sphere had fans laughing and crying when drivers were eliminated from qualifying and it showed them a la Hunger Games style as X/Twitter user @mmxrie63 pointed out. The worst was when Sergio Pérez, who continues to hold a coveted Red Bull seat, was eliminated in Q1 and the Sphere showed him shaking his head and putting a thumbs down... savage.
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