Has it been a year already? It might be hard to believe, but it is time for teams to return to the city of sin for the second ever Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Unlike last year’s inaugural event, both championships are yet to be decided as teams arrive in Nevada. However, this is the first opportunity that the drivers’ title could be clinched for 2024.
But as the season reaches its climax, this weekend sees a major change in race control that will likely dominate the pre-race talk on Wednesday. Here are the talking points for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Wittich out, Marques in
Perhaps the biggest story over the three weeks since the previous round in Brazil was the sudden and unexpected replacing of former F1 race director Niels Wittich.
One of two race directors who assumed the position in 2022 following the removal of Michael Masi after the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Wittich proved to be the steadier hand than Eduardo Freitas and was installed as the permanent race director towards the end of 2022.
But Wittich’s time in this critical role has been cut shorter than many would have predicted as the FIA announced last week that Wittich had “stepped down from his position to pursue new opportunities”. Coming three rounds before the season’s end, the announcement raised many eyebrows with Wittich reportedly telling German media that it had not been his decision to leave his post.
Regardless of the reasons why, F1 and its teams and drivers will have a new race director for the final three rounds of this year’s championship at least: Rui Marques. It’s going to be a baptism of fire for Marques, who has been the F2 race director for the last three seasons. A high speed street circuit will have a high risk of Safety Cars or even red flag stoppages, all while running on the most unwelcoming schedule of any event on the calendar at a venue that saw major infrastructural problems result in a practice session being cancelled last year.
How difficult Marques’ first weekend in charge prove?
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